Long Overdue!

Finally. I painted my awful cabinets! 

I have wanted to paint my kitchen cabinets since the moment we owned the house. (I'm not going to tell you how long ago that was!) I have had a paint swatch tucked in a cabinet door for 2 years but I would forget all about it until someone would see it and ask, "Oh, are you going to paint your cabinets??" Yes, last year and the year before and the year before... 

The golden oak color has been out of date for years and made the kitchen seem dark, small and very ugly.

I found out about a Benjamin Moore product that goes on like a latex and cleans up like a latex paint but dries and is as durable as an oil paint. It is called Advance and I am SO pleased with how great it looks and how easy it was to use!

I love my kitchen now! I know it will never be on the cover of a magazine but it is wonderful nonetheless. It is bright. How bright, you ask? It is so much brighter I keep coming around the corner thinking I left the lights on and then realize it's all that elbow grease and white paint that brightened the place up.

I'm leaving the upper cabinet doors off for now because my life is so busy that I can't be opening and closing all kinds of doors! (Brian Regan reference). Actually, I do really like how open it feels but the long term plan to take out the center of the doors and add glass panels. Maybe I should put a time limit on that project!

I used to have big bulky blinds in the window but decided to take them down and go with something airy and bright. In steps ivory lace to the rescue! 

Now that my kitchen and I are on speaking terms, I'm pulling out my pretties that have been boxed up for years because they just didn't quite "go" with the kitchen before her makeover.

Now as I sit at the table drinking coffee while one child does artwork and the other drums for the entire Star Wars collection, I can enjoy looking at my lovely kitchen (and then get up and go find my ear plugs).

Boob lights, watch out. Your days are numbered.

Cabinets are Bejamin Moore Acadia white

Back wall is Benjamin Moore Woodlawn Blue

Walls are Clay Beige with green added to take out the pink so it is much closer to Nantucket beige.

Bye bye dungeon

My current project is the basement of a 100 year old house.  The rest of the house looks amazing but the basement looks 100 years old and needs some help!  We are almost done with painting and then this weekend I'll load all the furniture and decorations.

Here are some Before pictures

Any light was absorbed by the black ceiling and black floors.

The basement had become storage for odds and ends that weren't needed in other parts of the house.

Typical teenage boy bed!  

A bathroom was eked out of a small corner in the basement and we are going to do what we can to improve it and provide more storage.  Unfortunately, I can't move duct-work or pipes!   

This has been an intimidating project and I admit my stress level has been pretty high this week but by taking it piece by piece I've broken it down into a manageable project.  This re-do has also included a lot of research on historic masonry and we are going to use a product on the stone that I've never used before.  It's called lime paints and the company is Virginia LimeWorks.  Check them out, there are some amazing products for historic restoration AND new builds!

Stay tuned for the After photos!

update or allowance?

I recently had the privilege of doing a Home-Staging consultation for a family in Fairview, TN.  Their home was on the market for a year without any luck so they pulled it off and are now re-listing it.  They agreed to have a home-stager come out for a consultation (provided by the Realtor, so who would refuse??) but were a little surprised at a couple of my suggestions.  Here is the kitchen as it currently stands-

What would you think when you walked into a house with this kitchen?  Is it appealing to you?  What do you like/dislike about this kitchen?  A friend of theirs suggested giving a "kitchen allowance" so home buyers can do updates.  What do you think?  Allowance or updates?

Here is more what I'm picturing for the kitchen.  I wouldn't change layout but I think the cabinets need to be painted, walls need to be painted and countertop needs to be replaced.

As we all know, kitchens and master bathrooms are really important so besides the recommendations I offered for the kitchen, I also want them to focus some attention on the master bathroom. Here it is now-

The tub and the shower line the wall and since the shower has no door, it is basically a wall of fabric.  My first suggestion for this bathroom is to get a new shower stall that has a door.  The bathroom will seem bigger and a shower with a door is much more practical anyway.  I'm thinking that once the shower is redone then the shower curtain in the tub can come down because it doesn't need to function as a tub AND a shower.  Thoughts?

My second suggestion is to paint the vanity.  Right now it looks old and dinged up.  Aaaand, the wall color should be addressed, too, because this orangey brown isn't a color that will appeal to a broad audience of people.  I'm not saying it has to be beige, but it needs to be current.  Benjamin Moore Yarmouth Blue or Palladian Blue would be a lovely colors.

Here's an idea of what the vanity will look like once it's painted.

This bathroom vanity looked JUST like the one in my client's house.  Here is a link to their  pictures.

Sometimes rearranging furniture is enough to stage a home but sometimes there are some bigger projects that should be tackled so a home feels updated and welcoming.  As a home-buyer, what do you prefer?  Updated home or a redecorating allowance?