Category: Our First House

Our first house, a 1960 ranch home.

Kitchen Trimmings

Published on by Our Humble Abode10 Comments

We’re racing toward the finish line of our kitchen remodel.  Can I get a ‘Yippeeeeee’?  After being out-of-town for three weekends (and eight weekdays) in December, we finally got a chance to get back to work.  And waddya know, we crossed four things off our list.

  • Add crown molding to the top of the cabinets
  • Cut shelves for the cabinets  {Still have to paint three more}
  • Build the cabinet doors, including two glass front doors
  • More filling, sanding, priming, and painting of the cabinet doors
  • Fill bar side cabinets and trim, sand, prime, and paint
  • Sand the ceiling and walls smooth
  • Prime and paint the kitchen and living room.  Probably the dining room too.
  • Add lights: sconces, light over the sink, and recessed light halos
  • Trim out the posts and door frames
  • Decide whether we want to add decorative trim to the vent hood or paint it to match the wall color
  • Install the pretty new marble tile back splash {If you follow us on Facebook, you caught a sneak peek of this.  And I’ll be back to share the glorious details tomorrow.}
  • Put everything back in place and enjoy
That’s eight things we have left to do.  See, progress!  So, let’s get on to the details.  Before we could get started on the pretty marble back splash, we had to install a few pieces of trim around the bar support posts.  Ben used 3/4 inch MDF to frame out the ‘door.’
Quotes because we’re trimming the bar opening to match the dining and kitchen door frames on each side of the bar top.
I decided I wanted the post casement to extend and terminate into the counter top.  This way, both the post and the marble tile had a definite stopping points.
Our other option was to keep the casement on the right as it currently is and extend the tile the edge.  The inside casement (on the left) would then butt up against the tile.  Ben wanted this, I argued it would look funny because the door trim is thicker than the tile.  As you can see, he installed the trim my way.  {Yes, Ben often reminds I am a brat.}
After installing the door framing and casement, Ben shed a little light on the bar.  Yep, our sconces are finally up and functional, despite a snag in the process.
With one sconce installed, we put in a light bulb and flipped the switch.  Crickets.  Nothing happened.  So, I got a different bulb.  Still nothing.  Which reaaaaallllly irritated Ben.  So, he took the sconce down, rechecked the wiring and everything was right where if should be.  It had to be the switch.  Sure enough, the brand new dimmer switch didn’t work.  He swapped the dimmer for a regular switch and the lights worked perfectly.  He carried on with the install of the second.
I thought we’d get started on the tile install after the door trim, but Ben was in a trimming kind of mood.  He reminds me of the mouse in If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.  He got carried away and finished nearly all the trim.  Like this around the bar side cabinets.
Then he put in new baseboard and plinth blocks around the back door.
Before we laid the new hardwood floor, we ripped out the old tile, including the subfloor.  This made our new floors 3/4 of an inch lower than the tile.  Hence the line right above the new base boards that I’ll have to fill and sand before painting.  Luckily it’s only in this small area.
While we Ben was changing out trim, he brought up the idea of changing the half wall along the stairs.  It was boring before, just plain white with baseboard and quarter-round trim to hide the edges.
Ben suggested adding trim to match the cabinets.  WTF.  Well that’s fantastic.  In much the same way we added trim to the cabinets, Ben added some detail to the boring wall.
Of course there’s still filling, sanding, priming, and painting before it looks finished, but we’re that much closer to wrapping up the kitchen.  That was Saturday.  Can’t wait to share our Sunday project with you!  Hint: it’s marbelous.
We had a great weekend, how about you?  Did you get started on your resolutions?  Maybe you tackled your own project?

P.S.  To see the official kitchen to do list, including links to everything we’ve finished so far, check out this post.

Upper Peninsula

Published on by Our Humble Abode5 Comments

What?  No, we haven’t added another peninsula.  We’ve painted the cabinets above the peninsula.  And the rest of the upper cabinets.  Which sounds like a lot but isn’t because we have only two others.  The last cabinet update we shared centered around the drawer fronts, but you also caught a glimpse of the upper cabinets, complete with a decorative face framing.

