The One Thing That Changed My Kitchen

I have been at war with my kitchen since we moved in over 5 years ago. I rearrange stuff on the counters and think to myself, "Yo, I totally won this fight. You don't look awful anymore. I winnnnn"! And then the kitchen sits smirking all night because it knows that tomorrow I'll shuffle in bleary-eyed and slump my shoulders in defeat.

It's come a long way for the kitchen with the wallpaper from Mordor, but the magical white paint is not quite magical enough for this one. Here's a reminder of where we started...

And then we moved on to this(old pictures but I don't have recent ones because it's been my least favorite room)...

The wallpapers gone, it's been repainted. we've put in new flooring(twice!), I've arranged and rearranged. Still this room has baffled me. It feels cluttered even when it's clean and organized. That is, it did until I did this one thing.

I hung a platter over the range.

That's it.

Suddenly, the cabinets weren't so orange and the countertop didn't look so cluttered. I have no science explanation behind this one, except that I'm sure it has something to do with a focal point. Since this is the first wall you see when you walk in, I should have thought to create a focal point here years ago, especially since there isn't any backsplash.

I rearranged this kitchen over and over for years after I removed all that wallpaper. I groaned every day over those orange cabinets. In the end, all it took to make this room bearable was one large, white platter.

Why You Should Hire a Plumber to Install Your Dishwasher

What a week. My heart breaks for the parents and families of those who have died. I really wasn't sure what to write about. Everything pales in comparison to what has happened and so many people are hurting. I have no words to add so I thought I would keep it practical.

Last week we got a new dishwasher. Our old one didn't wash well and the entire top rack was broken so it would sometimes fall while I was loading it. Not a good thing when it was full of glasses. I mean, I got to practice my sweet ninja moves and all, but still. So we trashed our really old, broken dishwasher and got a new Maytag dishwasher.

The delivery guys were supposed to hook it up when they got here, but then they discovered that, per their company rules, they couldn't install it because we only had one water shut-off valve for the kitchen sink, not two. Our shut-off valve turns off the water for both the sink and the dishwasher instead of having one for the sink and one for the dishwasher. So I told them to leave it and we'd figure it out.

Living In The Chaos

In the last few weeks, we've had a water leak, a ripped up floor and baseboards, no pantry storage, and a big hole in the wall. We're currently down to just needing a new floor, new paint, and new storage. It's progress.

But I've had my fair share of "I'm done" moments during this stage.

They usually happen after a long day of keeping the toddler from eating all the crumbs stuck in the exposed floor glue while dealing with the 3 year old's fit every time I simply suggest that he might need to use the potty about now. Another agonizing dinner decision because I can't find anything, and another night of having to eat in the living room because there is way to much crap covering the kitchen table. And another day of fighting the horde of ants traipsing into my kitchen to get to those food crumbs before the Munchkin does.

Another Kitchen Leak, Another Design Dilemma

So guys, you remember that brand new vinyl floor we put in last spring after we had to tear up the old one to fix The Leak? Yeah, about that...

A few weeks ago I noticed water seeping out from under the cabinet along this side of the kitchen. Definitely a bad sign. We had the plumber come out and he discovered that, years ago, someone had made a hole in a pipe when they nailed the cabinet into the wall. The nail finally rusted out and left all the water from the bathtub upstairs pouring into the wall behind the cabinet.

Kitchen Kilims

There is one kind of rug I never thought I would like. Kilims. And I want one. I've never been huge fan of oriental type rugs. Every time I see them in the store I shiver and move away quickly.

I'm not sure what puts me off. Plush, flowery, traditional...the combination is too much. I like rugs in more modern colors and prints. And here I am saying that I want a kilim rug in my kitchen. How is a kilim rug different? Basically, what makes a kilim is the style of weaving.

Kilims work for me. They're not so flowery. They're more geometrical. They're flat weave, not plush. I mean, I like plush rugs and all, but not in those more traditional styles.

And last, they are colorful.

I, the neutral queen, want a colorful rug.

I surprise myself sometimes. I discovered this while browsing through the pins on my kitchen board on Pinterest(if you're not following me already, here's the link to my Pinterest profile). It's one of the best ways I've found for narrowing down my style and what I love. One of the things(there were many!) that kept popping up, were flat weave, kilim rugs.

Now if you're wondering how I decided that these particular pins with these particular rugs were actually my style and something I want in my house, I will tell you. I have a very simple method of evaluating my pins. I call it The Coffee Method. It's very simple. When I look at a picture, I ask myself, "Self, would you pick this room to sit down and relax in while drinking the very best cup of coffee you have ever had in your life?"

And there's my answer.

That Time I Decided to Paint the Kitchen...{Part 2}

Last week I started telling our kitchen story. Today, it's time for part 2. If you would like to catch up, I suggest starting with The Kitchen, then reading The Leak, and finishing up with Part 1.

I left off with the kitchen painted and I wrote about The Leak and how we would need to replace the floor. Well, two weeks before my due date, they came to measure the floor and order it. We were all hoping that it could be done the following week, but an ice storm in Georgia prevented the flooring from getting here. So much for having it done before I was due.

Our newest little decided to come a few days early and they were all set to start ripping out the old floor the day after I came home from the hospital. Yippee. But at least I was getting a new floor! That was a happy thought. At least until they pulled it up and found Asbestos.

