Bathroom SpotLIGHT

Our house has really been lighting up recently! Literally.  You can check out the lighting glam scene here in our kitchen. Since we had an electrician out to the house anyways, we thought to ourselves, what else can we afford to do right now that we need help on? Light bulb moment (hee hee, couldn’t help it)! The bathrooms. Our bathrooms had the plain old big bulb lights that I think have been there for about forever.

Guest Bathroom (check out the whole tour here):

Master Bathroom (check out the tour here):



They aren’t terrible looking but they aren’t that great either. Especially when you get up close, you see lots of gunk caked on it that is impossible to clean off. Yuck. There are also some errant paint marks on these as well. So when the Lowe’s mailer (or circular like I call it that always makes Eric chuckle at my old school language) came in the mail and they were having a sale on nice, modern looking light fixtures, I trotted on over there and scooped two up. We contemplated getting two different lights, but decided to go with the  same light fixtures. Reason number one was price; these were the best price for the look. Reason number two was the simplicity and modern lines. I love that is has a classic yet modern look that will grow with our house yet hopefully not date it for a while. Reason number three was that they interchangeable glass shades. They sell all sorts of variety of these glass shades for about $4 plus. So if we are ever in need of a change-up we can do it for probably around $30! Sold!

So these joined the growing pile of waiting lights until Mr. Friendly Electrician stopped by the casa. These were a pretty easy change (famous last words, right?) except for allowing space for the medicine cabinets to open. We had never noticed this before, but the cabinets and light fixtures were different sizes. Notice the bulb count? They were also positioned differently. So the electrical box in the master bathroom had to be moved up while the hall bathroom was fine where it was. So after one patch job and some touch up painting in both, we had a new look and feel with the glow of the light fixtures!

We love the look and the new light it throws. It is still plenty bright but gives a softer glow, compared to the bare bulbs of the last fixtures. Eco-friendly me is also very happy that CFLs can be used in these fixtures!

Just like most projects, when one project gets checked off the list, a few more get put on. With these new fixtures, the light is bright but a little more focused downward. We are contemplating getting a dual light and fan to replace the ancient and loud fans so there can be more light (which is always a good thing) in the shower area. Since the fan is on a separate switch, it doesn’t always have to be on all the time. We are also contemplating (well, we have been thinking on this one ever since we moved in) about changing out the mirrors for a more decorative framed look. We do need the storage though, so it would mean finding alternative means than the medicine cabinet or buying a fancy medicine cabinet and cutting bigger holes in the wall. Things to ponder…

Craigslist Find: Entertainment Stand

After we have spent so much time in the kitchen these past days, I am going to throw you for a loop and switch to the basement. Under full disclosure and all, this is a project that happened a while back but got interrupted with all the excitement of the kitchen. So while there is a slight lull in kitchen renovation (well it will be happening but I will just be in lovely California visiting my sister) I thought it was the perfect time to show some of the progress in the basement. There was just one thing bothering me. Can you guess what it was from the picture?

No? How about now?

Yup, you got it! We were in dire need of an entertainment stand to hide our cords and provide some needed storage for the exercise and game DVDs. I wanted something modern looking, low to the ground, with storage space, but enough open space to make sure Eric’s X-Box didn’t get overheated. So where did I turn? Craigslist of course. I did not want to spend full price on an entertainment stand (or the like – I am all for using a dresser, trunk, chest, etc. for an unexpected entertainment stand). Now when you start looking for an entertainment stand on Craigslist, be prepared to wade through many, many old school stands. You know those types that used to fit the old, boxy TVs? They were a lot of wood and usually not so pretty. Just big. So when I stumbled across a sleek, simple entertainment stand I got so excited and emailed them immediately. They still had it and would hold it for me!