Before going to Minnesota, I procrastinated packing to give the cabinets a coat of paint.

Because our upper cabinets shouldn’t be as affected by dirty, slimy, jam-handed kids as the lowers, we decided to save $20 by using Behr Two in One paint in a satin finish.  To match the trim in the adjoining rooms, we used the same color, Behr’s Vermont Cream.  Following the same process as I did for the drawer fronts, I painted the outsides of the cabinets.  Three coats later, gently sanding with 220 grit paper between coats, we’re done.   Oh, don’t mind the tape along the bottoms of the cabinets either.  Ben was working on sealing the counter tops again and I wanted to protect my hard work.

Actually, we’re not because we still have trim to add.  See the tops?  Yeah, we’ll finish that off with the same crown moulding we’ve used throughout the house.  Rather than cut the tiles for the back splash around the crown, we’ll attach the crown after the tile is done for a seamless look.

The same goes for the vertical piece along the back of the cabinets.

I debated waiting to paint everything at the same time, but decided against it because I want to get shelves up and use those babies!

To find the shelving height, I started placing our dishes in the cabinet.  A piece of tape marks where I want a shelf placed.

After deciding on the height of each shelf, Ben drilled four holes, one in each corner, for the pins to rest in.  We used something like the silver L style:

The height of each shelf is adjustable two inches in either direction, too, so we I can move the dishes around for the best look and fit.

The lower the shelves, the more often the dishes get used.  So our everyday glasses, mugs, and plates are the lowest for shorties like myself.  I want to add a third shelf in each cabinet for lesser used, but pretty dishes.  Ben wants to space the shelves out more evenly, but have only two.  Seeing as we had two shelves in our old cabinets which were a foot shorter, I think we need to utilize the height we added by removing the soffit.

Those are the only shelves we’ve installed so far.  We’ll be sure to share more info on the process and pictures when we get the other shelves in place.

  • Buy all appliances: sink, stove, vent hood, dishwasher
  • Tear out the upper cabinets and soffit {more on that here}
  • Add support on load bearing wall before tearing out
  • Knock down the wall between the living room and kitchen {more on that here}
  • Install the vent hood {more on that here}
  • Remove the lower cabinets, counter tops, and sink
  • Rip out the tile floor and sub floor {more on that here}
  • Install the new hardwood floors {more on that here}
  • Build toe kick bases, wire everything for lights, replace the cabinets and sink {more on that here}
  • Get the new stove in place and hooked up {more on that here}
  • Add the cabinet above the fridge and frame it out {more on thathere}
  • Install the new dishwasher {more on that here}
  • Build the five remaining drawers we’ve waited on (we needed to see how things were in place before we could build one drawer in the dining room, the trash can pull out, and the under the sink drawer)  {more on that here}
  • Fill, sand, prime and paint said drawers
  • Install every drawer, 16 total 
  • Decide on sconces and buy them {more on that here}
  • Buy the wood for the counters 
  • Haul the wood slabs to a cabinet shop to have them sand both sides smooth {more on that here}
  • Cut the wood to fit and install the counters {more on that here}
  • Add decorative face trim to all cabinets for a smooth, pretty, even front {more on that here}
  • Fill, sand, prime, and paint all cabinet faces {more on that here}
  • Install the toe kicks and rope lighting
  • Hang the upper cabinets
  • Build the drawer fronts
  • Buy bar stools {more on the debate here}
  • Fill, sand, prime, and paint the drawer fronts 
  • Install the drawer fronts and hardware pulls {more on that here}
  • Add crown molding to the top of the cabinets
  • Cut shelves for the cabinets
  • Build the cabinet doors, including two glass front doors
  • More filling, sanding, priming, and painting of the cabinet doors
  • Sand the ceiling and walls smooth
  • Prime and paint the kitchen and living room.  Probably the dining room too.
  • Add lights: sconces, light over the sink, and recessed light halos
  • Trim out the posts and door frames
  • Decide whether we want to add decorative trim to the vent hood or paint it to match the wall color
  • Install the pretty new marble tile backsplash
  • Put everything back in place and enjoy

Next on our to do list: cut shelves, build cabinet doors, and install trim so we can get started on our back splash.

