Lazy + Cheap

Being the lazy painter I am, I didn't sand the hutch frame... so that is probably why it has required five coats (Behr paint with primer)!  I told myself five is enough!  If I can still see brown wood, I'm hallucinating.  If you see brown wood, you TOO are hallucinating!  :)  Projects take some time..eh?  Good time.  What's left?  Well.... I'm done with the paint brush and now I pick up the can for some detail work.  I'm reusing the old hinges and I'm hoping they will be invisible by painting them white.  I also needed new handles as the old ones were very ugly and I think I tossed them early on (or they are somewhere in the garage, I'll never find them).  As I looked for handles to match my adorable hutch, I found these ones on Anthropolgie's website. 

Lovely, yes? 

 $18 ea

I still need to buy handles for my kitchen cabinets so I just had to say NO.  Sad.  I'm sure they will end up in a perfectly well-adjusted home - just not mine.  So, I leave one happy place and enter another.  I ventured out to Goodwill with the hope of finding six cute handles.  Amazed, I found six handles bundled neatly together for $2.99 - what a deal!  They were also the exact dimension I needed to fit the pre-drilled holes - 3" hole to hole.  Are they cute?  Heh... not exactly.  We shall see how successful I am with the can of spray paint. 

 

 So brassy. 

Waiting...for their turn. 

I actually saw them at Lowes (one of my other stops today).  About $3 each I still got a good deal.  Until I'm willing to pay the big bucks, these will have to do.  

I also made progress in other ways tonight.  I unpacked ONE whole box.  Pretty exciting.  I know the hutch isn't done but I put in the shelves and displayed all my stemware.  Considering it's been packed away for more than a year and moved around numerous times, only one champagne glass was broken.  I was giddy to display some sort of decor! 

Life is slowly being breathed into this little house of ours...

Beige is a-okay.

Painting the built-in hutch has been on my list of things to do since we painted the walls.  It's been half done for most of that time (doors and shelves almost done).  I decided to stop looking at it and take action today.  The first coat is now dry.  What's that?  What color?  Hold on to your hats, it's WHITE!  No surprise there.  I thought about being wild with it and adding color (yes, again) but I always pull myself back into neutral.

Many more coats to go...

Not sure why I can't accept the fact that I love neutral colors.  It really is OKAY.  Someone's gotta love the beiges, taupes, whites, grays, and browns.  Allow me to face up to the fact now.  I have been residing in my guest room for a few days (don't ask, numerous reasons).  I was walking by the room and admired how lovely the unkempt bedding of white and beige looked against the gray walls.  I wanted to crawl back into bed!  Or maybe I was just tired?  Nah.  It really was the charming color combination along with sun shining through my natural shade.  I'm getting sleepy right now.

Here ends the battle.  I surrender.  See my white flag.

Rearing it's ugly head

I'm running out of patience and requiring perfection - it's not looking pretty over here.  I suppose I'll just let go now (see..me...letting...go...now).  I've waited 1+ year, what's another day, week, or month.


So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. 
Today’s trouble is enough for today.  Matthew 6:34

....and the winner is

Wilson Art's Pearl Soapstone.  

Thank you to all for the input!  Votes were split down the middle, believe it or not.  The love affair with gray continues.  I choose the color, the order has been processed $$$ and now I wait.  Unless I've overlooked something this is the last decision ... well, do I count recessed lighting and the pendant light above the sink?  Nuts.  How silly of me to think I was actually was done making decisions!  Well, those should be easy ones, right?  Ha!

Dreaming of Laminate

Dizzy with the last decision to make for our kitchen - counter top color.  Laminate is the winner but it has been all long.  Gray is the obvious choice.  I LOVE, LOVE gray but I thinking about shaking things up with another neutral.. ;)  I was half tempted to just go with a lime green for fun (and maybe to see the look on Jason's face when he got home).  

I could use some help - which one do you like?   Pearl Soapstone or Shoji Screen
(If this helps you - cabinets are white, medium brown laminate floors, light taupe walls, SS appliances)

 

Progress?

Our GC spent the past two days anchoring our island and attaching side panels.  It's amazing how the island came to life after being raised only 4 3/4" high.  While he was working I was able to sit there and I feel it's potential - it's going to be a great spot to gather and chat while someone (Jason, hehe) cooks.  

 As close as we are getting, we are still so far.  Sears so promptly informed me that my cook top is delayed until March 22nd (was suppose to be ready tomorrow) .  *sigh*  I really hope that's the date but for some reason I have this feeling I will get another call with the same message - "another week out".  We'll just wait and see.  What else can I do?  The hood I ordered last week has not been delivered either but it 'shipped' last Friday.  I ordered my sink online too, no idea when that is coming.  More waiting.  Ah, patience.... :)  I do have ONE item on hand, ready to go - my faucet.  Went with a model from IKEA, Ringskar.  I hope it functions as well as it looks.  What joy it will be to have water running through it! 

 

    

What's for dinner?

No physical progress unless you count the rearranging I did.  I always want to do this when no help is available.  Thank goodness for felt pads - what would I do without them?  I was so tired of having the 'kitchen' behind the sofa plus do I really need two microwaves?  Two weeks was enough.  Old Ken(more) is on craigslist, awaiting a new home.  New Ken cooked my dinner tonight - Trader Joe's Tuna in Red Curry Sauce.  Not bad for a quick meal.  One day I will have a cook top and I'll be able to make home-made curry - Oh, that will be the day!

I've been prowling the internet for sinks, faucets and island hoods this past week.  I committed to an island hood from overstock.com.  I was hoping it would be here before our GC starts next week but I don't think it's even been processed yet?!  I was uber-cheap with a $25 coupon .... AHH!  I just checked the status - 'SHIPPED' !  Very exciting..can't wait to see it.  Hope it looks and works as well as I'm hoping!  Monday I plan to commit to a sink and hit up IKEA for a couple replacement pieces.

Remember kids, measure twice - cut once!  Or have someone else measure and cut for you. ;)