Bent out of Shape

With the dog days of summer here I decided it was time to get the back yard spiffed up a bit.  We love to entertain out there so I wanted it to be all set to go. 

Most of the yard is looking good but the dining nook need a little TLC.  The wood furniture we bought over 10 years ago was showing its age.  First I sanded all the surfaces down and applied a coat of tung oil to finish it.  Simple enough and now they look refreshed and almost new again.

I have always wanted an outdoor "chandelier" and thought about getting an old one to either retrofit with candles or plug in when we wanted to use it.....but then I looked around the workshop and saw I had several lengths of steel rods left over from various other projects.

 And a light went on.

I started by searching for some tea light holders that I could use to hold the candles.  From here I bent the metal into a circle that would wrap around the holders.

Then I just started bending the different arms into curvy shapes that ended in a vertical.  I wrapped these together with some thinner metal wire and added a hook to the top to hang it.

Voila!  Instant (almost) candelabra. 

 I love the way no two arms are alike and the sense of whimsy it adds to the space.  It creates such a nice sparkle that now I can't wait to have guests over to enjoy it!

MIA....but I'm back!!

Phew.....don't even ask me where June went...and July is almost half over!! Crazy!!  Forgive me folks,  it's been while since my last blog.  It's been nutty busy, but the kids are in overnight camp this week (just try and wipe the smile from my face) so I have some time to catch up.

We wrapped up the school year in style this 2012.  Quite last minute we decided to go to NYC with the kids to show them the big apple.  And it was fantastic!

We have been to NYC together as a couple a few times and I had been several times prior on work assignments.  I have to say I never tire of that city.  It had been a while since our last visit so some things had changed but the pulse and excitement never fade.  We asked the kids to each make lists of their "must see" things and places.  We asked friends who had been there or lived there for advice on restaurants etc and that helped us set the agenda while still leaving room for being spontaneous.

We started by driving to Buffalo to fly out of that airport - the rates are ridiculously cheap and it allowed me my Target fix as well.

We landed and arrived at the hotel (The W at Times Square).....didn't really love this hotel but the location was convenient....I just found the hotel a bit too trendoid for my taste and the staff a tad pretentious....add to that the fact I'm convinced I was bitten by bedbugs, and let's just say it left me wanting!

Anyway, I digress......

Our first day we spent walking endlessly around just to see the sights.  In hindsight heading there on one of the hottest weekends wasn't the smartest idea.  But we managed.  We did adjust the schedule and took more breaks but still were able to see a ton.  Note that most of these photos I had to pull from "google image" after we lost our camera in the taxi ride....

Some highlights of the trip (and in my opinion not to be missed):

The World Trade Center Memorial Site.  www.911memorial.org/ We had to book tickets online (they are free but you need them because it is a timed admission).....at first I couldn't get them but it said check back frequently and eventually 4 tickets came available.

This was one place all 4 of us really wanted to go to.  And we weren't disappointed.  I must say that when it comes to making a memorial and a tribute, the US does it better than anyone.  Standing there looking at the infinity fountain set into the old foundations of the buildings was moving beyond belief.  Really a powerful and meaningful way to remember such a horrific event.   The museum was fantastic too and had video of survivors and relatives of survivors....needless to say I stood there with tears streaming down my face. 

Next up was Top of the Roc at Rockafeller Center....a friend recommended this instead of going up the top of the Empire State Building and we weren't disappointed.  You get 360 views and can then see the Empire State building...sorry, those pics are on the camera.

We rented bikes and headed into Central Park....a great way to spend the day and see the whole park.  We rode the entire way around it and took in the sites.  Cam loved the reservoir and the scenery and Luke got to go to his pick Strawberry Fields. 
Here he is at the John Lennon memorial mosaic.

My husbands fave spot was The High Line  http://www.thehighline.org/....an old freight train rail line that had been closed, slated for demoliton, saved and revamped as a park.  Only in New York could they make this work so well.  It is probably the best use of reclaimed space I have seen.  You climb 3 flights of stairs and walk along the park for more than 20 city blocks.  It is a great way to see the city from up high and you can stroll along not worrying about traffic or stop lights.  Genius!!  We walked from the north to south end and exited at Chelsea Market...another very cool spot to visit.

The other thing we were pointed towards was Brooklyn.  It is the new hip place to be and again we weren't disappointed.  Had a great Sunday Brunch with the cool kids in Williamsburg and then headed to the Brooklyn Flea. www.brooklynflea.com/ As you can imagine, it was heaven for me.  Tons of stalls set up selling vintage, hand made, reclaimed, food, collectables etc.  Really great place to shop and with a view of Manhattan across the water.

