atlanta bartlett pt. 1

She's beautiful, she's talented she's Atlanta Bartlett. She has a resume that would impress just about anyone on the planet and rightfully so. When I started to think about my kitchen reno I was definitely influenced by her soft, light & airy approach to design. It's approachable and comfortable yet still crisp and chic. Her portfolio is just too yummy for one days post so look for pt. 2 tomorrow and possibly a special Saturday post containing pt. 3. I just immediately relax whenever I see her work- hope it has the same affect on all of you. ♥

serene workspaces

I'm in deep, deep love with the idea of having just a quiet little stretch of wall space somewhere in my home where I can sit and perhaps pen a letter to my grandmother, or zone out and scour all my favorite blogs. I think it's important to have that spot.

images courtesy of house beautiful

sköna hem is my happy place

It's not been a pleasant couple of days. The weather is finally warming up and of course when we go to flip on the a/c... it's down for the count. We're looking at Friday before a new one is installed. Nothing makes me madder than having to pony up money for what I call "un-sexy" home improvement. Of course today it's raining so I can't open the windows and it's like a sauna in there. But enough being bitter when life gets me down there is only one thing to do. Take a jaunt over to Sköna Hem of course. I mean really how could you not relax looking at these lovely images? I think the first and last images are my favorites. I love the first one for it's amazing architectural features and the last one just reminds me of a room that would host a great party every time!

doing my part to pay it forward

Recently Patchwork Harmony was kind enough to send me a little something as part of the whole pay it forward movement. It was such a bright spot in my day when my little package came and now it's my turn to do my part. So here's how it works. The first three people to leave a comment on this post will be receiving a small gift. That's it. Pretty simple but this offer does have a few restrictions so please read below carefully...

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make. Whatcha get is whatcha get.
2. What I create will be just for you, with love.
3. It’ll be done this year (2009).
4. I will not give you any clue what it’s going to be. It will be something made in the real world and not something cyber. It may be weird or beautiful. Or it may be monstrous and annoying. Heck, I might bake something for you and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that’s for sure!
5. I reserve the right to do something strange.
6. In return, all you need to do is post this text on your blog and make 3 things for the first 3 to respond to your blog post.
7. Send your mailing address - after I contact you. (Be sure to leave a working email!)

Happy Monday!

Sarah

xoxo

P.S. thanks to Dionne for letting me borrow her clever restrictions.

my kitchen reno before and after

I could hardly wait to get my hands on this kitchen

I painted every cabinet and then went back into the grooves with an antiquing glaze just to give them some depth

we later added beadboard panel for outside of all the cabinetry

the fridge is the only appliance in the house that remains from the previous owner- it works so well I can't bring myself to buy a new one

what will eventually become the new counter top

after ripping out old laminates

counter top going in

all done!

Tah-dah! It's 99.9% perfect! All thats missing is the back splash. I think we've settled on the tumbled marble in a brick shape, staggered in a classic brick pattern. I laid some above the sink so we can live with it for a couple weeks before we go for it.

I can't stress enough how budget friendly all of this was.

• the cabinets were painted with one $45 gallon can of paint
  


• the new hardware is from target
  


• the appliances were "open box" items at best buy
  


• the new light above the sink was a $30 steal from a hardware store
  


• the lace curtains above the sink were made from fabric that was given to me
  


• the decorative iron brackets near the window were $3.99 at hobby lobby


• the single bowl stainless kohler sink was on clearance for $119 originally $299 at lowes


• we saved $450 by ripping out our old laminates ourselves


• we saved $65 by installing the microwave ourselves


• even the fresh cut flowers were taken right out of the yard

The granite was the BIG splurge, but I'm confident when we go to sell our house someday the kitchen will do it for us. I couldn't be happier with the way it all turned out. It's exactly what I set out to do. If you are dreaming big, I would encourage you to find a way to go for it! Start small and build towards the end result slowly. This kitchen took about a year to complete so it never took to big a bite out of our finances. So now it's your turn- go ahead, get started! Have a fabulous weekend everyone!

kitchen reno tease

All finished! Well almost...the plumber is coming back by today to hook up the new sink and faucet. Tomorrow I plan on sharing the before and afters with you but until then here is a little tease. The granite color is called "blanco leblon". In person it looks like cookies and cream with a splash of color that resembles smashed cranberries.

under construction

This is what the granite slab looked like the day I went and picked it out. It was a pretty neat experience. The woman was kind enough to give me a quick tutorial on it and told me my particular slab was dug up from the earth in Norway. Thank Mother Nature- you make some amazing creations!

It's a vacation day- well not really but I took one from work so I could oversee the kitchen project. The hubby and I with help from his best friend removed the old laminate counter tops last night. It was a little more work than I thought it would be but it saved us around $450 by doing it ourselves. As I've said before if there is a way to save money I'm always about some sweat equity! So now I just sit and wait. My dining room looks like the kitchen exploded into it and I can hardly wait until everything is all finished and I can put it everything back together. 

Interesting fact I did not know but I'm glad the plumber mentioned that if you don't have a sink hooked  up in your kitchen you can't run the dishwasher. It would have never occurred to me. I threw in the towel and decided we'd go out for dinner last night because with out a working sink or dishwasher for 2 or 3 days things may start to get backed up. So that's were we're at. The dogs are happy I'm home, now I just need to find something to do with myself till the troops arrive in about an hour. I can't wait! 

Happy Earth Day

I hope you have a bright and sunny day today. Happy Birthday to Trixie La Deux my sweet little pomeranian turns two today. xoxo

image courtesy of debi treloar

Tomorrow, Tomorrow...

In honor of my new sink, faucet and counter top going in tomorrow I'm posting some inspiration. I'm really proud of my kitchen as we did most of the work ourselves. I refinished and painted all of the oak cabinetry added bead board paneling, lighting, new cabinet hardware, had the walls painted, bought new appliances and tonight the hubby and I are ripping out the old laminates as soon as the plumber comes to take out the old sink. We actually ordered the counter top over a month ago so there's been a ton of build up and I'm so excited. I'll be sure to post some before and afters.

The back splash is the very last piece of the puzzle but I don't expect to tackle that beast for another six months or so mostly because I just can't make up my mind.

images courtesy of candadian house & home