DIY Kitchen Remodel: Catching Up

Well, I really dropped the ball on finishing up our DIY Kitchen Renovation posts!  I've decided to finish them & thought I'd get everyone caught back up to speed before the final couple posts.  I do have YHL to thank, as their new kitchen remodel is very similar to ours & reminded me to finish these!

Before:

We then moved on to demolition & wall repair:

Then installed countertop-to-ceiling mosaic tile and a new, modern range hood:

And finally, installed open shelving:

What's up next?  Our $22 stainless steel cooktop, painting countertops & a final reveal!

Thanks for bearing with me!  I promise not to let this happen with our bathroom project :)

Master Bedroom Curtain Makeover

A month ago, I finally got around to switching out our fall/winter bedroom for our spring/summer version.  I always love the dramatic change that occurs when simply swapping out a duvet & lampshades!

Fall/Winter SpreadThe things I never really loved about our summer look were the curtains.  They were a basic, light khaki, linen-esque fabric that hang from tab tops.  Nothing glaringly wrong with them, but just kind of blah.  They blended in with the walls and I really wanted something with a bit more impact.  

I always thought crisp white curtains would look great as well, but since I've been having so much fun with pattern lately I decided to go bold. I ordered this gorgeous chevron fabric from fabric.com for under $8/yd.  

Since our balcony doors face east, we get a ton of early morning light.  I wanted to make sure we had a bit more light coverage so I used the old curtains as a backing & the chevron on the front.  I sewed them inside out like a giant duvet, straight lines made easy by the zig zags.  

I had some puckering/gathering issues which MADE ME CRAZY, but you can't see them unless you inspect each seam.  No biggie (I need a new sewing machine or perhaps a walking foot?) I hung them with dark clips to match the current rod and love the results! 

Then I hemmed them in place so that they just touch the floor.  I like the look of curtains that softly gather on the ground, but the two layers were pretty thick and didn't pool very well.  Plus, we are regularly in and out of these doors and the fabric sweeping back and forth would get dirty.

In all, I spent under $50 for the new window treatments (fabric, clips).  We have really tall ceilings & doors so buying curtains would have been a lot more expensive! I am happy that I took the effort to DIY.

 

I absolutely love the new window treatments.  It's darker in the morning & more visually interesting all day.  Now I need to get working on those pesky living room curtains, of which I have narrowed it down to approximately 47 fabrics.  Give or take a few.

Potential DIY Curtain Fabric

I have always loved this dandelion fabric & Kelsey's comment yesterday made me revisit the idea of a pattern with color for our living room curtain panels.

There is a yard of the outdoor version of this fabric sitting on the chair next to me.  One thing to always pay attention to on fabric websites is the little ruler at the bottom of the picture.  I wasn't paying close attention & when the fabric arrived, I saw the very large scale of the dandelions & that it probably wasn't the best choice for small chair cushion covers...

I think I'd like a smaller, wispier flower but I can only find that fabric in the reverse colors.  I think it might be too much green!

Though look how gorgeous the fabric in yellow looks in this nursery.  So fun, bright and sunny - it works & I love it! 

Alas, goldilocks can't make up her mind so this project may just be shelved for a couple of weeks...

"Woman Returns Rescue Dog 'because it clashed with curtains'"

Don't worry Derby, we won't do this to you. 

Well, I've been chipping away at the ol' list for the past few days & have come to the point where I need to decide what to do about the window treatments in our living room.  For the past 5 years, all we've used are the blinds that were here when we moved in.  I am not a fan of blinds, but they do function very well & if I have to have them, I am glad that they are wood slat blinds.

Our main living area has a small bay area & since we keep our sofa in there, I've never really worried about curtain panels.  However, I am tired of looking at these blinds day in & day out and I want to at least partially hide them.  One problem - that gorgeous, original stained glass window dating to the late 1800s.  Do we really cover that?  & how about picking a fabric? I would love a bit of a pattern, but don't want it to clash/compete with the stained glass.  A bold color would definitely work, but I *think* I'm leaning more towards a light fabric.  Again, I don't want them to just be solid white...but I can't think of what else would work with the window.

My first thought?  Sheer burnout curtains.  West Elm has them; Crate & Barrel, too.  As I've mentioned in the past, I love Marimekko & these panels could give me that pattern I love without being too obtrusive.

There are 2 problems.  #1 is the price.  #2 is the length.  We have really tall ceilings and need curtains that are at least 12' long!  Alas, these only go to 108".  

A much, much cheaper option are the Alvine Rund curtains from IKEA.  At $24.99 for a pair of panels, these are more than affordable.  I couldn't even buy fabric for that price (if I could even find this kind of fabric!).  I don't love the pattern, but I do like it well enough.  I love IKEA curtains because they are so long & hemmable, but apparently their curtains max out at 98".  Funny, I really didn't think about how tall our ceilings were until the other day.

I am currently sewing drapery panels for our master bedroom, so I figured "What's another 4 - 6 panels?" and started searching for fabric.  Fabric.com is one of my favorite sites, but nothing but a bunch of crushed velvet (CRINGE) came up for "burnout fabric".  I am either missing the correct term or you just can't buy this kind of fabric.  

Going back to the pattern idea, I also searched various sites for "pale grey on white" and needless to say, it didn't return many results.  But I still really love the idea of something like this (again, price is way to high).

So please, help!  Here are my questions/thoughts:

• White curtains or color?
• Does that Marimekko fabric exist by the yard?
• Should I save my pennies for them & if so, what to do about length (curtains that look like highwaters...no. Just, no)?
• Is there other sheer burnout fabric that I can get by the yard?  If so, please tell me where...
• What are your thoughts?

Honey Do!

So, I've been a busy bee these past few days...though from the looks of my To-Do list, it seems as if I've done nothing!  Grr.

I am kind of tired of our living room, office & master bedroom right now.  Since a full redesign isn't in the ol' budget, I've been coming up with little &/or inexpensive things that I can do to make big difference.  Think: paint, stain, fabric.  I want to get all of this done in the next couple of weeks.  Join me as I nurse my blisters, poke my fingers & attempt to finish this list!

OUTDOOR

Sand & paint deck railing

Sand, scrub & stain deck

Spray wrought iron table & chairs with fresh coat of black paint

Spray wrought iron side tables a fun, bright color

Sand & stain old bench

Scrub grill

Weed, sweep & scrub front brick/sidewalk

Order outdoor fabric

Reupholster chair cushions

Reupholster bench cushion

Make table cloth

INDOOR

Buy/Sew drapery for 2 living room windows (either sheer/burnout white or pale grey on white pattern)

New living room rug

Make crazy soft fleece blanket for Derby so that she stops furring up the sofa

Expedit or similar for office area organization

Take down existing metal candleholder panels in office

Add moullding where metal panels were

Add removable foam core panels that can be wrapped with various fabrics or paper

Figure out if ghetto office chair can raise up

If so, reupholster that nasty thing

Decide on curtains to separate living room/office nook

Investigate new 6' x 10' dining room rug

Buy fabric for new curtain panels in master bedroom

Sew curtain panels for master bedroom

Scout thrift stores for bedside table

Rearrage master bedroom - dresser to west wall

Add new art to master bedroom - potential DIY project

Use dark deck stain to fix nicks/scratches on hardwood

Reorganize laundry room

Clean & perhaps paint hardwood floors in laundry room

New washer & dryer (long term goal)

Marble tile for bathroom renovation

Renovate bathrooms! (This is a looong term goal)