Kitchen Facelift - A little Paint Goes a Long Way

A little paint and TLC can go a long way.

I had the opportunity to help out with this kitchen facelift. It is amazing how much just having the cabinets and walls painted, and updating the lighting can change a kitchen. The cabinets were lacquered  (which is a paint process in which the finished look is smooth and shiny) and two of the doors were altered for glass panes. Two neutral lighting fixtures were added, as well as updated hardware.  The finished product is a neutral clean looking kitchen.

Changing your kitchen can be one of the most expensive renovations for home owners, but with small changes you can achieve the look you want without demoing everything and starting over. This project is a great example of making small changes without shelling out tons of money. Below are the photos, I hope you like the way it turned out as much as I did!

Kitchen Before

Kitchen After

Kitchen After

How To: DIY Burlap Stenciled Placemats

Finished Product: Painted Burlap Placemats

Here it is, another rendition of Morgan's How To's, this time it's pretty easy and really cute.

 Recently I needed a cute hostess gift that I could pack to go on a plane, so I made these burlap placemats that I stenciled/painted a cute design on them. Here are the materials and instructions for these cute placemats.

Materials:
- 1 yd Burlap ( I went to a fabric store rather than a Hobby Lobby to get thicker burlap)
- placemat to trace
- acrylic paint (I used white)
- stencil brush/paintbrush
-stencil design

I started by taking a placemat I had at my house and tracing it onto the burlap to cut out. After cutting the placemats out, I then sewed about 1/4" away from the edge in a zigzag stitch to stop the burlap from fraying.

Placemats cut and edges stitched

up close photo of the stitching

Next: tape the template for your design to the burlap and trace onto the placemat. I made my template because I couldn't find one I like that was already made

Template made of 11x17 computer paper that has been cut with an exacto knife

Design traced with pencil

After you have traced the pattern all that is left is to paint the design, remember Burlap is thin and has loose weave so make sure you put something behind the burlap when you go to paint it. It look more paint that I originally thought it would but I love how it all turned out! 

Finished Product

Master Bathroom Renovation : Aqua Oasis

I am so excited to show off this master bathroom renovation. We transformed this master bathroom from it's original state, removing a cased opening and dropped ceiling where the vanity was, and adding a recessed cabinet for towels and lenins, as well as a wall to enclose the shower, and those were just the big things.

 We also had custom counter height cabinetry made (the existing was 30") with granite countertops, undermount sinks, and oil rubbed bronze fixtures and hardware. As I mentioned before we took put the dropped ceiling above the vanity to make room for custom cut mirrors. The cased opening separating the vanity area from the rest of the bathroom was taken out, and a recessed cabinet was added for storage.

A wall was added with a shelf on the shower side for storage and allowing a granite top bench to be made inside the shower. Solid glass door with oil-rubbed bronze finish handles, and an accent tile complete the shower area giving it a polished look. Directly opposite the shower, a new soaker tub and fixtures were installed with a tile surround.

The entire bathroom is tiled with a 12"x24" porcelain tile in a running brick layout . All the fixtures are an oil-rubbed bronze, with an antique black finish on the cabinets. The walls are painted in a soft aqua hue from Valspar with 6" wood base. Recessed can lights were added along with two semi-flush lantern pendants from Ballard Designs and antiqued finish sconce from At Home. Lastly, white plantation shutters were installed on the window, and engineered hardwood flooring was installed in the walk in closet.

Lighting:
Semi-flush lantern - Ballard Designs
Fleurette Wall Sconce - At Home

Before and After of where the cased opening use to be and where the recessed cabinet is.



Before and After of the Shower

Before and After of Toilet Room Wall




Before and After of Tub Area

Detail of Recessed Cabinet

Close Up of Vanity Area

Close Up of Vanity Area with Notes

Custom Cabinetry when installed

XOXO

Broadway Study

It's Finished! remember this post about ongoing projects? I am happy to say that the fireplace in the walk-through study area is finished!! (truthfully it has been done for a while but I finally got photos to share.)So, here they are, the finished product of a new fireplace and new wall paint for this walk-through study area.

