Replacing the Kitchen Floor

Not too long ago we dove into a project to replace our junky kitchen linoleum with a bright new tile. Changing the flooring in a room is a huge game changer.  After pulling up the carpet in our house and freshening up our hardwood floors the next logical project was the kitchen floor (especially since our living room and kitchen are open together).

Here's a quick shot of how our kitchen was for a while before we repainted the walls..and changed the floor obviously.  If you look closely you can even see the duct tape that held the floor down where it had begun ripping up.  I'm pretty sure that tape drove everyone who came over crazy.  But, you do what you have to do when you have 1,000 projects in an old house waiting to be done.

I wish I had more pictures from this project but it was quite a whirlwind.  We started it a week before we were going out of the Country - so great planning on our part.  The really awesome factor in this whole thing was Justin's brother (Jason) - who happens to be a tiling professional.  We definitely needed his expertise and help.  After ripping up the floor is was very much clear that our floor was majorly slanted and laying tile down would be impossible.  There was some major floor leveling that had to happen.  So thankful for Jason.  After we had a level working surface Justin and Jason intalled the duroc and we were finally ready to tile.

Even with the floor now level it still was a difficult job considering all of the off angles and such that we still had.  But in the end it turned out so great and having a level floor is awesome.  Quickly, lets talk tile for a second.  We ended up choosing a grayish white plank type tile.  It has some lighter grey wood grain design as well.  Since we decided to keep the original flooring in the rest of the house I liked the combo of the two floors together where they meet.  I love it!

This little kitchen has come a long way!  Slowly we are checking those projects off the list.  Still on the waiting list includes countertops, a backsplash, new appliance, a new door and sink...Oh and flooring trim.  There is always something but we have enjoyed the process.  

Repainting the Kitchen a Minty Green

Over the past several weeks I have been mulling over a new kitchen wall color.  Call me crazy, but I was just ready for a change.  The previous blue is a color that I love, and even though we have only been here two years we have actually had this same blue color in our kitchen or dining room for the past 10 years (in other homes).  When you like something, you like something- but....I was finally ready for a change.  The change isn't huge - but to me it was.  Honestly, I bet some people wouldn't even had noticed.  It has taken me a few days but I can say that I looooooove the new color.  It's a little minty green color by Olympic - Misty Lake to be exact.

In case your forgot - here is a side by side of this old kitchen space, the blue color and now the new minty shade.

 I think one of the reasons I really love it is the almost neutral factor it has.  Even though it is a color it still reads neutral to me.  Lots of other colors go fantastic with it.  

I used the Olympic One paint this time.  Its a primer and paint in one and for this project I only had to do one coat - so I was pleased.  I wasn't trying to paint over red or anything dark so I'm not sure how it would do when using it over those colors but it was great at painting over a similar shade.  Since this kitchen area only includes three half walls a quart of paint was all I needed.  So one quart of paint, one coat and about one hour equals a new kitchen color - I'm good with that.

We also spent some time over the weekend enjoying Silas' first real snow!  Of course, he loved it.  It was so fun for us and it was gone by the next day.  Is it me, or have we had the craziest weather this year?

It took me several weeks, lots of paint swatches and several color samples later to finally settle on the right minty color.  I was actually really surprised it was an Olympic color - I surely thought I would love a Martha Stewart or Benjamin Moore choice - but this color just stood out to me for what I was looking for.  Whenever you aren't sure, grab a color sample and do a test run.  They are well worth the $3 or $4 to make the right choice.

I love how a little paint will just bring a room back to life.  I'm loving this newly painted space.  Anyone else mulling over paint colors?  Share with me what you are painting, I'd love to know!

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a wonderful week!

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Journey of a Kitchen Nook

Today is a look back in time, a journey if you will, of our little eat in kitchen nook.  At the start, this little space offered faux paneling, wood trim (which was different from the rest of the house), blah walls and a nice little space for a table to live.  The first step in this transformation was updating the paneling with a nice fresh coat of white paint.  We did prime the paneling first with an oil based primer and then gave the paneling two coats of paint - exactly the same as we did in our bedroom here.  The trim was painted a nice white to match the rest of the house and we finished the painting off with a soft and pretty blue (I'm crazy about a blue room, so I love it).  Next we brought in our table, which is one of our favorite things that we own.  This table has been in Justin's family for a long time, it has history, stories and even lore - I think it was built by his great-grandfather (although I'm not 100% on that) and once this table was lost and was found again in an antique shop and restored (from several layers of paint).  It's a cool family heirloom and somehow we have the privilege of using it now.  As I've mentioned before, antiques and old stuff are my kind of thing so this is pretty awesome.  We have been debating as to what kind of chairs to adorn this table with and I think you might be surprised with what we actually settled on.  It's a non-conventional choice but we happen to love the end result.  Let's look back together and travel through the journey of this much used spot in our home.

Here are the before shots, yes these were taken in 2011 and not in 1970.

After we painted and added our table and dog (this is her new favorite spot to hide from Silas).

We had these two chairs from our old place but we definitely needed more than two.

So, we took a trip to Ikea and purchased these modern and sophisticated chairs.  I know this look might not be for everyone, pairing ultra modern with ultra antique but we love the contrast of old and new.  I also love how sleek they are since this space doesn't offer a ton of room and these chairs take up minimal space and blend in with the white walls nicely.  The last thing we wanted were bulky chairs that took up all of the space.

It's so fresh and bright in there now, we love it!  We still have lots to work on, like a new light fixture for starters and we want to add some sort of art to the walls, maybe even a rug.  But, for now we are enjoying our new seating arrangement and airy living space.

I love that you can still see some of the old paint that had once covered this table, if you look closely you can spy out a little green on the sides.  It's the character in old pieces that I just love.

Thanks for going on this journey with us.  Looking back and seeing how far this little space has come gives me hope for the rest of the house.  Each of us as Christians should take the time to look back at our walk with Christ and see where we have come from, how far He has brought us and transformed us.  Looking back gives us hope for the future.

Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.  Psalm 25:5

Don't forget, this Wednesday we are hosting our first ever giveaway with a lovely Etsy artists so make sure you drop by and enter for your chance to win!!!  It's going to be great!  Have a wonderful week!