The Kitchen Island

Two posts in two days! Ya'll I'm feeling a little crazy over here! Hehe. Yesterday I posted the home improvement list and I wanted to take the time to share a couple of little things that we have already done to improve on our living space! We bought a mobile island and the handy hubby put it together! I'm kinda really excited to finally have an island. Having a functional work space in your kitchen is crucial to cooking effectively. If you have ever lived in apartments, you know that they are never effective use of space. In our last apartment the kitchen was coupled with the laundry room, so our hamper was constantly in the way of either the fridge or the the pantry. It was so frustrating. Having an open concept kitchen is nice, but we needed something to be able to make it function better and also more storage space.

Initially I wanted this island (this post is not sponsored by Wayfair) because of the closed cabinet storage and the knife rack in the island. But when I went to order it, the price went up about $60. Boo, of course the price is back down now. So I went perusing and I found the one we actually purchased. It has open storage in the middle so we can't put anything breakable in there because of small fingers, but I thought that it looked very similar to our existing cabinets and the hardware, even though its similar, can be changed out to match. I also like the look of the "butcher block" counter top. I'm considering tying that color wood with these shelves from Ikea on the dining room wall.

Please excuse the mess! Where still moving. Baxton Studio Meryland Modern Kitchen Cart from Wayfair.

Another thing we took on was replacing the lighting in the kitchen. The can lights are new, but I just couldn't understand why when they were on why it felt so HOT in there. Last weekend the hubby pulled a bulb out to see and low and behold Halogen bulbs. No wonder. Halogen bulbs are more cost effective than incandescent but they are twice as hot! UGH! Off to the home improvement store we went to buy some LED bulbs for our cans. Of course they only had one in a Par 30 size so we went with compact fluorescent instead. Then I had the discussion with the hubby about color temperatures. All the existing bulbs in the house are a soft warm light....similar to an incandescent bulb. I hate that pink glow that it casts so I asked him which kind of light he preferred. Soft warm, or a daylight. The smart man chose daylight, I knew I married him for his brains, and off we went with new 5000K CFL bulbs. I don't have a great comparison shot but here's a photo when we bought the house:

See the pink cast that is all over the cabinets and floor? Warm (2700K) bulbs. And I mean warm in both the literal and visual sense. When we installed the new bulbs, it was instantly cooler and just felt better.

Problem is now, that PINK paint! That's next on the to do list! What little home improvements can you all suggest for a big impact?

The Inevitable House List

With an older home comes an inevitable list of improvements that need to be done. I know I went over things that needed to be done in our last post, but the hubby keeps adding things to do, so I figured I would put together a list that we could add to and I could reference back and link up if I actually do a DIY or room tour post! So here's what were thinking, and remember that this is a dream list also:

Front Exterior/Entry:

• Replace Front Door
• Replace Door Handle & add deadbolt
• Replace Exterior lighting
• Add a flagpole
• Update planters and walkway 

Dining Room:

• Re-paint walls
• Replace light bulbs in ceiling fan and entry light
• New sideboard
• New rug
• Update blinds
• Provide storage for entry

Kitchen:

• Re-paint walls
• Update backspash
• Add shelf over window
• New window curtains/valance 
• Remove French doors and move into the play room, frame out opening
• Update glides on cabinet drawers
• Hook up waterline to refrigerator
• Build mobile island 
• Remove existing phone jack and patch
• Update lighting/bulbs (existing are halogen and its ridiculously hot)

Playroom:

• Re-paint walls
• Update slider/add French doors
• Update window
• Update lighting and add additional lighting
• Provide new storage cabinets
• Update sprinkler system pad

Living Room:

• Re-paint walls
• Add down lights
• Check wood burning stove for functionality
• Add Built-in storage
• Add wainscot or picture rail
• Add blinds to slider
• Possibly convert slider to French doors

Emma's/Guest Bath:

