First of all, I’m so sorry to anyone experiencing site problems in the last 24 hours.  Long story short, I’m trying to switch servers to save money but everything is not going according to plan, so thanks for your patience.  Also, I appreciate so much those who have already volunteered to come to the three day event in April for the Alma Project, and also to those who have donated so far.  We do need to raise money, so please read all about our ambitions here and we’d appreciate if you can donate what you can, it’s for a great cause!

Also, CG is a finalist in The Homies and while it’s a bit uncomfortable for me to ask for your vote, I’m just going to break down and do it!  If you learned a trick or two from visiting here over the years or been inspired by a project, cast your vote for CG for Best DIY Blog and/or Best Home Design Blog – you can vote for me in both categories if you wish (but sign in with Apartment Therapy first through FB or Twitter), thanks so much!

Now let’s get down to business.  The weekend was spent demolishing the vanity side of the hall bathroom I’ve been meaning to remodel for oh, three years now.  Saturday morning began with the official clearing out of the cabinets and true confession time, I haven’t completely cleaned out this cabinet in *hanging head in shame* six years.  How do I know it’s been six years?  Because look what was discovered at the way back: a first response pregnancy test kit and ovulation predictor.  TMI?  I’m sorry, it’s just the truth.

After clearing out the cabinet and its embarrassing contents, it was time to pull down the mirror. When you’re working with glass you must exercise extreme caution and you should use vacuum cups like these for very large pieces.  Ours was held up with two brackets and some adhesive, but with some gentle prodding we were able to get if off and carefully move it out of the bathroom. Carefully being the key word!

Next came time to do the thing I’ve been dreaming of for years – ripping out the yellowed cultured marble countertop.  I really don’t have anything against the more modern cultured marble countertops in shades of white, they have certainly come a long way, but this one was a weird yellowish color that frankly reminded me of the color of an armpit sweat stain on a white dress shirt and it had to go.

Read the rest of this entry »

Hello all, happy Friday!  I’m trying to recover from the mild headache I’ve had this past week every time I try to make a decision on what kind of tile to choose for the hallway bathroom project we’re starting.  This hall bathroom is the most ambitious project on my Home Goals list so I’m getting started on the process now. I’ve been in a dozen tile shops within 20 miles on this adventure to find the perfect backsplash.  

We’re reusing and repainting the existing cabinet (the plan is to build a new base for it and lift it up by 6 to 8 inches, more like a console style vanity), and we’re replacing the cultured marble countertop and mirror too.  I really really really see a feature wall of tile in here (with a much smaller mirror) from cabinet to ceiling.  The idea of tile going up to the ceiling completely rocks my world.

Sarah Richardson

New Ravenna

Read the rest of this entry »

Y’all know I’ve had my heart set on ridding my kitchen of the decorative ‘fruit plate’ backsplash behind my range since last year.  In fact, I placed it at the tippy top of my 2011 home improvement To Do list. 

Please cue the Etta James background music . . .

“Aaaaat laaaaaaaaassssstt . . .”

I can’t tell you how excited I am to finally have a clean white backsplash behind my range!

I feel like I can breathe now.

.

You’ll recall that adventure in tile removal from last week where my Dremel MultiMax and some sweat equity yielded a new canvas. 

Read the rest of this entry »

Melanie from Washington recently wrote this to me:

“Hey Kate, I read that when you remodeled your house a few years ago, that you designed and built your kitchen.  We’re in the beginning stages of gutting our very dated kitchen and we’re starting over from scratch!  We’re so excited!!  My question for you is, were there any pitfalls you ran into?  Anything you learned along the way you’d be willing to share?  What should we know about building a kitchen starting from four bare walls?  Help!”

Great question Melanie!  Me and my Mister built our kitchen over five years ago, so to answer Melanie’s question, I had to dig through the archives and pull out all my files to refresh my recollection of the process of building our kitchen from scratch.  It resulted in a mild rash and minor heart palpitations, but I’ve since recovered.

No, I’m kidding.  I absolutely love kitchen design, and loved the entire process of choosing all the details of the one in our own home.  I’m one of those people that if I overheard at the grocery store you were building a new kitchen, I’d butt my ponytail right into the conversation and want to chat all about appliances, countertops and the exact style of door front you’re choosing for your cabinets.  “Really?  Oh, fabulous!”

Building a kitchen from scratch is an enormous task.  Unlike throwing the latest most popular shade of paint on your walls, a kitchen must be a space that can stand the test of time.  My kitchen suits the style of my home, and also my own personal tastes as well.  While there are a few things I wish I’d done differently, for the most part, I really love the floor plan and finishes we continue to live with every day.

Ten Lessons Learned from Building Our Kitchen

Read the rest of this entry »