Planet Granite in the Kitchen

My new granite countertops were installed in May and I love 'em! They definitely add a little more glam to the kitchen. Here's what the kitchen looked like before

 

 

It was a 3 day process:

Day 1: Old countertops were taken off and plumbing was disconnected

 

 

Day 2: Countertops were installed

Day 3: Plumbing was reconnected

 

And here's what the countertops look like now:

 

 

I got the faucet from Amazon. The countertop installers recommended we get a new garbage disposal instead of reconnecting our old one. After some research I decided to go with the Waste King disposal.

Going without a sink, a countertop, or a dishwasher for 3 days was a bit challenging but totally worth it! I decided to go without the 4 inch backsplash because I'm going to be putting in my own backsplash....one day. I really love, love, love the countertops, sink, and faucet! The kitchen still needs a paint job, and hardware and molding on the island. It's getting there...

Kitchen Island is DONE!

This is long overdue. In October my island was FINALLY finished. Woo hoo! It was ready just in time for the holidays. I love, love, love it and use it all the time. Totally worth every penny to have to have the added counter space. We can now eat at our island and watch TV and it makes a great surface for food prep.



We also installed a Rev A Shelf, door mount trash bin in one of our cupboards. LOVE IT! No more black plastic trash bin laying outside the island.


My next mission is to upgrade the other counter tops to either granite or quartz later this year.

Painting Bathroom Cabinets

I finished painting the Jack and Jill bathroom cabinets white and I love it! I just need to find the right hardware for them.


I'm thinking something like this from the Martha Stewart collection at Home Depot



The room has definitely brightened up with the white cabinets. All that's left is to tile the floor.

Here's the project before, during, and after:






I followed the same steps as I did with my kitchen island but instead of sanding the cabinets I used liquid sandpaper. I followed that up with oil based primer and 3 coats of semi gloss crisp white paint. I also installed new chrome faucets to replace the single handle brushed nickle faucets. I found the faucets on clearance for $15.44 each at Lowes. That price blew me away that I had to ask a store associate if that price was for real. It was. Sold!

Projects for 2011

I'm starting a list for the home projects I want to take on for the New Year. Some of them are finishing touches on projects that I've already started. I needed to put a 3rd coat of black paint on my front and closet doors in the entry way.



I started off painting them with a black glossy paint. Glossy paint is not forgiving and you could see every single brush stroke on in the paint. Plan B was Behr paint + primer in an eggshell finish. WAY better but some of the shine is still showing through on the doors so I put another coat of the paint + primer. MUCH better. I can check this one off the list.

I also need to cover the bottom of my drum light shade in my office with fabric. I've needed to finish this one for awhile.


My other home improvment projects for this year are:
> Tile the Jack and Jill bathroom.
> New faucets for the Jack and Jill bathroom. They've already been purchased, just need to install them which is currently in progress. Notice the faucet on the right is our new faucet and the faucet on the left is our old builder grade faucet.
> Paint the cabinets white (in progress)



New countertops, sink, and faucet for the kitchen. I'm thinking of either quartz or granite for the countertops. I'd like a granite sink, and a faucet and soap dispenser intalled. I would love for it to look something like this sink and countertop from DOD Home Interiors Inc.



Tile the fireplace surround in the family room


Purchase new end tables for the bedroom



Make my own art work for the master bedroom to go over the dresser


Re-upholster this chair in the master bedroom



New ceiling light fixtures for the entry way, guest bedroom, and Jack and Jill bathroom because I'm sick of these lights


Re-paint the dining room, ceiling included.

(This is the dining room at Christmas time)

Save money for a master bathroom renovation for next year

$5 Finds

Our master bedroom has been the last room in the house for me to put my personal touch on. I started with this project here then moved on to re-finishing a vintage dresser. The room still needs help. Thanks to Craigslist I was able to furnish the odd corner of the room. First I found a cute little nightstand someone was selling for $5. I re-painted it with ivory colored high gloss spray paint. A few weekends ago I found this awesome chair on Craigslist for $5. That's right $5. What a steal!!!! I was sure there must have been a broken leg or something wrong with it. Nope. It could use new re-upholstery but other than that the chair is in great shape. I figured since I paid next to nothing for the chair I can spend some money on getting it re-upholstered.



I wanted to bring some height to the dresser with some reeds or sticks. I found bamboo sticks on clearance for $3 at Michaels. I spray painted the sticks white, cut them in half with gardening shears and was able to double the amount of sticks I had. I found cylinder glass containers at Ross on clearance for $5 each. I wanted to fill the vases with some cool river rocks but I think paying $5 or more for decorative rocks is a bit ridiculous. I bought a bag of dried black beans for $1.12 at Walmart to fill the vases. I love decorating on the cheap!



I'm still not done. I have a mirror that I purchased years ago for $5 at Walmart. I wanted to frame it with a large thick frame but I'm not sure how I want to tackle that one yet. I would love some kind of unique artwork above the dresser but I haven't decided what that's going to be. In the meantime I have this empty frame hanging up until I find something that strikes my fancy. The white spackling spots also need to be painted over.....someday.


It's come a long from what it used to be

Kitchen Island Set Back

The kitchen island is now painted and I was all ready for the contractor to install the bamboo plywood.





The contractor brought the plywood to his shop and here are just some of the things he found on the wood.






Fabulous. The wood was packaged between 2 large MDF boards so I thought it was safe from getting any kind of damage. Apparently this damaged happened before the wood was packaged. Soooo I requested my money back on the product which the company obliged to. I think the wood has potential and would be a beautiful piece if it wasn't so damaged. I'm hoping to find another use for it.

On to plan B for the counter top. The contractor suggested other wood suppliers in the area where I could get a similar look and the wood would be better quality, thicker, and for about the same price as the bamboo. I decided to go with a black walnut. This week the contractor is scheduled to come in and complete the task.

It seems like I've waited FOR-EVA for this to be done!

Island Progress

The kitchen island is well underway. I removed the drawers and cabinet doors and sanded everything down with my orbital sander and 220 grit sandpaper.



Over the Labor Day weekend I got crackin' with painting the island white.

Day1:
Prime the island and cabinets


I used Kilz primer.



I had to put up a dog barrier so no wagging tails touched the island.



Day 2:
Painted the first coat of paint using Valspar semi-gloss latex paint in a creamy white. I applied the paint using a foam roller and paint brush to get into some of the smaller areas.


Dog barrier was in full effect.





Day3:
Painted a 2nd coat of paint on the cabinets. The paint is still uneven and it looks as though there is a texture to the cabinets so I will lightly sand the island and paint a 3rd coat of paint.






For the table legs I purchased unfinished stair newel posts at Lowes for $25/each. These willl be turned upside down and attached to the countertop to resemble table legs. The posts were primed and painted with 2 coats of paint.



Now all I need is the contractor to cut down the chocolate bamboo to size and install the countertop. I can't wait to see the finished product!!