Tales of a very ugly kitchen: chalkboard paint

I’m always a sucker for the “In” and “Out” lists that appear right around the New Year. Will skinny jeans be in? Are Uggs on their way out? (Never here in Colorado!) So I naturally was intrigued by the predictions Apartment Therapy had for the new year. Hey, if they’re declaring chalkboard paint “out”, then I’m not afraid to be behind the trends. Here’s how I used it in the kitchen. The menu keeps my shopping for the week easy, and the kids aren’t always wondering what’s for dinner. (At least the ones that can read!) 

remodeling wish list for 2010

As I sat down in my cozy new pajamas on December 26th and opened my favorite “Inside and Out” section in The Denver Post, I was eager to see what the trendwatchers would be forecasting for the year ahead. How will the economic and political climates of today translate into how we live and want our homes to function? Naturally, the Home for the new year: It’ll be sleeker, simpler headline caught my eye, and upon reading the article, I was reminded of how far we’ve come over the past decade.

Flashback to New Year’s Eve 2001. What we were expecting to be at least a one hour journey into downtown Chicago was a mere 20 minutes.  After the 9/11 terrorist attacks that fall, apparently people wanted to stick close to home to celebrate the arrival of a more promising New Year. The nesting phenomenon had begun in earnest. Homes became our safe havens and included separate theater rooms, family rooms, play rooms, offices, and spa-like baths so that we could keep our families close-by, comfortable and protected. It made sense at the time.

In light of current economic conditions and the desire to live a greener, more earth-friendly lifestyle, it appears that the McMansion days are over. To that we say, Amen! And furthermore, our family is using the trend toward multi-purpose spaces where families can gather together for meals, entertainment, work, crafts, and homework to develop our list of home improvements for 2010. These projects blend how our family is evolving and our needs are changing with general upgrades we’d like to make to improve our home and quality of life here. You won’t find any theater rooms or spa baths on our list.

Reed Davis, Better Homes and Gardens Magazine

Project #1:  First on our list is to develop a home office station in our living room that can accommodate a computer station and general command center. Of course, it still has to look good as it will be the first thing someone will see when they enter through the front door.  I snapped this picture after taking down all the Christmas decorations, so bare bones.

Pared down for demo!

Project #2:  Open our kitchen to the dining area to include a more fluid space for entertaining and give us more counter and prep space. We are planning to remove a portion of this wall.

Project #3:  Winterize our porch to create a mudroom and casual family room. Currently we use the porch as a dumping ground, mud room, outdoor toy storage and the occasional site of large dinner parties. In the picture below, it housed the kids’ table for our Thanksgiving 2009 dinner.

But here’s what the porch looks like on most days. Lovely. Yeah, we LIVE here.

We’ll keep you posted as the projects progress throughout 2010. If we can complete all three we’ll have accomplished our goal of multi-purpose spaces just in time for the forecasters to predict a completely different trend for next year. But we won’t care, because when it comes to how you live in your home, what’s hip and trendy just isn’t that important. And to that we also say, Amen!

is it an "heirloom" or a "hairloom"

In my family, we have a joke about hand-me-downs from days of yore. If it’s a keeper, then it’s earned the “heirloom” moniker. If it’s a doozy, but must be retained due to some type of familial guilt, then it’s dubbed a “hairloom”. We’re sure you have a few hairloom gems in your holiday storage bins. Here are some of our favorite heirloom/hairlooms on display this season, but really, the distinction is all in the eye of the beholder.

This collection of musical angel ornaments was from my maternal grandmother. Apparently they moved over to make room for our elf on the shelf, Jingley, this morning. I dub the angels an heirloom for sure. Jingley, not so much, but my kids would beg to differ. He sits at the right hand of Santa after all — translation: ROCK STAR!

This trio of crystal trees belonged to my dad's mom. I scored them at Granbe’s Great Giveaway a few years back. It was the ultimate heirloom/hairloom festival, and Granbe’s five grandchildren (and subsequent great grandchildren) were the lucky recipients.

My aunts made these disco balls long before Studio 54 even opened with styrofoam balls, sequins, pearl pushpins and pipe cleaner hooks. I nabbed four of them at Granbe’s Great Giveaway, and they’re heirlooms to me for sure.

Here’s an heirloom that starts with our generation. It was a gift from my oh, so generous sister-in-law as we spent Christmas at home for the first time after our big renovation. I have to put it up high on the top of the china cabinet so little fingers don’t try to make the reindeer really fly.

This collection has become a modern-day heirloom for our family. We drink egg nog served in these mugs on the night we decorate the tree. My lame illustrations inspired Lucy (7) to upstage me on the cabinet door nearby.

Last but not least, our new favorite heirloom. Santa brought Holly two weeks ago (yes, a bit early…long story), and we are in love.

Got any heirlooms or hairlooms that your family favors?  Do share.

paige's new big girl room

It’s a big event when one of our little darlings makes the lofty jump out of the crib and into a big kid bed.  But all of a sudden, we’re faced with a decorating dilemma:  How do we make the visual leap from a sweet baby’s room to a fun toddler’s lair, without starting from square one? It’s a question Heather had for us, and we were only to happy to help her feather her sweet daughter’s new nest.

