the big reveal kitchen

The kitchen is the room in the house most true to the original, and yet totally transformed.

Here is my mom in the kitchen circa mid 1970's. This is the way I most remember it growing up. The metal St. Charles cabinets were almond on the bottom and cream on the uppers. The counters were laminate with a boomerang pattern and trimmed in stainless steel. 

By the time I got a hold of the kitchen, things had changed a bit.

My parents had all the cabinets painted cream (late 70's), The cool formica was replaced with beige formica which matches the beige tile floor.  It was a symphony in beige.

I updated the back splash is a modern, but retro look. I put in a new gas range instead of the electric that was there before. I was able to keep the cool hubcap style exhaust fan.

The counter tops are Silestone quartz in expo grey.

All the appliances are new, like this cool Bosch dishwasher which is so quiet that you can't tell it's even on unless the red light on the floor is glowing!   The floors are now a dark grey rectangular tile.   

More new appliances!  A large wall oven ( my mom's was super tiny) and a pantry door frig.

Finally a burst of color with the orange accent wall.  
The new light fixture is a sputnik type chandelier, and the eat in table and chairs are from Ikea.  Yes, they came in boxes and yes, I put them together!

Here is my daughter recreating her Grandma in the kitchen!

The big reveal-bathroom

My brother Josh and mom in the pink bathroom circa 1959

I am settling in and have decided to reveal the completed renovations room by room.  I'll start with the pink hall bathroom.  It was very pink.  I am all about saving original things but I just could not deal with all that pink.  I was never a big fan of it, the bathroom was gutted except for the tub, which was sprayed white, and toilet, which was recently replaced. 

Here is what it looked like when I got the house.......still pink!

I replaced the pink with white subway tile with a dark gray grout. The floating vanity has a carerra marble top.  Everything from Home Depot.I saved the lighting and medicine cabinets, both of which were probably from the 80's.

A lot of people comment on the tile floor.  It is a matte black tile that looks really modern. The tile gets darker when it gets wet but dries one color. I also found this funky loopy bath rug at Tuesday Morning.

Finally I found this striped shower curtain and some funky artwork.

And the pink bathroom is history!

moving sucks!

Actually moving itself doesn't really suck.  I am genuinely excited about the new house.  But having to evaluate all your possessions, pack them into boxes and physically move them is the part that sucks. 

I just have accumulated too much stuff.  I lived in this house for almost 9 years, but I can't believe all the crap that I have managed to collect.  I want purge myself of all these extra things that do nothing but take up space.  So, I administered the help of a book that has recently become popular, I heard about it on the Today show.  It's call The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up ( the Japanese art of decluttering and organizing) by Marie Kondo.  The author explains all the reasons you need to purge your life of all things that no longer "bring you joy".  If I had any guilt about throwing out or giving away anything, this book would make it all ok.  The book is a bit wordy but it does have good tips on how to tackle the purge and how to put away what you are left with.

But as the move date approaches I find it more difficult to decide what to get rid of and I just end up throwing it all into the box.  I fear I am going to have to have second purge when I unpack.

Speaking of boxes, there are tons of them.  I pack things in smaller boxes because I can't physical pick up the larger one. Even so my entire body aches, yes moving sucks.