Kitchen Punchlist…and a Deadline

We are feeling SO. CLOSE on the kitchen. And we have been saying that for months now. There are so many steps when you are really DIYing every inch of a project.

Matt built cabinet doors for three pantries (13 doors total), routed out the centers of four upper doors, and built three new drawers, which after lots of patching and sanding, I was finally able to prime Memorial day weekend. I did a morning session to prime the backs, then came back for two hours in the evening to do the fronts. Now the cure this week and go in for sanding and paint next weekend.

painting final batch of cabinet doors in the living room…once this is done we clean out this room and finish working in here! (time to start picking a paint color…)

So what is left?

• swap out a few outlets and switches in the kitchen
• cut glass for cabinet doors (salvaged from old windows)
• hang doors, add hardware
• final touch up paint
• rehang glass light shades

-MOVE IN!!!!

And with that, the dining and kitchen will be DONE.

We are still a few weeks out (that happens when you only have 3 days a week to work on the project, are living in it, and have a baby…who is 11 months old today!!!) but the end is in sight! We celebrated some hard work with a pause Sunday evening with pizza in the backyard.

A deadline for these rooms is upon us too: Oakleigh’s first birthday party! We are doing an open house BBQ day and I cannot wait to button things up and show them off. Then we are into finishing the living room and hallway. Onwards and upwards!

Kitchen Remodel: Cabinet Makeover

When we embarked on our kitchen remodel, one of our primary goals was to complete the project with a low environmental impact. So much material is ripped out of homes, sent to the landfill (though sometimes upcycled) and replaced with new products. Since our cabinets were in decent shape, we decided to reuse them in the space, and just add to them to boost up the custom layout.

Just the shell of the old kitchen. Hard to imagine it with a wall cutting through it.

Most of our cabinets were left in place, just removing doors for painting and repair. Matt built new cabinet sections to match the existing boxes for the new 4ish feet we added to the east end where the wall came down. That 4 feet make SO much difference! We brainstormed options and settled on only adding lower cabinets, resulting in more storage and counter space while keeping all the vertical wall space free and open. The lower boxes he built feature open bookshelves…though our cats think they are custom hangouts just for them.

We also amped up the existing cabinets with open boxes to fill the space between the cabinets and ceiling, all framed out in wide crown molding. With a fresh coat of paint you can hardly recognize that this is the same space!

So much more open, lighter and brighter…and the ceilings even feel taller!

Painting cabinets is a project, and one that is usually recommended to be completed in a totally dust free environment. Well, we did the best we could with the limited workspace we have in this house, opting for the “vintage, lived in” look of brushed paint vs spray. I tackled the boxes while Matt prepped the doors. We have a mix of doors from the existing cabinets and four salvaged doors that so nearly match. All white, you would barely notice the eclectic mix. In fact, through this project we realized that the cabinets that we were saving were already “seconds” stock, and had extra quirks and two doors that matched even less than the salvage ones we found!

Sand – repair – prime – sand – prime – sand – paint – sand – paint, then cure. That was the routine for this transformation. We used Benjamin Moore Advance in beautiful Swiss Coffee. This paint looks and performs great once up. It is self leveling and has a beautiful finish, but it is a little finicky to get on. I found that rolling cabinet doors with a small roller, then back brushing the paint left the cleanest result.

I am pleased to report that half the cabinet doors are reinstalled, waiting for hardware and looking fabulous! The remaining doors are getting extra special treatment with adding salvaged wavy glass panes!

Slate Blackboard Countertops – How Do we Like them?

I have written about our DIY salvaged slate blackboard countertops a few times now. I am thrilled to report that we still love them, even more than I could have hoped.

They are sturdy and beautiful and super easy to maintain. We actually never even got around to coating them with mineral oil but it does not seem necessary. Pie crust rolls like a dream on the cool surface, and the texture of the subtle grain feels so nice to the touch. Not to mention, they are stunning and unique.

Of all the salvage components of our remodel, this is by far my favorite story. Not only did it save us thousands of dollars (compared to honed, black granite which was our runner up choice), but it is more beautiful, 100% DIY, and kept so much waste out of the landfill. These blackboards will live on for years to come.