I could have bought lots of things but didn't know how I would fit them on the plane ride home....so instead I settled on a pendant made from an old magnifying glass and a pair of mugs.

....next time we may have to drive down to bring those purchases home!!

It was a really fun trip and I would do it again in a heartbeat.  It can be an overwhelming city so it's great to have a loose plan and some good recommends to steer you.

Wherever your summer vacay takes you, I hope you travel safe and have fun!

Give me a Sign....

Well it's been a while....things are busy with school wrapping up and summer activities/sports starting.  This week was a catch up around the house.  All those little things that got neglected last fall and haven't been done yet this spring.  But I did manage one little project I was hoping to work on since last summer.

It started while I was out paddling on my kayak last August.  I saw a piece of wood floating in the water and paddled over to pick it up....it was a nicely worn board so I stashed it in the foot hold and paddled on.  It has been leaning against my porch since then and this week I decided to do something about it.

Last summer I had repainted the front porch and made a bench seat out of an old door...

The front porch looks great now, but I have wanted to add a sign with our street and number on it since I repainted.

Sooo....I pulled out the old board and set to work.  This is a super easy project and takes no time at all.  I marked the letters/number out on the board in pencil and then painted them on in a durable paint.  I chose an off black for this. 

  Here it is on the front of the house.....

 I love projects like this because they are quick and have a big impact for little effort.

Finally recovered....

Hey all!  Sorry to have been gone for so long....it took a bit of recovery after the kitchen reno, long weekend and general busy-ness that is my life!

No major projects on the horizon for right now.  I plan to recover the chairs in the kitchen - I want to do them in this fun orange fabric for summer...but that may have to wait a while.

I love the pattern and the bright orange in this fabric....pictures to come once that is finished.

Right now though I am busy planning our charity event.  Last year my son started a longboard/skateboard ride for kids with cancer and it was a great success.  We are back at it this year...and being that my son is a 13 year old boy...you guessed it, the bulk of the work is on me.  I am looking forward to it but Holy Toledo it's a lot of work!

Here's the link if you want to check it out:  www.longboard4kids.com

I also have a super fun project for my real work (as a prop stylist) coming up and will post some pics of that when it's done...for now I can't reveal anything about it.

I have been doing some snooping around though at other interesting things I can get up to and came across this really interesting idea for our very ugly laundry area.

(image from Kelly Deck Design)

It's hard to tell from this picture but it's basically like an armoire/cupboard built around the machines with hanging space above.  I love it because it is simple and would disguise the really awful concrete wall we now have in that space....this may yet be a project for our basement!

So it's not been a super productive couple of weeks design-wise...but it was a much needed break from the contant reno we had going on for the past 2 months....it was totally worth it because I am still loving the kitchen!

The Final Reveal

At long last the day has come....we are finished the kitchen.  Well, there are still a few pieces of trim to put on and the tile backsplash and hood fan...but essentially it's all done.

It has been a very long haul...not as long as some renos I know....but living without a kitchen for so long really took its toll.

In the end taking our time to plan and really search for all those pieces that we really wanted was worth it.  We ended up with the kitchen we wanted and it is uniquely ours.

If you are ever planning a reno make sure you don't skip the planning stage.  If you have things well thought out and even pre-ordered,  the easier the whole process will be.  Taking time in the initial planning stages will pay off in the end. Even if it is annoying to have 600 sq ft of wood flooring, a hood fan, light fixtures and building supplies stored in your basement for 3 months.

So without further ado....here is the finished product.

Kitchen Before:

 and here is the....AFTER......

I keep walking into the room just to stand there and love it.  The space has changed so much and the whole feel of the room is exactly how I wanted it.  

One final touch we put on was a vinyl transfer I bought months ago and waited patiently to put up in the new kitchen.  It totally personifies everything I want our family to be.  I love that it will be in the kitchen for us to see every day...words to live by.

Islands in the Stream....

Progress is being made on the island...honestly it feels like it's taking forever but between the kitchen, my real job, kids, working on the charity (www.longboard4kids.com) etc etc....it actually is taking forever!!

I was able to get the cladding on the sides and put on the wood kickplates at least.  The counters are now finished and just getting their "treatment".  Which is a fancy word for brush on...wait 24hours...brush on...wait 24 more hours...do this 7 times (4 coats on the top, 3 on the bottom).

I started the cladding with some old panel doors cut to size and mitred the corners so they would be neat and tidy (this job I assigned to the hubby since I just had no desire to do it).

I cut the kickplates to the correct height (width of door subtracted from countertop height) out of the same wood boards as the countertop.  I left these a little rougher because I just liked that look.