• Re-Paint walls
• Update exhaust fan
• Re-paint cabinet
• Replace medicine cabinet
• Install new toilet paper holder
• Update glides on cabinet drawers

Office/Guest Bedroom:

• Re-paint walls
• New desk layout
• New Twin bed with storage

Emma's Room:

• Re-paint walls
• Finish decorating
• Add another hanging rail and more closet organization

Master Bedroom:

• Re-Paint walls
• Re-organize closet storage
• Add additional down lights
• Possibly convert slider to French doors

Master Bath:

• Re-paint walls
• Re-do closet storage
• Update glides on cabinet drawers
• Replace medicine cabinet
• Replace pocket door, new hardware
• Install towel rod and toilet paper holder
• Install shelving in toilet room
• Replace window

Backyard (The big dream):

• Re-do planters
• Level ground
• Seed for grass
• Re-paint decking
• Create pergola's over all exterior doors
• Add overhead hanging bulb lights
• Built in BBQ
• Swingset
• Dog house
• Sand and refinish existing benches

This is the dream list. By no means do we think that all this will happen, but I forsee the DIY stuff coming along nicely. But first, finish unpacking!

We took a little break!

Hi all! It's been a little while since I've updated the blog and there's been lots of good reasons! No I'm not preggers. We had a whirlwind July and August and really I have just been trying to work through it all. The hubby lost two family members between Father's Day and 4th of July so we had grief and funerals to deal with. It was rough and trying to stay positive was all I could do for him. Losing family is always hard, especially when they are so young.

Right in the middle of all of this we had some happy news! We bought a home! It's been so surreal and I feel like we are now #adulting! It's so silly. We have a baby and have lived on our own for 8 years and have been married for 8 years, but until you sock in cold hard cash on a piece of land and a little property you don't really feel like an adult! We are so excited for our little 3 bed, 2 bath on a 1/4 acre! Land in CA is sparse so when you have a decent amount for your kiddos and pets you scream and jump for joy!

Do I have some plans. Mostly for the landscaping! (Please excuse the photo's a lot are from the listing)

The front yard had sod recently laid and in the main photo it looks bad, however it has greened up nicely. The rock garden next to the bridge needs to be cleaned out and re-established because its pretty over grown. The planter next to the house needs ground cover because its mostly just a dirt pile that washes into the front doorway. The trees along the roof line were trimmed because the roof needed a little repair, so that was already done! Yay!

In the backyard.....oy! It needs help. We have beautiful pine trees and they give lots of shade, but they also have left lots of droppings in the yard and over the deck. First off is sweeping and clearing out of oddities, IE the random fire hydrant, pole for nothing, parking curb in the yard. The gate needs repair because our pooch already figured out how to escape the yard. Sigh. Next up, see the large rock pile in the 3rd photo? That's going to be our new flowerbed liners along the back retaining wall. Leveling of the yard and grass seed. Cleaning out existing planters and sanding and painting the benches is on the list also. We also see a swing and maybe built in bbq later. Dreams.

The main living area has been updated. New paint and carpet. I will definitely be re-painting! It's so pink with grey carpet! WHAT!?! The wood trim around the fireplace will be removed and a large mantle will replace it. Maybe some wainscoting. Maybe a built in? We shall see what the future holds.

Kitchen and dining. The owner replaced the counters, fixtures and lighting so for right now all that we are doing in here is the backsplash and of course painting out the pink. The backsplash doesn't match AT ALL! They also cut into the existing beadboard so that may have to be replaced. We shall see. We are also planning to put a decor shelf over the sink in the kitchen and some drapes.

Master and guest bath. They were updated finish wise, but we need to replace the exhaust fans and I plan on tiling behind the mirror in the master and putting a framed one up in its place.

And finally this room off the kitchen is going to be so fun! This is Emma's future play room! I already have plans to make it a vintage inspired kids room because of all the things she has that are new, but vintage inspired but don't fit the theme of her bedroom.