DIY Slate Blackboard Countertops – Living with Slate

In March 2016 (way way back!) I introduced our plan to make our own kitchen countertops from salvaged slate blackboards. Well, after nearly a year and a half of other projects, we have been living with these counters for nearly 3 months. The verdict: we could not be happier with them.

The natural grain (we used the natural side up instead of the polished writing surface) is stunning, and is the first thing everyone comments on. We were hesitant about scratches and chips, and so far have had zero issues. And this is in a kitchen that we are using AND continuing to do major renovation projects (ie: tools on the counter etc). We are thrilled.

The slate wipes off like a dream, and we have not had any issues with water, oil, wine or any other substance leaving a funny residue. We still have plans to finish them with mineral oil, but between other projects, cooking dinner, and wrangling a 4 month old we just have not gotten around to it. And they seem to be fine.

We are currently working on cabinet paint and hanging trim. And oh boy does that pull the kitchen together!!! These countertops are the star though, and truly embody the efforts of this DIY remodel.

Progress updates can be found here, here, and here for more details on this DIY project!

DIY Slate Blackboard Countertops – Install

When we embarked on the DIY blackboard slate countertop project we had a general idea of how to do it, but in the end had to make a bunch of decisions, trial and error, research and pure guts.

Step 1: Cleaning the slate

These blackboards were from the 1940s, and had been glued to the wall with who-knows-what adhesive back in the day. Then at some point they had white boards glued on top of them! In other words, a TON of stuff to remove. You can read more about that process here

Step 2: Building the understructure

Just like a tile countertop, we needed to build up a structure for the slate to attach to. This was pretty straightforward (especially after doing the brick fireplace the same way). A sandwich of ¾” plywood, backerboard attached with thinset and screws, and then taping any seams. This flat, level surface then gave us the template for the slate. We took the opportunity to make the new surfaces a half inch further offset from the cabinets below giving the counters a bit more surface area and a more attractive overhang.

The best part of making our our counters is we could experiment as we went, and truly get it exactly how we wanted. If we had ordered them, we may not have been able to look ahead as far to see how we wanted it.

Step 3: Cutting and Installation

We used a borrowed diamond stone cutting saw (like a mini circular saw with a water attachment) to cut the slate. Matt would measure out the pieces we needed, set them up on sawhorses in the driveway and cut away. He scored guide lines with a metal scraper since drawing them on would wash off with the hose water from the saw. He also learned that using a guide was critical. We used a combination of a standard clamp guide from Harbor Freight, and some old trim clamped on with c-clamps to ensure a straight cut. This step required LOTS of patience and attention to detail. There were certain pieces we had picked out for particular areas due to the grain in the stone, so we only had one shot.

Installing the slate was just like large format tile. We used large format thinset and a wide notched trowel. There were some great resources online demonstrating the importance of how you  lay down the thinset and how it impacts the strength of your floor/counters etc.

We set the slate with as minimal of grout lines as possible, starting with the edge pieces. This would ensure that the top pieces would overlap perfectly to create the counter edge. Clamping them in place was critical to ensure they would not slide as the thinset set up.

Look of pure relief when the island piece was finally  installed. This one had a super unique grain patter  and was a complex series of angles to get it cut just right.

 

Once the sides were installed and cured, we could move on to the top pieces.

Step 4: Finishing

After experimenting with some trial pieces, we decided to slightly sand a bevel into the leading edge of the counters. This smoothed out the look of the stone and also should reduce chipping in the future. To achieve this, we used a belt sander to take off a fine bit of slate. It made all the difference in taking this project to a pro level. Some we sanded once they were set, some we did before.

Step 5: Sealing

After reading up on options, we decided to just finish our counters with mineral oil. And well, honestly have not done that yet. We still plan to, but they are performing so well just as they are.

By doing this project ourselves we save a TON of money, got the material we wanted (dark, solid, natural stone), saved materials from the landfill and truly achieved a unique one of a kind feature for our home. We still have a pile of leftover slate so we may do this again for an outdoor kitchen…

Questions? We would be happy to answer them!