I installed them by simply screwing into the base frame of the island.

Once the doors for the sides had been measured, measured, measured and then finally cut....I was ready to " put a little English on them". 

They had been painted white, but under that were several years of paint colours.....curiously every door I seem to come across has some shade of teal in there.  I think it could be like finding the age of a door by peeling back the paint layers.  When you get to teal, I think you are somewhere back in the 40s...it must have been the colour of the day but I can't imagine those teal doors in a room.

After sanding and scraping all the loose bits off....and sanding down enough in the areas that I wanted to show as wood in the final finish....I quickly slapped on a coat of white paint.  And I truly mean quickly slapped it on.  By this time in the project I was so relieved to be moving forward I just literally finished this step in about 10 mins.  Good thing that the look I am going for is very vintage rustic.

I used up the last of my Annie Sloan Chalk paint in Pure White....you may remember Annie from my table project from an older post....this time Annie wasn't such a pain in the arse to work with (thank goodness) and 1 coat stuck and was all I needed to spruce up the doors.
I didn't want a perfect finish anyway so I just made sure enough paint went on to freshen it up.

After this step I sanded back the areas that would naturally get wear...corners, edges etc.  I sanded back to the bare wood here to give it some character.  And just for fun I sanded back to the teal green to show just a "hinch" (my 10 year olds word combining hint and pinch) of the colour.

Next I brought out the wax..hello again to Annie!  I applied one generous coat, let dry 10 mins and then buffed to a nice sheen.  I must say I do love the finish that Annie produces but she can be a royal pain sometimes!

Voila!  doors finished...this whole process took roughly 1/2 hour and satisfied my impatient need to actually accomplish something.

I installed the doors on the sides of the island and was thrilled with how they turned out.  It is exactly the look I wanted for this piece.

Doing this confirmed my belief in using old doors for these purposes.  The wood is solid and well put together.  There is already detail and character in the mill work.  And you get to save some really neat doors from a landfill while adding amazing charm and history to your home.

The counters are done their 4 top coats and 2 bottom coats.  I more bottom coat, sink and faucet install and we are done!  Can't wait to show the final, final, final reveal!!

Counter Productive

So the final stretch is here...everything but some minor trim work is complete.  Well, everything but the kitchen sink....we can't install it yet because there are no counters for it to go in.

I decided when I was planning the kitchen to put quartz counters on all the cabinets on the north wall.  They went in about a week and a half ago and I love them.  But I wanted the kitchen island to stand out.  Everything around it is modern and sleek....it's going to be rustic and aged.  So I decided to go with wood counters for the island.  And I am going to clad the cabinets with some old doors turned on their sides.   It would add some warmth and character to the kitchen and really make a statement....Sounds easy right?

After finally finding some great boards, getting them milled down to be a consistent thickness I joined them together with the biscuit joiner.  (see previous post for details)

Once I had them together, it was time to cut the opening for the sink and do the final sanding.  I measured carefully and marked out the opening.  I drilled holes in each corner large enough for the jigsaw blade to fit into.  Then I inserted the blade and began cutting out the opening.

Much to my surprise once I was finished cutting out the sink opening, I found that there was a large section of the wood that had huge cracks and gaps in it.  I was so frustrated because the process has been slow going and this was one more thing to set back the timeline.  I mixed up another batch of filler (wood glue and sawdust I had saved from cutting the boards)....patched the cracks and gaps and let it dry...again.

There are no pictures here...I was way too upset to stop and take any!!

Finally I was able to sand off the filler and get ready for the final finish.  As with any wood surface, before you do the final coat of paint, varnish or oil you have to make sure it is really well prepped. Work in stages of coarse to fine grades of sandpaper and the wood will just get smoother as you progress.  When it feels very smooth to the touch, it is done.

I was able to put on a coat of stain on after sanding it really well and it is looking great so far....I now need to put on 3-4 coats of Waterlox (a treatment I found online that is supposed to be the best product for this application) and then they will be finally done....here's the progress so far.

Since I was a bit way-laid by the counters, I had to complete something today so I worked on my message board/calendar.

I took one of my old window frames and made it into part cork/park chalk board earlier.  Today I painted the lines and letters on it so I would have a chalkboard calendar that I can write on month by month and change it each time.  It turned out well, and took a bit of sting out of the counter dilemma.

I added two 1/2 moon vintage handles mounted upside down to hold the push pins and chalk.  I also found these great chalk markers online that will give a very fine line and wipe off the chalkboard.  They arrive next week so I can't wait to try them out!

Stay tuned for the final reveal on the counters and the complete kitchen reveal!