Here is where I learned a Craigslist lesson. The time to negotiate is before you meet them in person to pick up the item. I waited until we were in person and asked if there was any movement on the price, but it didn’t work. I also had a hard time asking because they were this super cute young couple that had a baby on the way and were moving. So I handed them my $50 and away we went with our new find. I would bet you anything if I had negotiated over email before meeting I could have moved the price $5-$10. Oh well. Lessons learned.

Introducing…our new entertainment stand!

Beautiful, except for that odd oak looking thing in between the stand and the TV. That is the swivel that is absolutely essential for us down there so we can watch TV while working out if we would like. That was an old swivel we had from another old entertainment stand which we were excited to reuse. So hubby got out his guns, well his spray guns, and changed the look of that in minutes.

Let's do a before and after for good measure, because who doesn't like one of those?

We just love it. It serves all of our purposes for being modern, simple yet stylish, and provides the storage and cable-hiding that we need. It makes is look a little more styled and finished down there. The basement is kind of on hold while we finish up the kitchen (for now) and style up the Mego Cave. Eric does have some pretty cool car part up-cycling projects slated for the basement though. Can’t wait to share those when they’re done.

Any of you out there who did something neat with an entertainment stand? Do you have some un-traditional serving that purpose? Or how about any Craigslist scores out there that you have found? It is definitely my favorite toy right now (hello online discounted shopping!).

The Yellow Cave Facelift (aka Kitchen Update!)

So remember the yellow cave of a kitchen that we have from the 1960's? If not, you can check out this post that shows it in all its...old age.

I do think it was the cream of the crop kitchen back in the day. This day though, it needs a little help. So we took a first (very exciting and thrilling awesome) step: new countertops! If you couldn't have guessed from this polling post there were decisions to make and I needed input for such a big decision. It was a unanimous decision by my family, the readers, and by what Eric and I were thinking: Federal Cornerstone!

A plus side to getting a new countertop (like it needed one) is that we had decided long ago if we were going to update the countertops, we would replace the old, scratched, shallow sink and the ancient stove top. Then, as a consequence of replacing the countertops, and not a decision we made ahead of time, we had to pull out the back splash and will have to replace that. No tears lost on the yellow tile being gone!

So after we made all our decisions and placed our order, we had a parade of people coming through the house. The demo guys needed to come and check out what they would have to do (we would have demoed if we were doing the whole kitchen but were nervous about hurting the cabinets since we were just taking out the countertops) and the installation guys came to make a template. That all took about a week. Then the countertops had to be fabricated, which took about 2-3 weeks.

This Monday all the action started. Day one was ripping out the countertops and back splash. Unfortunately I was at work and missed all the fun and came home to this.

Talk about an open concept, right? It was very convenient just reaching through the top to access pots and pans, although there really was no need since no cooking was going on that night!

Come Tuesday it was the big day: installation day! I thought they were supposed to come at 8, which is when I usually leave for work, so I tried to dawdle as much as possible to get a sneak peek. No such luck. They ended up showing up around 10ish. Oh well, I did get awesome text updates throughout the day though. When 4:30 hit, I ran out of work, motored down the road, screeched into the driveway, and blew through the door yelling, "I'm so excited!" So worth it too.

They. are. perfect. I love them! They are a such a pretty speckled shade and fit perfectly into our kitchen. I just love the Formica too, an affordable solid surface. Let's take a few more looks. Although it is a little distracting with the torn out back splash right now. One step at a time.

So I was wondering if this would be true, and I guess I found out that it is sort of true. I have often heard that if you update one thing in a room, it just makes everything else look a lot older. There is a perfect example here.

This is that random, yellow cabinet between the living and kitchen. I always detested the yellow on the cabinet and have been meaning to paint it (where does the time go?!) and now the new countertop color has moved it to the top of the priority list. The yellow looks terrible against the new grayish-brown countertops. Maybe that is this weekend's project.

Now introducing the new sink and faucet. So in love this this deep sink and beautiful curving faucet with the removable sprayer head.

Now the new flat surface stove. Hello no more burning particles that hide under the burner!