Picking a Whole House Color Palate

We love color. We also love most of our furniture. In the past, these two things have always come together in a mish-mash of design and decor for our house. Although we like the eclectic feel, for our post-remodel house we are shooting for a cohesive grownup comfortable look that truly looks intentional.

We will be ditching our old couch (well, to be fair, my parent’s old couch…it was around before I was born!) and only keeping pieces that we truly love. The new darker hardwood floors, new fresh trim, and remodeled kitchen deserve a color palate that brings out every bit of beauty possible.

Enter: a whole house color palate!

I started out thinking this would be easy. I have always been good with color, and have picked paint for many spaces. But I realized I had never truly started with a blank canvas, and included so many considerations as I selected paint.

Considerations:

• wood floors
• white trim and cabinetry
• red brick fireplace
• creamy white/terracotta/black kitchen tile
• slate black counters
• mix of white and stainless appliances
• lots of green foliage through windows
• very grey weather all winter long
• antique oak and walnut furniture
• light and airy feeling of house, but we also like bold color
• desire to have room color flow from one to the next while being distinct
• Matt has to like it!

I started where most people start these days: Pinterest. I got some good ideas, but no clear vision that was right for our home. From there I went to our local Benjamin Moore store and started sifting through colors. We have used Behr in the past with descent results, but tried the Aura paint on one room last year and were SOLD! Also, the BM Advance is what people tend to say is best for cabinets so we are going 100% Benjamin Moore on this remodel.

It is pretty overwhelming to look a 10,000 colors all at once. So I borrowed a fan deck and brought it home to look at more closely. I also got a white deck and their Williamsburg collection booklet. The fan deck is over 3″ thick and was also quickly overwhelming, so I stuck with the Historical Colors section and the Williamsburg  collection. We like classic style the best, and our craftsman house really is asking for those tones anyway. Through process of elimination, we were making progress.

Pulling out tile samples and overlaying them on the colors further helped narrow our choices. Right now we have 4-5 wall colors that we really really like (beachy toned theme), and have narrowed down the whites (trim and cabinets) to a small handful. We keep revisiting them as the light changes throughout the day.

This weekend we plan to paint the interior of the two new kitchen cabinets Matt built (existing cabinets will not get painted interiors, but the new ones need a protective layer) so we will be picking a color and giving it a try!

Kitchen Demo

Memorial Day weekend Monday the first bit of granite tile was smashed in our kitchen. By Wednesday afternoon, demo was done! There were a few (very frustrating) snags, but overall it was quick and successful!

The biggest snags were what were supposed to be the easy quick parts: taking out the gas stove and sink. Disconnect, lift up and out. Right? RIGHT? Wrong.

For both of these, the attachments were in too cramped of a location to utilize tools to loosen connections. Both ended up being cut and will be a repair job later. Not ideal, but that is what you deal with when you remodel (and want to save things!). We really like our stove, and ADORE the wall mount farmhouse sink and did not want to repurchase either of them…never mind that replacement was not in the budget!

The sink was also grouted in place rather than calked, which was a large concern for additional chip/cracking damage. It is successfully out in one piece though and waiting to be reinstalled.

Backsplash and counter came off pretty easily and cleanly. The plywood is still in good shape so that is some time and cost savings.

Now we are on to the rebuilding phase. New drywall and backerboard, then we can lay the counters and tile backsplash. Cabinets are ready to be sanded and painted. The end is nearer than it has ever felt!

DIY Blackboard Kitchen Countertops: An Update

Remember wayyyy back, like over a year now, when I introduced our grand plan to DIY our kitchen countertops? Well, that is still the plan and I am THRILLED to report that we are actually now working on that project.

The house remodel scope significantly morphed, and ended up going far past the kitchen and dining room, so we decided to finish up those other spaces (keeping our kitchen usable) and finally ending with it’s demo…and the long awaited counters!

If you don’t know the story of how we came to choose salvaged solid slate blackboards as our countertops, you can check that out here. These beauties (or rather, diamonds in the rough) have been leaning against our house for the past year, patiently waiting for their turn.

