Time Flies!

Yikes, has it really been a month since we've been home from Seattle??? We've been keeping busy with numerous house projects and lots of fun-filled family weekends at the beach. Since June, Kev has been slaving away remodeling our basement and it looks amazing! He's single handedly tiled, re-drywalled, trimmed and painted our entire basement. He's finally able to see the light at the end of the tunnel and I'm looking forward to decorating! :) It's going to be nice to have a basement that doesn't flood and smell like an old gym sock. The new and improved basement is a thousand times better and I can't wait to unveil it! (Pictures to come!) Meanwhile, here are a few pictures from a family wedding we went to last weekend. We're headed to the beach this weekend, celebrating our 3rd anniversary next week then enjoying a much needed visit from my mom over Labor Day. Hope everyone is doing well as the summer slowly winds down!

Julie and me

Randy, Patty, Julie & Kev

Lindsay, me and Jules

Merry {Early} Christmas to Us!!!

This morning our kitchen passed final its final inspection -- woohoo!! We began this project on November 9th and after being somewhat displaced, we're finally home and ejoying our new kitchen and couldn't be happier with how it turned out!! There are a few last minute touches that need to be finished up but other than that - its complete! Now it's time to find a dining room table and get decorating!!

My vision for this kitchen from day one was a very neutral space but cozy and inviting. I brought in warm beige tones from the granite to the tiled back splash to compliment our maple spiced cabinets and floors. I didn't want the granite or tile to overpower each other but I wanted each to stand out; I think it works!

Trust me, making big design decisions based on a 2x2 sample and trying to picture it in your kitchen is not easy! I definitely had the hardest time with the tile but as soon as I saw it installed in a picture, I was sold! The granite was pretty simple. I knew I wanted a lighter color with a lot of detail. The one we chose has black and garnet running through it, so I went with a brick colored accent wall to bring out the red tones. Painting everything that color would've made the room feel small, so I chose a creamy tan to soften it and tie everything together.

As far as the lighting, we went back and forth with how many pendant lights to do...2 or 3, 2 or 3....? Our island is 5 1/2 feet long and having 3 seems perfect. We splurged a little and had under cabinet lighting installed. I highly recommend it, it makes the kitchen look completely different at night {pictures to come!}

Contrary to what you might think, Kev did have a lot of input into our kitchen...he was on appliance duty :) His favorite part was picking out his "must have" beer + wine fridge that he was adamant about having in the island. At first I was against it but I'm glad he convinced me because let me tell ya, it kicks ASS!! I love to cook, but I'm no Ina Garten so having functional but not "over-the-top" appliances was the way to go. We went with the stainless steel look to keep the kitchen looking clean and high-end. For five years, our nasty old fridge didn't have a light due to some electrical snafu, so being able to see what's in our fridge now is strangely wonderful!! We went with Kitchenaid for both the dishwasher and fridge and GE for the smooth-top stove and microwave. We chose Grohe for our faucet and paired it with an undermount D-shaped Artisan sink.

We love having people over, so having a "bar area" of our kitchen was key. We wanted place we could fix drinks,store glasses, liquor, mixers - you name it! Since this area was sort of a seperate space from the rest of the kitchen, we threw in some honey colored crushed glass tiles in between the stone to give it some flare and stand out.

I'm very happy with all of the choices we made. It's everything we could've possibly wanted and more. We can't wait to host our first get-together this week with friends and family. I'll post pictures of the refinished hardwoods, new trim and paint in our bedroom soon! Enjoy the pictures!

Before:





After:

House Updates!

These past few weeks have been crazy to say the least! We moved everything into the basement and are currently staying with Kev's aunt and uncle who have graciously taken us in for a week or so while our floors are being refinished. Since beginning construction November 9th it's all gone pretty smoothly (knock on wood) and we're excited to start seeing it all come together!
So far we've had the wall taken down between the kitchen and office, had the new kitchen doorway widened, had the rough electrical, plumbing and framing completed, and are currently having the new hardwoods installed and refinished. Cabinets are being installed starting Friday - can't wait!

Here are a few pictures of the progress:

Happy Thanksgiving to all!!


Wall opened up

Wall gone and doorway widened

Expanding kitchen and shrinking hubby (he's lost about 30 lbs!)

New hardwoods before sanding and finish coats

Ready to be plastered!

More updates to come!

Operation: Kitchen!!!

