it's Demo Day!

The cabinets are all cleaned out and ready to come down. The kitchen actually looks good in these photos, and you might be thinking "why are they getting rid of those?" Well, the paint is tired and chipping here and there, especially on the trimmed edge. The openings of the cabinets are 12" wide between the slats, so it's very difficult to get things in and out. The shelves are not adjustable, anywhere. The granite tile countertop is okay, a few areas of grout need repair, but there's no salvaging it when you're taking out the cabinets!

From afar it does look rather clean and neat in these photos. See how good no clutter can look! The upper cabinets are being salvaged to be used elsewhere, but the lower cabinets are coming out in pieces. Bye bye white kitchen...

And look what they found underneath! Who knew? The original countertop and backsplash was 4x4 white tiles, with a navy blue diamond accent. Surprise! Double the demo here.

White tile, that's what they were using in 2000.

I hear the hammers and crow bars knocking,

more pics to come later...

because no project can ever be too easy...

I was so excited to find that great bathroom vanity at Home Goods, I failed to notice that the opening in the back isn't centered. The door on the left has the opening for the plumbing, and then there are drawers on the right. Here lies the problem. The plumbing is centered on the wall, and the vanity needs to be centered on that small wall, but the drawers are in the way. I so wanted this to work and had to figure out how. So... we took the back off of the vanity and hooray, there was enough leeway that we didn't have to cut into the drawers themselves, but we did have to cut into the dividing panel.

A quick cut with the jig saw. Not too much harm done, and nothing visible. We were now able to connect the cold water and push the vanity up against the wall, centered. Problem averted!

Here's the new brushed nickel light fixture,

and toilet paper holder in the mirror!

I painted the old mirror that I had in there black. I'm not loving it, at all. So today I bought some silver craft paint to brush on it. But seeing it all together tonight, I've decided it's just too small for the vanity. I have an old cherry wood oval one that I'm going to try.

What I do love is the new faucet! The brushed nickel goes so well with the granite!

Now it needs the finishing touches. I have to hang the towel ring, some pictures on the walls, and find a new small rug. But not a "bathroom rug", more formal than that... because after all, it is a powder room.

Something else to shop for!

we painted the powder room today, it was inevitable...

I needed to spackle and paint to cover up the old towel bar holes, so decision time... we could paint the powder room the same green it was or try a new color. I love to update and change, so we just had to try a new color of course! I went with "Pavestone" by Sherwin Williams, a medium base gray. I wanted to try gray because the granite on top has gray speckles in it and it also seems to be the "it" color right now. At first, trimming it in, I was worried it was looking purple. I was afraid to go gray for that reason, I even asked the paint guy at HD what the colors were in the mix before ordering the paint to be sure. I wanted to get the first coat on before panicking...

ta da, here it is... "Pavestone" gray

No purple undertone after all, phew!

Here it is with the speckled granite

Next step... installing the new brushed nickel fixtures. I decided to go with BN versus ORB because of the gray in the granite. All the ORB I found had copper coming through it and I didn't care for that. So, new BN faucet, light fixture, TP holder, towel holder and outlet covers to be installed... soon.

How can you pass up a good buy at Home Goods?

You gotta get it! You know if you don't buy it, it will be gone and you won't have the option any longer. Okay... I admit it... I'm a home remodelaholic. Many of you out there are too, admit it. We buy our houses mostly because of timing. Most of the wishlist is there, but there is always work to do to make it yours, because no home is perfect. It's a work in progress. There are things you change right away and things you learn to live with.

Today I found something I wasn't looking for, but I always have my eye on when I see one. I found a bathroom vanity for our powder room, one to replace our pedestal sink with the shiny brass faucet.

I saw two other women looking at it, but then they walked away. I wheeled my cart over to look closely... nice dark finish, real wood, nice oil rubbed bronze hardware, nice neutral granite top, very nice price. I thought quickly, hesitated for a moment and then ripped the tag off to claim it! It's now sitting in my foyer.

Even my husband said it was a good find! I wanted to start the install right when we unloaded it, but no, it's patiently waiting. It has a good home now.

Of course I will have to find an ORB light fixture, faucet, towel and toilet paper holder, and paint the mirror frame in there ORB too. Maybe even paint the walls a different color... but it was a good find, and I am very pleased!

When you give a mouse a cookie you know it never stops there... especially if she's a remodelaholic!

deciding on a neutral wall color for the next decade

I've lived with Duron Plantation Beige for the last decade and now it's time for a change. February 1st we're renovating the kitchen with new cabinets and granite and tearing up the place a bit. Since all that will be new, we feel we need to paint the trim and walls on the main level and make it all new too. My house is open enough that the main level walls also go up the stairway, and those walls go down the upstairs hallway. That means that 70% of the house will be this new color I choose. Pressure right?!

I have 6 different color samples on the wall at the moment. As you go from wall to wall the lighting changes so therefore the color changes. I may like one color on one wall, but then on another wall it looks too dark or too green or too taupe. I know grays and browns are very popular at the moment but I can't go too gray or too brown because that doesn't really go with my furnishings.

I want to stay with a warm neutral color.

These two below are Behr colors, Bone on the left and Parachute Silk on the right. You probably can't tell from this photo I took at night, but Bone actually has a bit more green undertone than Parachute Silk. They're only one color away from each other, but I have found that the slightest undertone makes a big difference, especially when it's covering 70% of your house.

Today I stopped at Sherwin Williams and picked up their new mini fan deck. Quite a few colors that I may want to try... like Wool Skein, Rice Grain or Ramie.

It's a big decision and I want to get it right so I don't mind spending money on samples.