There she is. What has been occupying our minds and time for the last 6 weeks. I'll do another post on packing and moving with a toddler because UGH! It was interesting! Happy Tuesday!

New Home Tour - Main Living Room

I figured I would do a mini home tour, since we recently moved into our new apartment. I know it's not a house, but every place that we can live as a family is home to us and I would like to document Emma's first official living space for posterity. Since our main living space is the only one that's completed....and the only reason it is was because we needed to put up Christmas decor, we shall start with that space.

Our front door opens into our kitchen and main living space which houses our dining table and desk. While it's not ideal to have three spaces in one large room, it has to work for us. Our kitchen is the largest one we have had and we LOVE it!

We have a bar area, and lots of counter space for cooking. While the appliances could use some work, and the laundry area is in the kitchen, it is super functional and we can utilize every square inch. I need to find some decor for the upper cabinets....they are too plain right now.

Once past the kitchen your in our living space. Which has our television sitting area, dining room and office. I did straighten up for the photo's, but since we are still in the midst of unpacking there's paperwork on our desk and randomness all over. Please forgive any oddities.

Most of our furniture is hand-me downs but we make it work for us. I love our counter high dining table, although it may not work for us once Emma starts eating solids. Behind the table is our desk and work area, where all this magic happens. We have two hand-me-down Lay Z Boy recliners that my hubby loves....around the corner across from the couch sits our media center and GIANT tv, that's not pictured.....honestly those aren't pretty to me. Also the hubby got a wall mount so he needs to install that. Any tips out there for hiding cords for renters?

These guitars were my fathers guitars. The acoustic one is signed by various country artists and he won it at an auction. They will always have a prime spot in my home....and so will my piano, when I have room for it.

The complex offered to paint one wall for free so I picked the "blue" color. Honestly its a cool grey, but I think it works well with our decor and I really like the way it looks.

We love blankets in this home and most of them are homemade quilts and afghans made by my mom. It the winter we love to snuggle up under them and have huge stashes in our closets and trunks. We will never be cold!

Since we are in the age of gallery walls, I knew I needed to incorporate on the large wall space by our front door. I didn't want it to be the same as the one in our last apartment. I knew that I wanted to have it be special and have some significance to us, so I made a "patriotic" wall. I pulled together various pieces that meant USA, in our eyes and pulled it together with some gold elements. I used photo's from our travels around the country, pictures of us, a photo of my dad in his Air Force uniform, classic cars, martinis and of course a map of the United States.

I have been on the hunt for a unique map of the US and I was finally able to find one. I discovered the Fulcrum Gallery website and they had tons of different types of art including different maps of the world and have a whole section for "Art of Places." Once I selected my print I could choose whether to have it framed, put on canvas, or just sent as the print. I chose to have it framed to be cost effective, but I think that it would have been really nice on canvas. While their matt color selections were a little limited, I was able to find one that worked well with the print.

Since all the work is done in the good ole USA and done by a person and not a machine, it took a little time for production and shipping, but it was worth the wait for a quality piece. I was impressed with the paper back finish, the hangar system was wonderful also. It was nice to not see a cheap hangar or a wire, but a real art hangar. It was super easy to install as well as my hubby stated since he did the hanging. Also included were felt backers on the bottom of the back to help from scratching your wall, and a signed sticker assuring quality American craftsmanship. Perfect touch for this patriot lover!

While the amount of prints and art pieces on the site can be overwhelming, I think that the Fulcrum Gallery has something that everyone will love, at any budget. I will be shopping there again. Keeping money and jobs here in the USA is important to me and I am glad to have found a retailer their sticks to those values as well. Good job! Head on over if you need a gift for the holidays or an empty spot on your wall that needs filling. Walls are meant to be filled with meaningful art.

I was sent my artwork in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own.

2 Rooms in Your Childhood Home - Tuesday Topics

I know......it's not Tuesday. Like I said in my last post....I have been feeling really blue this week and haven't wanted to blog, or really do anything for that matter. It's been tough, but I am working my way out of this new slump. Keep calm and carry on right?