Our original plan was to remove the existing mantle and tile, and replace them. When we carefully took out the mantle (for another dwell haven DIY project)  and the tile, we discovered brick in pretty good condition so we forgoed covering up the brick and left it exposed. We added a deep blue paint and a few little touches around the room and this walk-through study looks completely different.

Resources:

Mantel - The Mantel Shoppe

Linen studded ottomans- At Home

Paint- Valspar Egg Shell Finish



Old Mantel and Tile





New Mantel, Brick and Paint



New Upholstered Ottomans





New Mantel Pre-Installation. It is a light finish with an antiquing glaze that highlights the detail work.




Old Mantel after it was removed from the wall





Another Photo of the finished product.



XOXO
Morgan

Nashville Kitchen Reveal

A few months ago I posted some graphics here of a 1950's kitchen remodel in Nashville that my brother and sister-in-law were doing; . Well It is finished, and it came out great! Some of the finishes have changed since the 3d model was made but the overall "bones" or layout of the space is the same. The project included new cabinets,appliances, countertops, backsplash and the demolition of a dining room wall into a half wall. The specifics on the project are as follows:

                                      Martha Stewart Cabinets: Dunemere - Sharkey Gray
                                      White Subway Tile (Backsplash)
                                      Hardwood Flooring
                                      Granite Countertops
                                      Stainless Steel Appliances (refrigerator, stove/range, dishwasher)
                                      Farmhouse Sink


Here are the photos the kitchen before renovation, during construction and the final result. I think it turned out great!

      

  




The Original Kitchen 

Demolition of Kitchen Begun

New Flooring

 


Studs/Wall Frame of wall to be partly Demo-ed

 





Demo Finshed Product



Half Wall Finshed

 


New Cabinets Installed

 


Cabinets and Appliances in

 





The Final Result



New Year, New Adventures

New Year - New Turns, New Things Coming Soon!

Finished Project: Mitch's Study Upgrade

Okay, it's finally finished!!!! The study is done and it's looking good if you ask me. This project started a while ago after my mom and I decided my dad's study needed an update. After looking at the study we decided that a new coat of paint in a calming neutral would update the feel of the space, make the room look larger, and highlight the desk's stained wood finish. after painting rearranging the desk so that it sits facing the door opening and positioned so that it looks like it's in the center of the door opening commands the space a purpose rather than where it was, diagonally positioned in the room. Taking an old bookcase cabinet that use to be apart of an entertainment center at our house and painting it the same color as the room make it look similar to a built-in only much cheaper. After filling that with all of Mitch's books,humidor, etc. we placed the wooden tripod lamp my brother gave him in the corner and put books, this duck statue I found in our house (don't let the size fool you that thing is heavy!) and a metal bucket my mom pulled from somewhere. The room was in need of a new rug- a larger rug that fit the space- on top of that per Mitch's request it needed to be blue. We ordered this steal from Ballard Designs and it works great.

After much contemplation about what to do with the large BLANK wall- I remembered last summer while I was doing my internship and researching old photos of Birmingham- my dad was really interested in them, so my mom and I had 3 printed and framed for him for his birthday- Morgan 1 blank wall 0.  Then came the long drawn out search for a bar. We were trying to do this and not spend a fortune, and find a table that was large enough to go on that side wall. After searching we found this one at Nadeau in downtown Homewood and painted the old Pottery Barn floating shelf that was in the study before black to go over the self. Now a few more decanters, new tray and small square lamp and the space is done!

I hope you like it as much as we do- I think it turned out great, there are tons of little odds and ends, pictures and great deals that went into this study upgrade!

Mitch's Study

Photo from back right corner

Photo from back left corner

Bar- I think it turned out well- complete with family photos on the floating shelf. 

Tripod Floor Lamp - Gift from Hunter/ Duck statue and metal bucket

Photo wall formally known as the "Blank Wall"

Birmingham Photos - courtesy of Gallery Services in Birmingham

Entertainment Center turned "Built-in" I hated the idea at first but it doesn't as like what I thought it would 

Odds and Ends in the Bookcase

 That's it!  more stuff to come soon!