My house will soon look like a patchwork quilt!

winter red

Amaryllis in full bloom

They were just bulbs a month ago

Bringing a little color to your white winter!

Thanks E&R for the Christmas gift, it's beautiful!

when you're iced in and can't drive...

...what do you do? You walk! It's Day 2 of the Atlanta Ice-in.

We got ~6 inches here where I live. They don't plow or de-ice or salt the streets around here. It just has to melt and dry up. We haven't even had mail service for the past 2 days. So much for "through sleet and hail the US Post Office delivers the mail"... not!

Today we decided to get out and walk to Home Depot and Whole foods. It was a short 1.5 mile round trip walk through the slush and ice, and nice to be out in the fresh air. We needed garlic for this yummy turkey vegetable chili recipe I had made yesterday.

Since we were already out we bought a few other things too... lettuce, butter to make cookies, and coffee beans and half n' half because that's something I have to have in the morning!

Some people I know are already complaining of "cabin fever". Something I don't quite get, and by "get" I mean understand. I have no problem finding things to do at home. I've cooked and cleaned, played scrabble and read, and done 4 loads of laundry over the past 2 days with 2 more to come tomorrow. Do these complainers live in perfectly clean houses with nothing to do? Do they not like being home? Do they have no hobbies? That is sad!
I'm always doing something at home.
We are getting ready to paint the main floor, so while we were out we got a couple of paint samples. So far I like the one on the right.

Of course I usually need ~ six samples before I can commit. Another walk to HD tomorrow? Maybe.

we have accumulation!

It's a winter wonderland...

so rare an occurrence here in Atlanta.

We've been getting ~an inch per hour so far,

I hope it's still here in the morning.

Where's my turtle with the frog on top?

For once the media hype happened... we actually have accumulation!

naked post-holiday bookshelves

When you go from all the Christmas decorations being on display

to January post-holiday back-to-normal living,

doesn't everything look a bit "naked" for awhile?

I wanted that cleaner, uncluttered look to my bookshelves

but also wanted to reuse what I have. We have a few collectible things I felt I needed to keep, like my Limoge demi tasse cups from Paris, 2 Hummel figures from the 1970's, and 2 pieces of Belleek porcelain. I actually put quite a bit away of what I used to have out. I also have a lot of picture frames I want to spray from gold/brass to either ORB or black.
I'm not sure I'm in love with these bookshelves just yet, but for now, that's all I got.

I did make use of some of the Hydrangea blooms I had added to my "HGTV tree" this year too, and kept them out in a vase or two.
I do love Hydrangeas, they feel like spring!

recovery and new beginnings

It's a beautiful sunny day. A new year with new goals to accomplish. I could make a list, I should make a list, just to stick to it and actually start something!

We have some intense home improvements coming up in a few weeks. My kitchen cabinets and countertops will be ripped out and replaced. After, before or during all that I want the entire main floor painted, trim too. And at the same time, the wood banisters will either be sanded and re-stained or replaced and stained, and we'll finally add those iron balusters I have sitting in the garage. I have the mess and chaos to deal with first, but then I get to enjoy the clean newness of it all. I'm looking forward to all of it, except for dealing with my dogs barking for 2-3 weeks! Hmm, they may have to go on a vacation.

My daughters and I have a baby shower to plan for my new grandbaby due in May. Invitations, a fun theme, colors to use... all fun and creative. I better start brainstorming!
Sewing to be done for that same new grandbaby. I'll make his nursery bedding and curtains like I did for Carter.

Exercise. Getting back to it. I've done absolutely nadda for the past month. Recovering from lung surgery and also this evil upper respiratory virus has left me with almost zero energy. Still. I have 4 more days on antibiotic and then I hope it's all a distant memory, and I can get back to feeling normal again. My VATS recovery this time has certainly been rough. I still feel the soreness, inside, where the incisions are. My post appointment is this Wednesday, so we'll see what the Doc says.
And then, I don't go for another scan until the end of April. That will be 5 months of not seeing what if anything is going on. That's a long time. I'm hoping once these "reminding pains" go away, I'll be able to enjoy those months without thinking about my health. No thinking, just enjoying. Playing tennis and golf again and being outside in the beautiful fresh air. Feeling good.

New beginnings!

crib shopping

Now that my grandson is ~10 months old, and grandbaby #2 is on the way, I've realized we need a full size crib at the house. I want my children to feel like my home is their 2nd home with everything they need to be comfortable. And lately, Carter's been having a real hard time napping in my small pack n' play. I used to just put him in the stroller and go for a walk to get him to nap but now that it's winter that's not always possible.
I shopped the local BuyBuyBaby and BRU and wasn't too thrilled with the quality of the cribs out there. One pet peeve of mine is that you can see all the screws that hold the thing together! That's a design faux pas to moi! My other peeve is the standard style cribs are a bit shaky. Shopping Craigslist since all dropside cribs have been recalled is scary too, although you can clearly see the dropside hardware and spot them. And besides, I just didn't see what I wanted.

I was very excited last week to win a blog contest sponsored by BB&B, for a $100 gift certificate to CSN Stores. And... guess what, they just happen to have a bazillion cribs on their site for sale! Thanks BB&B!

Reading all the reviews, on all the sites I've narrowed it down to these 2:

DaVinci Jayden crib

Babyletto Modo crib

One traditional, one more modern. I can see either one in the room we'll be using. I like them both, and even though the 2nd one looks like a pen I like the clean simple styling. They both got very good reviews for quality and stability, and they both turn into a toddler bed.
Once I order one, I'll have to make my own bedding for it too. Add fabric shopping and sewing to the list of 2011 projects!
I'm ready to be creative and make something again!