13 Hours of Rain

It is time to update on two previous topics: Kitchen Renovations While the goal of completing our kitchen renovation at the end of last year was not met, I am pleased that we are almost done (and everything thus far was paid in cash). In January, our backsplash was tiled by a professional. And while the price-tag for the work was a steep, the task was completed in two days (as opposed to many frustrating days if we did it ourselves). We have a few more items to address in this kitchen of ours to complete our “low budget” overhaul, namely: 1. Paint lower cabinet interiors. 2. Repair one warped cabinet door. 3. Repair the ceiling around new pendant lighting. 4. Re-stain kitchen window castings. 5. Install new blinds/drapes. 6. Replace current garden door with something more aesthetically pleasing and energy efficient. 7. Add high stools at peninsula overhang. Banking in the Now In September of last year, I was compelled to drastically reduce the use of our credit ca...

I am more and more pleased on how this kitchen renovation has been going! My husband grins when I tell him, once again, for the umpteenth time, "I really like this. I am so glad we did it!" It is an added blessing that we are accomplishing it with cash instead of debt (so far, that is). The remodelling of our kitchen hasn't been without its challenges. We've made mistakes. We are dealing with mild plumbing issues. Our fridge and dishwasher, which we bought upon purchasing this home, are giving us issues, again! But lately, it has been more positive than negative. Phase #3 has been resurfacing our kitchen cabinets, door frames, and trim ourselves. As mentioned in a previous blog post , we used Rust-Oleum Cabinet Transformations in the colour Quilters White (an ivory/creamy white). We updated the hardware from the out-dated brass to brushed bronze. Furthermore, we are in the process of painting the interior of our cabinets a high-gloss white and lining the shelve...

Today I finally finished a small kitchen project that I started in the month of March: Renovate the Pantry . My overall kitchen renovation plan includes removing three overhanging cabinets to increase the amount of light flow in the shared dining room/kitchen space. But before I call in the pros to tackle the job, I wanted to make sure my other cabinet space could accommodate the dishes from the proposed removal. My theory was that if I relocated almost all of the dry goods that were scattered throughout the other cabinets to one central location, namely, the pantry, the other cabinets would have more room for our plates and cups. My husband was originally skeptical (and some of our friends share his opinion). But I think my work has convinced my husband, at least, that we will not be without space once we open up our kitchen. Here is my pantry before: As you can see, my previous pantry space had two shelves missing. For some ridiculous reason, the shelve...

Dear Reader, Well, we did it. Sort of. Over the course of a week, my husband and I removed kitchen cabinet doors and spread them over tables and tarp in our kids' basement play room. We scrubbed years of grease and grime off. We patched up holes and sanded plastic wood filler. We painted. Coat one. Two. Three!? And then we brushed on the protective layer. What a helluva lot of work for two amateurs! Our kids were thankfully at their Grandparents' home three hours away. But we had less than a week to get much done. There are still parts of our kitchen that need painting. But we accomplished our main goal: resurface cabinet doors, drawers and visible frames. The product we used was Rust-Oleum Cabinet Transformations in the colour Quilters White . Here is my quick review of the product. Pros The kit comes with all the main products you will need in one box. You receive a deglosser, scrub pads, paint stir sticks, bond coat, decorative glaze, and pr...

If you have been following my blog over the past 2.5 years, since I moved into this city, you would know that my kitchen/dining room appearance was definitely on my cons list when my husband and I purchased this house. Deep purple walls coupled with worn, outdated reddish-brown mahogany cabinets screamed, "Ug-ly!" As soon as we settled in, I called in two contractors to present me quotes to completely rip out my old cabinetry and build me something brand spankin' new. Then came the price of such a reno. For about a year and a half I waffled back in forth on the issue. Complete overhaul? Or renovate what we have? Back and forth I went, like a crazy preschooler on a teeter-totter. My poor husband couldn't keep track of what side I was on from day to day! Eventually, I faced my reality. We only have one income. We don't like debt. I don't want to save for ten plus years for a complete re-do. We love our house and we don't want to move just to possess ...