This week's Tuesday Topics is really hard for me, because I don't have digital access to many photo's from my childhood home, but I will make do with what I do have.

First up....not a great photo of the actual room, but more of the location in the home. I would lie on the floor in front of that fireplace for hours with our pup Einstein. I would play cards with my dad and watch television. It was my favorite place in the home. I remember only wanting to sleep right there after the Northridge earthquake hit. Knowing that the warmth (even though it wasn't on) of the fireplace made me feel at ease.

This photo was from our house in Lancaster. I love that my parents are cuddled up on what is the UGLIEST sofa's in my memory. My mom loved it! It had a matching armchair to go with it too. I love this photo though because its true happiness in their eyes! Despite an ugly seat! (Sorry mom, but it wasn't attractive!)

Sorry they aren't the best photos of the actual rooms, but they are memories non the less!

Happy Friday!

"From mom's to mine" - Entryway Re-style

Being that my profession is an Interior Designer, I often get asked for tips or advice on color selections, fabrics, or even furniture. Sometimes I am asked to go shopping with various friends or just to help them re-examine their spaces to make them more functional. Last year I helped a dear friend repaint the exterior of his house, from a salmon pink to a nice blend of greens and tans. (Although he has yet to replace the salmon pink garage door! Get on that!) Sometimes its help hanging art, or putting together a piece of furniture. I am always around to give tips and tricks to help make a your space the way you want it to look.

Case in point; last weekend. I have a dear friend who needed help with their entryway. Her and her husband bought her childhood home from her parents and her brain was stuck with what to do with her entryway. Her mom had it one way, and she couldn't get around the way it always was. They went and bought some really lovely pieces to go along with functional storage to try and make it an easy place to put mail, coats, shoes, etc. without looking dumped and disheveled. She kept throwing me ideas and we just stared at the wall for about 20 minutes. My brain trying to figure out the best way to incorporate all her needs in one little space and still have it be inviting.

We had discussions of old items, and some plants. Whether to use them or not. Her husband did not want to use them and in fact they no longer went with the style they were looking to create. A modern-traditional blend. Blended styles are very common because it gives a homey lived in look, but can still be dressed up to look formal. So here are some tips that I gave her while we plowed through her stuff to figure out how to create her perfect space.

1. If you don't love it, don't keep it. If you as a couple aren't in love with a particular piece, send it away to somebody that will love it. Keeping things because you feel like you should creates clutter, and clutter always turns into chaos. You want your home to be in order and a place of solace and relaxation....not chaos.

2. When choosing items, everything doesn't have to "match" or be completely symmetrical. To create the blended look you need a mix of contemporary/modern items mixed in with your traditional look. Wood colors need to blend, but don't necessarily need to match.

3. When hanging items on the wall sometimes its easier to figure out the look by laying your arrangement out on the floor to get an idea of what it will look like finished. It might not exactly go up on the wall the way you lie it out, but at least you'll have somewhat of a plan, which leads to less work for the husband putting the holes in the wall, and less holes in the wall.

4. Play with scale and arrangements. you don't always have to have the same piece in a line. look for other patterns that create interest. Lean artwork on shelves and play with heights and textures.

5. If you have empty frames, hang them anyways. That way you'll have the complete look done and a gentle reminder to print photos for the frame!

6. Have fun! Choose things that you love and if you mess up it's ok. Design and art is always about taking chances and doing things a little different! If you get stuck, start with a clean slate. Pull everything off the walls and just start again. You can always put it back!

Without further ado.....the finished look:

Not completely finished, but she was very happy with the results. She has a functional and nice looking entryway. Sometimes all you need is another set of eyes. Great style lady! 

