Kitchen, Christmas, & the B wall

Wow, aren't I great at updating!?  Shame.  Well, since the last post ended with a few pictures of the kitchen, I figured I would pick up where we left off.  I actually took a few updated "after" shots during the holidays, so there is now more than one (selective, clutter-hiding) current photo of our kitchen.  Just a reminder of what it looked like BEFORE.

 

 

Isn't it gorgeous?  Ugh.  And yes, the cabinets were as dirty and stained as they appear (most of that junk was not going anywhere, even after a hard cleaning). 

We actually got to start working on the house before we moved in.  One blessing of the short sale was that the house was (and had been) empty, so the previous owners were nice enough to give us their keys until we closed.  We had two or three weeks of work time before we were even the owners.  Thank goodness it worked out!  So we never actually had to live with it looking exactly like this.  It was cleaned and the walls were painted when we moved in.

That was about all that was done, though.  We lived with it like this (below) for way longer than I would like to admit (it took a few months to finally buckle down and paint the cabinets).  We also lived with a wire hanging down for a few weeks in between horrible fluorescent fixture and okay-for-now pendant light.

After painting the cabinets & adding new hardware (and interior hinges, thanks to hubby's ingenious engineering/rigging techniques)... we finally got to this.

 

Like I mentioned before, there are still quite a few things we would like to change, but most of those are pretty big-ticket projects.  Dark stone counter tops and stainless steel appliances (and new cabinets altogether, while we're at it) will just have to wait!

Here is a view of the other side.  One of my favorite things we did in the beginning was rip off the carpet from the edge of the stairs & stain the wood underneath... now the new carpet on the stairs looks more like a runner on the bottom few steps.  I love being able to see that wood!  

 

Just for the record, we did finally put back the rest of the spindles (or whatever they're called) under the railing.

So... since those pics were clearly taken around Christmas, and despite the fact that it's nearing the end of January... here are a few more Christmas photos.

 

 

Oh yea, that reminds me... there are also a few updates in the dining room.  Clearly this is what happens when I go too long between updates... there are too many things to post at once!

We now have a new table & chairs!  

Well, the chairs aren't actually new, just new to us.  I paid $20 for 6 of them at a yard sale last summer.  After some sanding, black paint, and reupholstered seats (new foam, batting, & fabric), they are as good as new.  Almost.  They creak a little, but that just adds character, right?  

You can see a glimpse of the "B wall" in this pic.  I finally hung the B's we (I) had collected & painted.  I could add about 6 more just with the selection of letters at the newly-opened Hobby Lobby!  I'll refrain for now, but it is tempting.

Here is a close-up of the stenciling.  It was intended for the original dining room post, but got left out.  So fun!

Speaking of fun... one last before & (updated) after of the kitchen.  Just because.  It's fun :)

    

Fall Fun & Kitchen

We did a little decorating for Fall, although it'll soon be time to replace it all with Christmas decor!   

 

Our living room plant died, so for now we replaced it with a pumpkin.  There will probably be a tree or something there for Christmas, but I'll have to find something else to go there for the rest of the year (we actually went through 2 plants there... love how they looked, but they just didn't do so well long term).

I don't consider myself super crafty, but this was a fun project from awhile ago (it's been hanging on the door since the spring, so it's not technically "Fall" decor).  I wanted a wreath, but I realized how pricey they can be, and I wasn't willing to splurge.  So, after seeing some handmade wreaths on etsy, I bought a wreath form from Michael's, along with some fuzzy green yarn and felt.  I wrapped the form with the yarn, then made some flowers from felt (just cutting & sewing... I played around and tried to copy pictures of felt flowers that I found online).  Another "crafty" project that was for Fall was a pumpkin for my best friend, Allie. 

 

I planned to make one for our house too, but by the time I went back to Michael's, all the white pumpkins were gone.  Maybe next year!

On another note, I was organizing photos recently & realized how few rooms I've actually posted pictures of on here.  One room that I haven't taken many pics of is the kitchen.  Here is what it looked like 1) when we toured the house and 2) before we closed on the house, just as we were starting to work on it- what a mess!

 

Here is the one good "after" picture I've taken:

 

We painted everything (walls, trim, cabinets), continued the bamboo floors, changed the over-the-sink light fixture from a flourescent tube to a little pendant, and put in a new sink, faucet, & disposal.  We would loooove to change the counter tops, but that's on a long-term list.  Behind the peninsula is the eating area.

Everything continues to be a work in progress!  And let's be honest, the biggest challenge is just trying to keep all of the mail, bills, magazines, and other clutter off of the counters.  No doubt one of the reasons there aren't more current pictures!  Such is life...