What’s on your to do list?  Something resolution related?  I know I’m going to get some cleaning and orgainzing done.

Stools, and Not the Gross Kind

Published on by Our Humble Abode19 Comments

Well, we ordered three stools for the bar.  What did we get?  The Twist stools from World Market.  We took advantage of a Cyber Monday 20% off everything sale plus a free shipping code from EBates.  This was the first time I’d used EBates, but if I get another 8% back, that puts another 20 bucks in my pocket, making our stools 28% off plus free shipping.  So we spent $80.95  per stool which originally cost $109.99 each.

That’s better than the 25% off or free shipping we considered before Thanksgiving.

Fortunately, the stools are fantastic.  Super sturdy, heavy-duty, good-looking, and adjustable.  Three tuck nicely under the bar top without taking up space in the living room.  A few readers warned us about backless or swivel stools with little kids, but so far they’ve been great.  We haven’t let Everett sit on the stools, but Vincent has been totally fine.  And, the swivel feature amuses them.  Both boys turn the seats like they’re driving.

As you can see, we still have finish work to do on this side, like adding trim to the cabinets, filling nail and screw holes, and painting, but the space is usable and that’s what really matters.

What I like best are the heavy wood tops.  Nothing cheesy or fake here.  The color to the seats coördinates beautifully with the wooden counter top.  Bonus!

Now if Ben and I could agree on a color to paint the cabinets.  I want white to match the entertainment center because they’re technically in the same room.   Ben thinks we should paint the cabinets the same gray as the kitchen lowers because they’re back to back.

What do you think?  Do you have bar stools in your home?  What style do you have?

Green Equals Green: Insulation

Published on by Our Humble Abode9 Comments

Before leaving for our Minnesota vacation we finished a somewhat kitchen related project.  I say somewhat because we finished everything in the kitchen which required attic access.  Support framing for the wall we tore down: done.  Wiring for new lights: done.

Ben is all about energy efficiency.  Since buying our house, we’ve installed new energy-efficient windows and doors, added two inches of foam insulation around the exterior of our house, yanked out our old furnace to upgrade to a geothermal heating and cooling system, and replaced our tank water heater for a point of use water heater.  For years now, Ben has wanted to better insulate the attic but held off until we finished everything in the kitchen.  So, the time had come.

We chose cellulose insulation because it is easy to use, cheap, and eco-friendly.  Cellulose is a fancy word for shredded recycled paper treated with fire-retardant chemicals.   Of course adding any insulation will help reduce heating and cooling bills, saving you money.  But did you know that cellulose is one of the greenest building products?  Here are a few facts I learned during our research:

  • Cellulose takes less energy to make than any other insulation.
  • Has the highest recycled content; up to 85%, reducing paper in landfills.
  • Is regionally produced, limiting trucking and shipping emissions.
  • Homes insulated with cellulose require 26% less energy.
And, as an added bonus, cellulose can slow a fire from spreading by 22 to 55 percent.  Here’s a video demonstrating the fire ratings between houses insulated with fiberglass, cellulose, and without insulation.  Skip about three minutes to see the experiment.
If you’re planning on adding insulation to your home, check out this insulation table to compare different types, R values, and how green each is.

I know, I know.  I sound like I work for a cellulose producer, but I swear we’re not being paid to say this.  In fact, we’ve paid $678 to insulate our entire attic.  When Ben came home with twenty-two 25 pound bags of insulation, I naïvely thought that would be enough.  Turns out, he had to buy 52 more eighteen pound bags to cover the attic with 15 to 18  inches.  It seems strange, but we added 1,486 pounds of insulation to our house.  That’s just paper!  Ben figures we already had an R value (resistance to heat flow) of 20 before insulating.  He added enough insulation to get an R value of 60, including the existing insulation.  Wondering how much you’d need for your home?  Here’s a handy calculator to help you out.

