Kitchen Dilemma

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009 1 Comment

As of right now the only two rooms that need some TLC are the dining room and kitchen, while I’m fairly certain I know what I want to do with the dining room, I am having major issues with the kitchen.

My first issue is a big one because whatever color/pattern/theme/etc. goes in the actual dining area pretty much determines the rest of the kitchen as everything is connected.

If you look close you can see that the only thing dividing the entryway and the kitchen is the change in flooring. The dining area is made up of wood paneling and wallpaper. In order to take the rather ugly wallpaper down I have to take the wood paneling down as well. Now, at first my idea was to paint the paneling white and some kind of bold color in between; however I run into a problem because of how the kitchen is connected.

Look closely at the trim around the doors and you can see the white space by the cabinets. I also find the trim coming up from the door and around the ceiling a bit tacky, not to mention we have to remove those for wallpaper removal and ceiling painting.

Then comes the actual kitchen itself where I basically can’t touch anything except the light fixtures and walls. The countertop is what’s driving me nuts because it literally does not go with anything. Awhile back my Nana had avocado green appliances so she had the countertop match it. Later when she got new cabinets and appliances, she still kept the countertop despite it not matching a darn thing in there.

I’d love to put some kind of black countertop and get a matching stainless steel fridge and hood range; however that’s something I doubt will happen in the near future because the house is owned by my dad and uncle, and anything major like that has to go through them. And considering all the work we have done, I’m pretty sure I’m getting on their nerves by now.

The lighting is probably the only thing in the kitchen that I know how I want it to look. Instead of a ceiling fan I’d put in track lights of some sort since we have a fan via the hood range. The other light I’d have a hanging pendant, which I feel would look nice right in front of the window. I’d probably get two and replace the black chandelier over the table as well.

So I don’t know. I’d really like to get going on the kitchen next, but I honestly have no idea what to do. What do you think?

Guest Bathroom Finished!

Monday, June 29th, 2009 8 Comments

What a transformation…!

I fought rather hard with this bathroom, mainly because of it being so small. I wanted to go with a spa/bamboo/teak theme because it’s the only bathroom I’d be relaxing in due to the nice bathtub. I had wanted to get a bamboo spacesaver to go over the toilet, and the only one I could find was one from Bed, Bath, and Beyond; I discovered it was only available online which meant I couldn’t use any of my coupons, so I decided to pass.

My next choice was the MOLGER Shelving Unit from IKEA, but after putting it together it ended up being a bit overpowering for such a small bathroom. I disassembled it, returned it, and instead I bought the MOLGER Hook Rack.

The shower curtain I found by accident while browsing through a random clearance shelf at Target. It was on sale for $5 so naturally I jumped on that. It works nice with the rest of the theme! The inside of the shower is in very nice condition despite having a 70’s style to it. The tub is bigger than the previous one I had at the duplex and in much better condition; I’m actually not afraid to take a bath in it!

The light fixture and cabinet was from Lowe’s. We got the same ones (bigger though) for the master bathroom because you can pretty much do any kind of style around mirrors. The tissue holder my Nana had, so I hung onto that. The plant and the “Relax” wall art are both from Ross. You really can’t go wrong with places like Ross or Marshall’s since everything is such a good deal!

I am beyond ecstatic to finally have one room 100% completely finished. The rest of the rooms (not including the dining room and kitchen) are about 90% finished, meaning I’m still needing to add wall art, pillows, etc. before I am satisfied.

Speaking of bathrooms, I received word that the bathroom at our old place is currently demolished and undergoing serious reconstruction. My mom has been staying with my grandparents since Father’s Day, and has been helping get the duplex situated for the new tenants. I met them on Saturday, and they’re a super nice family! I’m excited to see what they do with the place!

[EDIT] You can check out my guest bathroom on Style Room and Rate My Space!

Going Going Gone

Friday, June 26th, 2009 4 Comments

The Friday Five ~
1. Where do you get most of your information about current local events?
As of recent it’s been from my local news station on Twitter.

2. Where do you get most of your information about current national and international events?
Same with question number one, my local news station on Twitter, plus my Yahoo! homepage where I have CNN’s headlines.

3. Who in your family always is most likely to know what’s up with everyone else in your family?
We pretty much all seem to be up in each others business mainly because my mom likes to talk.

4. Who at work (or school) always seems to know what’s going on?
Um… I’m not in that type of environment anymore. My work is the web, and I’m not in school right now.

5. What other kinds of news do you try to keep up-to-date on and where do you get it?
I try to keep up to date with all the latest tech news via Engadget, CNET, iLounge, and several others. Google Reader is my best friend.

- – -

This weekend is our big and final move. We’re officially moving the rest of our stuff out of the garage and bidding the bay area adieu! We already have a new tenant lined up, and it turns out he’s a contractor who plans on redoing the entire bathroom and kitchen. I’m just happy to hear there is someone with enough motivation to tackle that project, but considering he’s moving his wife and two kids in the house, it definitely needs some TLC! I’m just glad this guy is actually a professional and not some crazy person who thinks they are, like the crazy lady before us.

I’m waaay behind on my picture taking, as I’ve been busy doing so much with the house. We’re down to the kitchen and dining room being left to paint, with some trim here and there. I’m working on adding finishing touches to each room with wall art, pillows, and whatnot. Everything is really coming together!

Oh! If you were wondering about my tweet from yesterday, I shall explain. Upon visiting Walmart I noticed a Mexican lady and her daughter in front of the store with a huge Rubbermaid container that had a sign attached saying, “Pupies for Sale.” I checked it out and inside were six Chihuahua puppies which she claimed were 10 weeks old; to me they looked a bit big to be 10 week old puppies. Due to her broken English she couldn’t really tell me if they were fixed or up-to-date on their vaccines, nor could she understand what purebred meant when asked by another lady, even though she kept saying they were all Chihuahua. You know how much she wanted? $400 a pup. PASS!

It’s too bad because if they were free I would totally have a new puppy to gush about now. *shrugs* Ah well. Soon, though.