You can also see the sneak peek of the different choices of back splash we are  going to get! There are a few choices of the tin tiles.

I will keep it a surprise which one we choose! Can't wait to get that up, as the torn-up walls are realllllly distracting. Let's do one more before and after.

 
So there it is folks, the first of the kitchen updates. Wondering what else we plan to do to spruce the space up? Here's the list:

• Paint yellow cabinet white
• Paint pea green garbage compactor black
• Back yellow walls tan
• Put up new back splash
• Put up undermount cabinet lighting
• Change light fixtures above the kitchen and eat-in kitchen area
• Paint all hardware and hinges (argg so not looking forward to this. So many handles and hinges!)

Eric and I had talked about painting the cabinets before but then said no, the wood was too nice to paint. Well, now we may be rethinking that...maybe. We are going to do all the updates first and then do that later on down the road. Talk about a big project! But it definitely would be a big change!

House Tour: The Carport Room of Shame

Alright! We have made it to the end of the house tour posts! Our final post has a reason for being last. Do you have a space in your house that has no real purpose and is the catch-all space for just random stuff? Well that describes perfectly our "carport room". Why is it called the carport room? Well, it used to be a carport that the previous owners converted to a finished room. Aren't we brilliant with naming things? [Sidenote: Eric and I joke that our first born will just be called Boy One or Girl One, as we like to name things simply. For example my stuffed animals (yes, I still have them and love them) are called Dolphin, Brown Bear, Turtle, etc. No more explanation really needed, is there?]

So our carport room is one very long room (enough to fit a car obviously) that is attached to our kitchen/living room.

As you can see, it acts as a formal dining room. Aka, a room that we don't often use since we aren't the formal dining room people all that much. Actually, from what I hear and see in my own life and on HGTV I don't know many people who are. If you are one, please let me know how to get more use out of mine! Also, for you to really see how this room is purposeless thus far, I didn't pick up after ourselves. This isn't the easiest thing for me to put that out there since I am Ms. Organization. So let me take you through our room that has no purpose.

As you can tell from the state of our kitchen table it serves more as a craft table, RC car work area, fabric holder, hair dryer holder, etc.

This is a beautiful cabinet that we were handed down from Eric's parents. We don't have anything fancy that goes in there but its drawers do serve as great storage for craft supplies, stationary, extra kitchen stuff, etc. One day maybe we will use it for its purpose. This picture also shows one of the favorite parts of the room: the exposed brick wall. When the room was finished from a carport, this wall was left with just the external brick of the house. Love it!

See how long it is? Long rooms can be challenging to stage, hence the modge podge of the room.

This is a moveable gas fireplace also put in by the previous owners. It is not really our style, so it is on its way out. It works and gives out great heat, but is taking up valuable wall space. Actually, at this moment, Eric and my father-in-law are disconnecting it from the house. Contact me if you would be interested in buying it!

So here is the other side of the carport room. This is where the Goodwill piles go, the large recycling pieces go, where we do our ironing, and random monkey balloons (still hanging in there from February!) live.

Pay special attention to this area below. See that beautiful fabric draped over the couch? That is the beginning of this room's makeover. Stay tuned for Wednesday's post to see what happens with this fabric!

Now here is Eric's area that has lots of tools, RC car stuff, car cleaning supplies, etc. What was I saying about this room having no purpose? Look at all junk stuff we have in here!

So there it is folks! The final house tour room! It lools like a hot mess but really all I see are endless opportunities! When at one time all I saw was a long narrow room that had no purpose, now I see what will be the future....Mego Cave! Yup, there are man caves and there are even mom caves now, but I will be introducing the first ever Mego Cave! I will leave that for another post, as there are many fun projects going on in that room currently, (slowly) transforming it into my Mego Cave! Can't wait to show you my progress!

Also, here is the house tour recap for you if you are interested.

• Living Room
• Kitchen
• Guest Bedroom #1
• Guest Bedroom #2
• Master Bedroom
• Master Bathroom
• Basement