Let me just start by saying, renovations are a series of ups and downs and this week it's been exactly that. Many of you know that I get bored with my homes and my decor very easily. I've moved 28 times in my life and I don't get attached to houses emotionally at all.
Just a little over 1 month into this renovation and I had to admit, I'm bored with it already. Somehow, the thrill was gone. I quit cruising pinterest and Houzz for big ideas. I quit shopping Wayfair and my other favorite online places for awesome stuff. I began to worry that something was wrong with me.
Then....stuff started happening and little by little my interest was renewed and my boredom is gone.
I was dreading dealing with that big black refrigerator. Oh how I hated it. I couldn't justify buying a new one because it was only a year old. All of the big black kitchen appliances were only a year old and I was going to have to live with them. Then something wonderful happened. When I met with my friend Mark, who is building my cabinets, he noticed my black refrigerator. He also happens to own a lot of investment property and he had a need for a refrigerator that size. He had a bigger, stainless one to trade and would I be interested? Um...yes please. So....I went from this..
....to this.....
Oh happy day! Thank you Mark! We went on about the business of figuring out my cabinets and came up with a design that I liked that wouldn't break the bank. I love Mark, he's a great guy. He's also a wonderful cabinet maker and of course, could not understand why I wanted to have beautiful, new cabinets built and then paint them. He tried to talk me out of it and then gave up. This is Mark....
He's a funny guy. He tried to be all serious for a picture, but then he cracked up. So, my cabinets were on their way to being built and I quit thinking about them and moved on.
The new windows arrived and were installed. I have put new windows in a lot of the houses I have lived in and I don't love it, but it's often a necessary evil. In this case it was $3,300.00 necessary evil. They look lovely, but the view is still the same. It's hard not to think of the major changes you could make by spending that money somewhere else. You might remember this lovely window in the master bedroom...
It was a lovely window, but, I wasn't spending the money it was going to take to replace it. So...I got rid of the arch. Now it looks like this....
Much less expensive and I got rid of those panels that obstruct my view. I'm not a fan of window panels as you will soon find out. I do love my new front window. It's a slider and slides both ways.
So I got new windows and the heating guys showed up and put in all of the new vents and ducts I wanted as well as moved the return air out of the middle of the hallway floor, which was a terrible place for it.
Do you remember when I told you that I wanted to try a Danish Modern style in my new family room? Well, I found a couch I wanted for it and agonized over it for a couple of weeks. I decided to buy it and they were kind enough to hold it for me for a little bit. I picked it up yesterday. I think I'm going to like it....
It's convertible, the chaise part actually can be switched to just an ottoman. Yes, it's white and no, it's not leather. It's leather-like. I have big plans for that room and most of them involve funky white furniture and bright accent colors like these inspiration photos....
So...I've got the funky white sofa....now what??? I need to pick an accent color and I'm open to suggestions. When I met my husband, Sam at the store to pick up the sofa, he gave me some bad news. There was a problem. Famous phrase in renovation projects. That phrase always equates to spending money we hadn't planned on, which always means some other portion of my dream is about to die. We were going to need to buy a new front door. Totally not in the budget. But, we loaded the couch and headed to Lowes to buy a new front door. *sigh*
I looked at a lot of front doors. Problem was, all of the lovely ones were special order and I needed a front door by the end of the day. I gave myself a big ol' renovation pacifier by choosing a door that had a nice window with a blind built in-between the glass. (I hate dusting blinds.) This is the door I chose...
I'll have to think about what color to paint it all later. The problem that led to needing a new door was, we needed to raise the floor by the front door and these guys worked very hard on it....
However, by the time the entry way floor was raised enough to make it level, the door frame cracked. Of course, it was almost the end of the day and I couldn't very well leave my house wide open overnight, so....$307.00 later, new door.
Now for some good news. After we unloaded the door, we unloaded the couch and put it in the garage. When I opened the garage door, this is what I saw....
My new kitchen cabinets were sitting there all sanded and ready for prime and paint! Now that was a pleasant surprise! Woo-hoo! So, suddenly, I'm over my boredom and back to cruising pinterest and Houzz for paint ideas. Here are a few inspiration pictures for color schemes that I'm considering....
What do you think about uppers and lowers being different colors?
What do you think about a marble-ish backsplash?
Maybe lighter cabinets and darker walls? (I did have my soffits removed and intend to paint the wall above the cabinets.)
How about a lighter grey? I guess I'd better reign my thoughts in soon and develop a plan because before you know it, I'll be painting and then I know I'll see big changes!
Next update, I'll tell you about some awesome inspiration I got from another blogger that is coming to fruition as well as show you some things we did outside of the house. Until then, I'm back to daydreaming and being glad that I'm not bored anymore! (Thanks for your patience...I know this was a long post.)