Dear Lisa,  My daughter, Paige, has just graduated from her crib into a big girl’s bed.  My husband and I are over the baby’s room look and want something with a retro vibe. We really like orange (although our daughter loves pink) and want to keep the room on the gender neutral side.  We bought a cool comforter set that we definitely want to use for her bedding.  The dresser we’d like to keep, but could paint. We’re game for new lighting, and have a white chair (a dumpster dive find from our back alley), that we’d like to incorporate into the room.  Thanks for your help!  Heather

Heather, we think Paige’s room will be the coolest on the block.  Take a peek at this mood board…

1.  Heather wanted a gender neutral wall color for Paige, so we’re going with Summer Day from Sherwin-Williams. We love it’s bright sunny disposition. Sunny orange will be the perfect backdrop for the white furniture with hot pink and lime green accents. For furniture placement, we think the bed should go right in the corner with the head against the right wall. The new bookshelf can go right next to it along the right wall and serve as a bedside table. The incredible dumpster dive white slipper chair will be a cozy spot for reading and snuggling and can go in the corner.  Leave the dresser where it is, and paint it a glossy white to match the new bookshelf.  That will leave the far wall for Paige’s bigger kitchen toys and to showcase the vintage Holly Hobby-esque quilt on the wall.

2.  We found this kitschy and “adoeable” (couldn’t resist, sorry) lamp and love the way the hot pink and white pop against the orange walls.  The little doe diva will be a perfect bedside lamp sitting atop the new bookshelf. Sadly for you, Heather bought the last one, but it sure is cute, ain’t it?

3.  Even though Paige is a bit too young for the Olsen twins, Mary Kate and Ashley’s adorable lamp will bring their keen sense of style to our toddler’s lair.  This lamp shade is the perfect style for embellishing with some hot pink ribbon.  For our tutorial on that easy project, click here.

4.  Every little girl needs a stylish place to stash her baubles and treasures. These charming mini suitcases come in a set of 3, small, medium and large. They will bring a zest of orange and splash of pink to her new white bookshelf, and provide a sense of order to the knick knacks that seem to multiply in little girls’ rooms. Trust us, we know!

5.  We’re only recommending one piece of new furniture for Paige’s new room. This kid-friendly (and budget friendly) bookshelf is just the right height to due double duty as a bedside table, too. Pop that cute doe lamp on the top shelf, and Paige has lots of room to store her books, stuffed animals, and toys.

6.  One of our favorite finds for Paige’s room is this tree wall decal.  We think it should “grow” right up the wall behind the white slipper chair for a whimsical reading and snuggling spot.

7.  Toddlers spend so much time on the floor. This bold striped rug will bring the color down that direction and give Paige a cozy spot to hang out on while she plays, reads and explores.

8.  These bright yet sturdy baskets are perfect for organizing a pile of board books and bringing some more visual order to the room.  We see these on the bottom shelf of the bookcase, so Paige can have easy access and can return everything back to it’s proper place, just like a big girl does.

And, here's the big reveal. Paige's room turned out SO cute!

I must have a juniper fetish!

It occurred to me, as Steve and I were hacking and hauling away the remains of the seven juniper trees and bushes, that I must have some kind of sick juniper fetish when it comes to buying a house.  To me, a house smothered in overgrown junipers means that the same owners must have lived there for quite some time, they are probably on the older side, and the place might be ripe for some remodeling and deal making.

{Aren't those pruned juniper beauties too good to pass by?!}

In the two home buying experiences we’ve had, that was exactly the case.  In our Denver house (built in 1955), we learned from the delightful previous owners, Gus and Lucille, that they had lived there for 33 years and bought the house from the original owners.  In the Chicago burbs, we bought the home (built in 1942) from the original owners.  This information is both good and bad.  It seems that houses with few owners have less wear and tear, fewer goofy remodeling kinks, and are generally well cared for; these are all good things.  The bad news is that the junipers in both homes were decades older than we were, and man, those roots grow deep!

{Don't they look so much better on our driveway?!}

tales of a very ugly kitchen: new knobs

In our original kitchen, the maple cabinet fronts had no knobs and there was a little indentation on the tops for your fingertips to facilitate opening the door. The drawers had the same design on the bottom. Here’s a picture of the lil’ beauties from our home inspection. 

I know, I know, ick.  Sometimes I look back at these pics and wonder what we were thinking when we (okay, it was just me), decided I must live here?! But, we’ve made progress, and now it’s time for the finishes and fun stuff.

Even though the fingertip grooves still remained on the painted cabinets and drawers, the white semi-gloss paint left them looking rather flat (but still so much prettier), so we wanted a knob or pull that would bring some dimensionality back to their surface. We opted for two knob styles from good ol’ Home Depot because we liked the brushed steel finish, sleek style, and frankly Frank, we liked the price. The smaller knob went on the short cabinet uppers, and we used the longer pull on the bigger cabinets and some of the drawer fronts.

To refresh your memory, the oven/stove area looked like this at our home inspection.

And now, for the big cabinetry knob reveal (insert drumroll here, please)…

Yahoo! Not only do we love the improved functionality of our kitchen appliances, but we also love the sleek and contemporary lines of our prettier cabinetry. What do you think?  Next up, bye-bye florescent behemoth.