It was a small amount, and it wasn't disintegrating into dust, but we decided to leave the house anyway since we had little ones.

So after spending one night in my own bed with a new baby, we had to pack everything up and head to my parents' for a few days. And they had just moved 6 people, 3 dogs, and 1 cat, into a new house the day before the kid was born.

It was craziness.

I'm a little hazy on the details now but somehow along the way, in the middle of all this, it happened that we needed to replace the old yellowy toilet in the downstairs bathroom. And we all agreed that a yellowy sink did NOT go with a new white toilet. I'm really not sure what it ever went with...anyway, we got a new white sink!

Finally, the floor and the bathroom were finished and we were able to come home. And this is where we are now with the kitchen...

I'm not completely done with the kitchen(obviously, right?). The window above the sink and a door still need paint, the painters tape needs to come down in spots, and, because of baby, I still haven't had a chance to find a home for all the stuff that was moved around. Eh. That's life.

But it's progress.

And a new floor!

I'd love to paint the cabinets and change out the hardware and hang some open shelving above the counter on the left as well. And there's no way I could forget rugs and window treatments! Maybe some nice bamboo roman shades? Ah, yes!

The bathroom changes will be coming in another post so watch out for it!

What are you thinking of the changes so far? Have you ever started a simple project that opened a whole 'nother can of worms?

That Time I Decided to Paint the Kitchen...{Part 1}

It's the kitchen story! Or at least the first part. This story is so epic, it needs a few posts to tell it all. It kinda turned into a nightmare.

I posted about my kitchen and the outdated-ness of it a while back. The old, stained linoleum, knotty cabinets, layers of wallpaper, and metallic gold trim...it was hideous. And just way too busy and dark. I love my kitchens full of light! The only thing going for this room was the windows.

And so, I set about to stripping the layers of wallpaper, using only a spray bottle filled with vinegar/water and a wallpaper scraper. Seriously, don't even think about using that wallpaper removal gel. Useless junk. Vinegar is the way to go!

In several months time I had only finished one half of the room and had to bring in family and friends to help me to get the room de-wallpapered and painted before baby came. We started painting the month before I was due. We were cutting it super close. Because I procrastinate. And because of mommy brain.

It took a couple days to get it finished but it was so totally worth it! Now we are light and bright! I just have to find the time to get those cabinets painted too.

After we got this lovely coat of white paint up, we discovered that we had a leak under the floor in the bathroom off the kitchen. I wrote more about that experience and getting it fixed here. Fixing the leak created a big hole in our floor and a need to replace the linoleum. The part of the story that hasn't been told yet, is what happened when they started pulling up the old flooring...which I will tell in part 2!

The Leak

If you've been following me on Facebook and Instagram, then you already know about The Leak. If you haven't, then let me enlighten you. The Leak started about a month ago. At least that's when we noticed it. I was pretty positive that the sound of running water in the wall and a newly heated bathroom floor were not good signs.

Then we started losing hot water.

Our house is built on a slab. This means that there is no crawl space at all. Any work to fix a busted pipe in the floor requires pulling up the flooring and pulling out a jackhammer. Fun stuff, right?

The first plumber we called in wouldn't get back with us. He came and looked around but then never showed up or called. By this time we had been without hot water for a week and we were just a few weeks before baby's due date. Thankfully, my Brother-in-law knows people who know people. Oh, the joys of having a family member in construction!

The new plumber showed up and got to work on Wednesday. These are a few of the photos from my Instagram feed. That little door in the corner of the kitchen with the plastic over it is our only first floor bathroom. They put a hole in the floor and then in the wall but didn't find the leak until they went back to the floor and made a bigger hole.

By the time they left that afternoon, we had our bathroom usable again and lots of hot water! Such a wonderful thing for this nesting mama!

This floor is where we are today. Guess what this means?! New floors y'all! Woot woot! And they have to fix the wall too, which means that dated paneling is doomed!

If something like this ever happens in your house, check with your insurance to see if they will cover any of the repair work. We rent from Hubby's parents, and their insurance wouldn't pay for the actual plumbing repair, but they are paying for a good amount of the floor and wall repair. Which means, because of The Leak, they are ripping up the three layers of old linoleum and putting in all new vinyl flooring in the bathroom, kitchen, entry, and in the garage apartment bathroom that backs up to ours(the heat from the leak made the floor bubble up in there).

How awesome is that?

And they are doing all they can to try and get it all in ASAP before baby arrives. Double awesomeness. Who knew a great big Leak could cause so much happiness?

So after a month of water gushing under our house and two weeks without hot water, we are getting all new floors downstairs and removing the paneling in the half bath.

We had all of a night and a morning to decide on the new flooring and this is where we ended up. It blends all right with the kitchen cabinets and, more importantly(as cabinets can be painted), it blends with the wooden floors upstairs. For when we decide to rip out the carpet. And all dirt will be hidden.

Oh, happy day.

So...flooring choice. What do you think? Yay or nay? Any shared experience with busted hot water pipes?

The Kitchen

It has been pretty gloomy in the area this week and, honestly, so has been my mood toward my house. I keep looking around and seeing all the areas it needs help. And then I think of all the money I don't have to spend. It's quite depressing at times.

I've been trying to see what I can do around here that doesn't cost anything. Or much of anything. So without further ado, I introduce you to:

My kitchen.