Adding Flavor to the Kitchen

I faux painted the 1950’s cabinet blue, used a tall cabinet I had brought down from the upstairs bathroom and one from the corner of the kitchen and painted them to match. I trimmed all the upper cabinet tops with captain’s railings. The two extra cabinets added a lot more storage. When I stripped the hinges on the kitchen cabinets, I discovered that they were made of copper. I bought copper pulls and knobs to match. I modified a maple shelf I had bought several years earlier for my last house and had not used. I hung it by the kitchen table. I brought the same look to it by adding captain rails around the sides and front.

I used my mason-jar collection to decorate the tops of the cabinets and added a few extra items, including copper bowls, and other accessories to match the cabinet hardware.

I painted and repaired the textured wall paper and hung a period-style chandelier over the table area.

My handyman leveled the floor, added pot lighting, an extra plug, repaired the area under the stove, installed a new dishwasher and removed the fake-brick linoleum.

Croft-Beck floors refinished the original pine/oak floor. I bought several braided rugs to soften up the room. In the meantime, I can now enjoy the charming room until I have the finances to do it right.

A Kitchen Stew

If my kitchen was stew, it would have been tasteless and bland. I did not have the finances to remodel the room like I wanted to. One day I could not stand the stark look and bad lighting anymore. A friend had creatively and inexpensively redecorated a little home she had purchased and it inspired me do to something, anything with this drab room.

The textured wall paper had never been completely painted and was stark white. This room with its white on white was not a place where I wanted to hang out, let alone cook.

Even the steps up to the porch off the kitchen were dangerous and built on sand. My handyman rebuilt them. I also had a motion light installed to make the porch area safer.

Down We Go!

Stairways are sometimes a challenge in old houses and mine are a little steep, but not as bad as many I have seen. My handyman crafted the railings going down the stairway from the second floor to match the fall of the steps. Handrails are a must! The tall ceiling and walls above the stairway was really fun (NOT) to paint for someone as short as me. I continued the oak floors from the two of the bedroom out into the hallway leading to the stairway.

When is a Closet a John?

Old houses are often short on bathrooms. The upstairs bathroom that was converted from a closet just needed a good coat of paint and a small cabinet to store toiletries. I painted the room a soft sage green. I found a cabinet at the Salvation Army that fit perfectly next to the pedestal sink. I also bought an over-the-John cabinet at Linens and Things, at a closeout price. My brother helped me install it. I decorated the walls with photos of my granddaughters in sepia tones. My daughter is a professional photographer so I get some great shots as you can see on her web site: http://www.nrimages.com/

There was a nice shower that had been installed by a previous owner. The bathroom might be small, but it beats having to traipse downstairs in the dark of night.

Grandmas Welcome Here

This bedroom needed the least work. I patched and painted it and bought furniture, shipped from Virginia. The style is called “Grandma’s Attic” by Vaughan Furniture Co.

Because the wall in the bedroom bends with the line of the roof, the top of the dresser mirror frame was too high. A friend cut a piece of wood that I placed on the back of the mirror support to bring the mirror a little forward on the dresser. It worked perfectly.

The toughest and most expensive project in this room was repairs to the balcony to the south. See my blog entry: Hold Me Back Before I Jump.