Wow, what a busy {crazy!} couple of months it has been!! The traveling and friends' visits have died down, but we're again right back in the throws of chaos!! For two years now, I've been bugging Kevin to take down the wall between our kitchen and workout room to open up the space and have a huge kitchen/eat-in dining area. It just makes a lot of sense... We'll be able to enjoy it, the resale of our house increases, etc... But for two years he's been telling me to politely, "take a hike!" :)

Well... (and I pat myself on the back as I type this) he caved - and has now admitted what a fabulous idea this was!! The past month or so has been a whirlwind of contractors, granite, cabinets and tile and today was "D Day!" Demoliton Day... We officially began our kitchen renovation!!!

Over the next 4-5 weeks, our kitchen will be transformed into the space that it was always meant to be. Somewhere where we can entertain friends and family and just be in a beautiful space where everyone gathers and feels at home. We can't wait for the everything to be installed and see it all come together. It's been a loooong time comin'!

As I said before, demolition started today. The "before" pictures were taken this weekend. Our contractor gave me a hammer this morning and said to take a few swings, which I obviously loved doing (see the smile on my face!) See ya ugly kitchen!!!) The plan was to take down a wall between the workout room and kitchen, making a 20 foot by 12 foot kitchen. As it stands, the view from our living room is two doors, one to each room. The new space will block off the WR door and widen the kitchen door. We're installing new cabinets, countertops, appliances, tile backsplash, hardwoods and a kick ass 5 1/2 foot island.

Here are the pictures - excuse the mess, we were packing :)


The Before - Kitchen

Another shot of the kitchen

Looking into the kitchen from the living room...wall on the left near the flowers is the one being removed

Workout room from the living room

Another shot of the workout room, wall with the painting is being removed

Oh yeah - watch out, mama's got a hammer!

See ya wall!

Workout room door framed and sheetrocked... kitchen door that has the plastic covering will be widened 18" to mirror our front entryway

View out to the back of the house/deck - these windows and slider will remain where they are

That area that juts out is the existing chimney - a 4-foot pantry will be built in next to it...
Here is the floor plan.....



Lots still to do - I'm currently in tile HELL! I can't decide what I want for the backsplash - the whole theme and color of the kitchen is dependent on it. This is a BIG decision and I'm definitely taking my time on it! Any suggestions on tile backsplash are welcome!

Stay tuned for more updates and pictures...

Before + After

Here are some pics of our living room. No, this is not an April Fool's joke, our entryway really was that dark magenta color :) It was fun for a while but it just didn't go with any of our Christmas decorations! That said, we've moved on to a more classic look of red... I picked up these adorable red pillows at C+B on clearance a while back and based the room on those. I love how the color really pops in the otherwise black and cream room. I'm still looking for the perfect piece to go in the corner underneath the double shelves...Leah, notice the framed greeting card on the top right :)I know I have an empty picture frame but that will be a pic of a lighthouse on Martha's Vineyard, just need to get it printed. Anyway, still a work in progress but does it really ever end??

Before

After

HGTV: Call me!!

Finally! Our new bathroom is 100% complete!! Now, before you get too excited scrolling down to see some expansive "spa-like" retreat, just stop - I'll disappoint you now... My bathroom is still the small 36 sq ft it was before BUT, it's soooooo much better and I have to thank my wonderful husband! He (with a little help) did everything from demolition, laying tile, plumbing, painting, hanging mirrors and blinds and even installing a new baseboard cover and trim, phew! I have to hand it to him - he did a fabulous job!! We went for a very neutral, clean look ( tans, browns and brushed nickel) to help make it feel bigger. We positioned the light fixture higher to give the illusion of a larger space - we also used a big mirror and took out the bathroom cabinet. So enjoy the pictures, I'll enjoy my new bathroom! :)

THE BEFORE....

Before - eeks!

It's so small, I was standing in the tub and still couldn't get a full shot - sad!

Kev sweeping up leftover tile remnants...

THE AFTER...

New towel rack and towels...Can I just say "finger tip" towels are impossible to find!

Cute shower curtain rings :)

New light - it dims too!! wooohooo!
New granite top and sink

Okay, this mirror has got to weigh 20+ lbs and is GORGEOUS!! Would you believe me if I told you I got it for $10??? Seriously! I've seen its twin at C&B for $200! I love it! Isn't it pretty?

:)