While they have been waiting, so have we. We always a knew that they would work as counters, but were still just assuming that we could successfully get off the old 1940s adhesive that is awkwardly stuck all over the slabs. If we could not get it off cleanly, we were going to have to come up with Plan B for counters…and that was NOT the goal.

After a super rainy start to spring, this week blessed us with some sunshine, and an opening to get outdoors, set up the sawhorses and get to glue removal. I need to keep baby away from all construction fumes, so this is a solo job for my sweet handy husband.

He set out with two main approached: a heat gun (borrowed from our local tool library) and Jasco Premium Paint and Epoxy Remover. Much to our excitement, the heat gun worked like a charm to pull off big blobs of glue and then the residue remaining dissolved with the chemicals…and a significant amount of elbow grease. We are planning to use the “natural” more textured side of these slabs and it is stunning to see them really clean. It is a huge weight off our shoulders to know that we have a solution that works!

Two down, maybe 6 more to go? We have roughly 35 slabs to work with (!) but only need 6 for the kitchen. Extras will be practice for cutting, other projects or maybe passing them along to other inspired DIYers.

The forecast promises more rain this week, but then we hope to get back to our lovely counters, finish glue removal, demo the kitchen and then cut the new counters to fit!

10 Week Countdown

Today we hit 30 weeks in our pregnancy with Grain. My belly is a basketball and Matt is constantly cracking good hearted jokes about me being a turtle with my shell on backwards.

Matt is cranking away on the remodel…we are going to need every last day to get this thing done. What is left? A lot:

-finish building/installing kitchen cabinets

-clean blackboard slate (old glue from when they were installed in a school)

-demo existing counters and backsplash

-install new counters and backsplash

-refinish hardwood floors

-install crown/baseboard and other molding

-paint kitchen cabinets, pantry and new fireplace builtins (this may be a post baby project)

Ambitious? Yes, but it is what we need to do. We scheduled the crowning piece for the final week in June: refinishing the hardwood floors! Two weeks before my due date could be an issue, but we have a place to stay nearby, with backup plans if baby has decided to come early. People keep asking about the nursery and I just have to laugh…not till the upstairs is done!

We decided to put open bookshelves for cookbooks etc on the end of our new cabinet section. When all trimmed out and painted white, this kitchen is going to look SO GOOD!

Spring is still taking it’s time in arriving in the PNW. We still have not hit 60 more than a few times! The garden is so far behind and it has been so wet that there has not been much motivation to do anything. We have some tomatoes and squash started in the house, so when it does warm up we will get them outside (and free up space!).

Living in a remodel has been not comfortable, but we are managing it pretty darn well. Luckily our master bedroom is still an untouched retreat where we can have some sense of normalcy in our house. I have been doing a lot of sleeping, resting, taking baths…Matt has been fabulous at just letting me be however I need to be to grow little Grain. It is exhausting!

Since I do not have a direct role in the remodel physically, I am supporting with a constant stream of supplies, research, food and project management (ha!). Getting bids on hardwood floors was a focus last month and we are thrilled with the team we found. I need to order backsplash tile soon, and measure for crown and baseboard molding (I misplaced my list of lengths many months ago…ugh!)

Wish us luck in this last stretch! It is slightly intimidating, but we can see the light at the end of this long long tunnel. And there will be a baby to snuggle when we get there!

April Updates

The sunshine and warm weather has arrived! The 70 degree weekend was glorious and full. Friday night we spent the night at my in-laws and then drove out to Enumclaw to pick up our slate blackboard slabs (future kitchen counters!). We got 14 slabs (so so cool!!!) salvaged from an old school and are thrilled to report that all 14 made it back to the island intact.

I spent the rest of the day weeding and working in the garden. Sunday was a repeat of that, evidenced by a fresh new plot created for a bed of potatoes. I also planted our saved tomato seeds from last year. Matt plugged away inside the house with all the windows and doors open; music blasting. We are on the final stretch of wall/ceiling repair completing the curved plaster edges. So many skills to learn! It looks great.

We topped off the weekend with dinner in the backyard with friends. Grilled pork and pineapple skewers, coconut rice and fresh sauted chard from the garden. Cheers.