The Joys of Apartment Living

We all dream to one day grow up, have a family and live in a big beautiful house with a white picket fence and a dog. Well at least that is my dream. For the last 4 years it has seemed to just be a fantasy. Why? I live in Southern California. The real estate market took a dump in 2008 and when it was supposed to be "the best time for us to buy a home" all we found were foreclosures that had ZERO potential to be anything but a complete loss for the bank. Every year my husband and I make the trek out around our area to see what's available in our budget. Let me tell you, we have a decent budget.....for every other state in our country with the exception of New York! Our first year out we saw upwards of 30 condos and town-homes all in the upper $200k price range and they were all garbage. We went into one foreclosure that literally had no kitchen. The residents took out all the cabinetry, sinks, appliances, they took the pedestal sink and the toilet out too! Oh but they left the dryer in the garage. (yea thanks buddy just what I wanted a broken dryer that I will have to pay someone to take away!) Darin visited a foreclosure that had a foot of water in the kitchen! WHAT? The banks were asking $275-290K for these properties! It seemed like a loss so we decided to just stay where we were. Our one bedroom apartment, with our pup.

We have been content in our apartment for the last 2 years. It's close to necessary conveniences like shopping and entertainment, pet friendly, relatively cheap (comparatively) and is a nice layout. Year three things took another turn. We had just decided that we were gonna stay, when out of no where some moron decides to have a party in our community center, has a fire in the fireplace but whoops they forgot to open the flue and up in flames it went. There went a lot of the amenities that we pay for, including our gym. Then they decided to INCREASE our rent! Um hello? We are loyal residents and we are staying here despite losing vital amenities and your gonna screw us We didn't have anywhere else to go, so we had no choice. (By the way this happened in February of 2010, its now the middle of Jan 2011 and the new clubhouse still isn't finished) Not only were we without clubhouse, but due to construction they had to close one of our 2 pools. When summer hit that was a nightmare. You got all the kids, plus the underage drinkers, and the elderly people all at one pool. They decided to send out a letter that each apartment was only allowed to have 2 guests attend the pool! WHAT?!?! The lease that I signed said nothing about people restrictions to use my amenities.

Not only this, but over the course of the summer we had some issues with our kitchen sink. It kept overflowing. We woke up on our anniversary to a gray water nightmare. Overflowed onto our counter and our apartment SMELLED! When I called the leasing office they told me that it wasn't an emergency and they would send someone as soon as they could. How is this filth not an emergency? It's a health hazard. Two and a half hours later someone showed up to snake the drain. YAY. "Happy Anniversary honey! Gift? Well I got you this nasty smell and a wait! How thoughtful!" 2 weeks later it happened again! This time it left an inch of water on our kitchen floor! Needless to say I left a not so nice message on the answering machine at the leasing office, because they were of course closed when I got home. Not only problems with the sink, but our dryer...oh it's a peach. It takes 3 hours to dry a load of towels. 3 HOURS! Jeans forget it. Not to mention the time our water heater broke and another time where a repair guy drilled a hole into our gas line!

Not only do we have issues with the physical things in our apartment, we have such wonderful neighbors. (Insert sarcasm here!) We have one neighbor who constantly bangs on his wall and his barking dag drives us nuts. Another has a child that seems to have an illness, she cannot leave their apartment without screaming at the top of her lungs while running to the staircase. They also let her knock on our door and run away, which in turn aggravates our dog. The people below us smoke cigarettes and have these little yappie dogs, so if we aren't having our noses invaded by the nasty smell its our ears drums being assaulted. The newest one however is the BEST. I don't know if they don't know they have neighbors below or if they don't care, but at all hours of the night you can hear them walking (no jumping) around the apartment, slamming doors, dropping what sounds like 25 pound dumb-bells and various other noises. It's enough to drive a person MAD!

Needless to say the time has come for us to move on and up and purchase a house. The hunt has begun. We have already seen three prospects in our price range with decent living conditions. I mean a GREAT step up from the missing cabinets and flooding. The process will be long, but I am sure that with enough faith and searching that we WILL find the home of our dreams!