Now that we’ve covered the benefits, let’s discuss the process.  Home Depot offers a free hopper rental if you buy 10 or more bags of insulation.  Two people are required for this job.  One to pour the bags into the hopper and another in the attic spraying it in, moving everything around.  Obviously we tackled this project during the winter.  I think the timing was less than ideal because the hopper is outside with a hose attached to the hopper, keeping the door cracked letting in a lot of cold air.  Our upper level was freezing during the six or so hours it took to get the insulation done.  Luckily, we have a basement and a fire place, so the boys and I hung out down there watching movies.  And that’s why I don’t have any pictures of this.  I’m not about to go in the attic either.  But I would suggest trying this in the spring or fall.

Have you added insulation to your house?  Did you know cellulose had such a great fire rating?  Did I completely bore you with a word filled, picture-less post about shredded paper?

Sharing the Goods

Published on by Our Humble Abode11 Comments

We took the day off yesterday to recover from Christmas.  And we were stuck in a car for 12+ hours without internet access.  Hope you all had a happy holiday filled with family, friends, food, and fun!

Today, we’re sharing some goods.  Both the ‘Will and Home goods.  Get it?  Both stores have ‘Good’ titles.  Ha, so punny this morning.  Anyway, last Tuesday, my buddy Jen and I invited readers to meet us at the Roseville Goodwill during our Minnesota vacation.  Several sweet gals showed up to share a night of shopping with us.

We had a blast chatting and everyone bought something.  So, I thought I’d share my Goodwill finds with you.  First, I spied these melamine plates, originally from Target, for one buck each.  Immediately, I snagged six to use for the boys.

Does anyone else feel that most kid items are ugly?  We have plastic plates and bowls already, but we’ll have glass doors, so I want something that looks pretty when displayed in our new kitchen.

Right across the aisle, I spotted small pink juice glasses for only 49 cents each.  I debated getting these because I saw only seven glasses.  Then I noticed the eighth glass on a lower shelf and popped them in my cart.

Thrift stores are a great place to find dishes.  Always a variety in fun colors.

When Jen offered up a Goodwill challenge, I had to find something to make over, so I found a thick hard cover book, but it didn’t have a price tag.

Turns out, that worked well for me because I got the book for only 15 cents!  I have plans for the book, I just hope it works!

Because we had so much fun at Goodwill, we invited everyone to cross the street to stop at HomeGoods with us.  After wandering around the store, I found myself in the bath section where I scored something for the kitchen.  Remember when I looked for different knobs for the upper cabinets?  Hobby Lobby had tons of decorative options, but nothing both Ben and I loved.  I found bubbly pink knobs, but wanted a different color.  Sadly, this style was available only in pink.

Even though HoLo had 50% off hardware, the pink knobs would cost $4.50 each.  Which is why I was thrilled to find a set of four clear bubble knobs for $9.99.

We’ll have six upper cabinet doors, so I bought two packs and we’ll have two extra knobs if one breaks.  Or I can use the knobs on night stands or something.

And, unlike the teal knobs I liked, these have satin nickel bases to match our drawer hardware.

I love the subtle look of the bubbles and the difference between the lower and upper sets.

But that’s not all that HomeGoods had to offer.  We’ve been spending many of our nights curled up on the couch in the theater room and every night we clean up before going upstairs to go to bed.  The nightly process includes cleaning up the toys the boys played with, changing diapers, corralling any dishes, folding up blankets to put away in the entertainment center, and usually carting a sleeping child or two upstairs.  Some things won’t change, but I thought a simple wire basket could drop blanket folding.

For a 10 basket, it’s quite handy.  Two favorite blankets tuck inside nicely and are accessible.

We got a few home related Christmas gifts, too.  Jen gave me a beautiful West Elm tree ring pillow cover.

My sister Ashley also gave me a few pillows.  One with a silky scalloped design and two with a velvet floral pattern.

More teal in the theater room wakes up the windowless space.

 

As a Christmas gift to myself, I have finally entered the tech savvy world.  That’s right, I got an iPhone.  I’m so excited I’ll be able to upload photos easily, even when I’m not at home!