Kitchen Remodel Phase 1: Before and after

The one thing that needs the most work in the house is the kitchen. Lifestyles have changed in the last century and the kitchen in our 1911 home needs some work. Some of the problems are:
awkward layout with the exit to the back, entrance to the basement, entrance to the back bedroom, dining room entrance and pantry door all off of this room
only one upper cabinet in the kitchen
no counter space next to the stove
portable dishwasher that has to be wheeled in front of the sink in order to work.
2 windows: 1 is tall and goes below counter height and the other just overlooks the side of the washing machine
Ugly floor
Hideous wallpaper
Old hardware

fortunately the fridge and stove are okay.

The wall paper was the one thing that really drove me crazy. It screamed country and just was not my style. There also was some little things like the light switch plate which was really weird too.

Things accomplished in phase one
Take down old wallpaper
Prime and put up new paintable wallpaper-Special thanks to Hayley and Dalen on this one I could have never have done it by myself and they were really hard workers and they did a wonderful job cost: $35
Paint wallpaper-Color is Sherwin Williams color called Rain, it is really relaxing and I love it. $13

Paint ceiling and top of walls-they just needed a fresh look and the warm vanilla color allows you to appreciate the trim more than the plain old white did. Cost was FREE because I got this gallon of paint free at a garage sale. I also painted the horzontal molding that runs around the room the same color as the dining room is painted just to tie the spaces together.
Replace hardware: I used my home depot gift card given to me as a going away present by Dr. Brands office to purchase some updated simple drawer pulls and handles.
added new curtains- I had one set and the other I made for under $10

So for under $100 out of pocket, the kitchen is bearable now and I think it looks worlds better. I still want to do some more things but we will have to wait for time and money to allow.

Before and After: Living room and dining room

So a few people have been requesting I post a few pictures of our house. I thought I would post some Before and After pics:

This is the house before with the preivous home owners



After:




So this kinda gives you an idea of the layout of the house

the fish and the land-lover

Can you tell which of our children love water and which one would rather not get wet? We had a great time splashing around at Liberty Lake. It was a great day 85 degrees and the water was perfect. We had just planned on going hiking but after the hike the water looked so good we could not resist letting the kids take a little dip.

Twin TV Episode: Having a ball

The girls love this green ball. They haven't quite figured out sharing yet, but seem to have devised some game here where Noelle runs around with the ball and Lizzy hides and then reappears. It doesn't get much cuter than this. The soundtrack alone will make you smile.

~

just monkeying around

Good Movies?

Any recommendations of a good movie or two to rent?

fountain of youth

Like most toddlers, the girls gravitate towards anything that has potential to make a mess. They could not get enough of this fountain. They kept reaching over and splashing in it. Right now they have little reservations about doing dangerous things like diving head first into the fountain. Elizabeth did just that and it was a good thing I was holding on to her dress at the time. After that she kept trying to do it again.

Ha, you can't contain me mom!


"Lizzy don't reach too far"


Hey mom, the waters fine


"Don't drink the water please"


Running back for more


2 soggy cuties, how can you not love these little trouble makers?

Fighting Girrafes

This is footage of two girrafes fighting at Wildlife Safari. I wonder what they are mad about.

Sprinkler

Wet and wild that's all I can say about the girls first sprinkler adventure.

where credit is due

Noelle giggling

Lizzy smiling

They really do have some hair now.

I am now mourning the loss of yet another camera. This time the LCD screen on my new camera got smashed so I can't use it to review photos. I have my old camera which can't take pictures outside but has a working LCD screen. I am not sure what I am going to do. Thank goodness we had our family photographer Keaton there to take beautiful photos for the 4th of July weekend. All of the photos on the blog from our trip to Oregon were taken by Keaton. She is only 15 but definately has a professional eye when it comes to photography. Thanks so much for all the neat photos Keaton!

Girls and grandparents

The girls finally got a chance to meet Grandpa Dale and really had a fun time visiting him and all of the "ole' aunts". Grandma Hazel came to stay with us the week before we went to Oregon and was a HUGE help for me. I was able to get all of our boxes unpacked in just a few days and of course, she also made a batch of yummy cookies while she was here too.

What a grin

Noelle was just hamming it up for the crowd. She would take a drink and then smile and then repeat until she had everyone laughing. I just love her expressions.

Here kitty kitty

The kids loved to run around in Aunt Jessies big yard. It is neat to visit the country. They loved having the cats, horses, cows and dog so close. I am not sure the animals were as thrilled to have us visiting.

Big Wild Life

We went to the Wildlife Safari in Winston Oregon. I was not sure how my daughters would like it but turns out they really loved it. Noelle and Elizabeth really enjoyed seeing all of the different animals out the car window. We got to go to George the Elephants 27th Birthday party and watch him eat a whole watermelon and an Elephant birthday cake. Noelle just clapped with delight when she saw the elephants. I have been trying to work with the girls on animal sounds. However, right now all animals either growl, bark or moo.

4th

We had a fantastic 4th of July. I took the girls to Oregon to visit Grandma Hazel, Grandpa Dale, Aunt Jessie and the cousins. We had a great time. These pictures are from our 4th of July picnic. You should have seen our fantastic table decorations. Aunt Jessie is so creative and always makes things look so nice. It's nice to have a *Martha Stewart in the family (*without a criminal record of course)