House Renovation Part II - Kitchen

The kitchen was the first renovation we took on in our now new-old, house.  Pictures speak louder than words, so I've included some photos from one of our first visits to the house.  We knew we needed to capture the kitchen from every angle so that we could start our planning.

The kitchen was clean, functional, and on the small side, but my husband and I agree that if something doesn't bring you joy, than it should change.  We cook a lot and spend a great deal of time in the kitchen so it's essential that we not dread looking at it.  We weren't prepared to make it bigger but it needed a facelift.

BEFORE

Note the square bump out next to the window...it was an old chimney!

Very shiny factory finished Cherry floors.

AFTER

Martha Stewart Living cabinets with Dunemere door style.

Marais Chair, Design Within Reach; Pedestal Table, Crate & Barrel

We painted the wood beams on the ceiling.

The first thing to go were the cabinets, appliances, and paneling.  After revealing the ancient original walls, my husband and some friends tore out the old chimney, a useless square box on our East-facing wall,  with a diamond blade saw because the mortar was too hard for a chipping gun!

We replaced the cabinets with Martha Stewart Living's very affordable cabinets in Sharkey Gray.  My nephew painted the walls in Martha Stewart's Gull, and my husband later tiled the backsplash with inexpensive white subway tile with dark gray grout called "Platinum."

I love Carrara marble countertop, and we deliberated whether to do it again, but I think the look and feel is incomparable, and a little patina adds charm.  Luckily I'm not OCD and a water mark here and there doesn't bother me.

We chose an oil rubbed bronze light fixture from Restoration Hardware to place over the island.

The last thing we did was sand and paint the cherry floors.  Their factory finish finally drove us crazy!  The floors simply were out of sync with the rest of the house.  We chose Benjamin Moore's Floor and Patio paint in Kendall Charcoal.

About the appliances:
We've put the same stainless steel apron sink in our last three homes that we purchased from an online dealer.  This time we went with a dual-fuel, six burner KitchenAid stove which we're very pleased with.

Overall, the kitchen works for our little family.  It's the opposite of the current trend towards open floor plans, but it stays true to this village colonial's original layout, and the facelift made us happy.  The colors are soothing, and allow the color of serving dishes, flowers, food, and people to take center stage.

Martha Stewart Living Cabinets are available at Home Depot.

Found: Eames Lounge Chair

There's nothing better than free stuff, and I thought we'd made a big score each time my husband spotted one of the two Eames lounge chairs by the side of the road.  They didn't come to us at the same time and lucky for us we found two, because from the two we were able to piece together one very decent looking  chair and ottoman.

Introduced in 1956, the set by Charles and Ray Eames was an instant hit and is considered an icon of modern design.  Knock-offs range anywhere from $500 and Design Within Reach sells them for around $5,000.

A bit of Minwax stain refreshed the scratched wooden back.

The set fits perfectly in the master bedroom.

Our find is a fugazy, and an old one at that (the arms are the giveaway), but there's something very gratifying at salvaging something.  There's a thrill in hunting for stuff that I simply don't get when I just walk into a store or order from a catalog, which is why I'm currently stockpiling two dressers and three tables for rehab.

Falmouth fun

Sophie, riding to Cape Cod and the future looked bright

We recently took a short trip to Cape Cod with plans of leisurely days spent collecting shells, dipping feet in the surf, and building sandcastles.  Sadly, it was all just a dream when we realized that one of our children had a new aversion to the sand and wouldn't tolerate more than five minutes of wet feet  in sand on her little feet.

For some reason this didn't really surprise me, however it was quite a rude awakening to my husband.  Clearly he'd never encountered a youngster's textural issue with sand.

It seemed from the beginning of this trip that nothing about July in Cape Cod was going to please this child.  We did some quick re-planning and found other options besides beach-ing it.  We took the Island Queen ferry to Martha's Vineyard, walked around Oak Bluffs, visited the Carousel, and had a fab lunch dockside with minimal incident.  I say "minimal" because Sophie, was brought to tears from her desperation to be big enough to grab carousel rings.  Sometimes it's hard being small.

We rented bikes and a buggy to tow the girls around Falmouth which was fun for everyone.  Obviously this wasn't my idea, but it worked beautifully.  The twins loved it and their parents got some exercise.  I only almost fell into a ravine once.

We took Grandma shopping to all her favorite spots: Christmas Tree Shop, Ocean State Job Lot, and (ugh) Wal-Mart.  It was an interesting trip only because one of the twins decided to shove a Goldfish cracker in her little nose.  Luckily Metro-West Medical Center had mailed us the most useful little first-aid kit complete with plastic tweezers.  They'd obviously anticipated Goldfish lodged in a nostril, as did I which must be why I amazingly had it in my glove compartment.  I thought it was perfect timing for a lesson on what parts of our bodies NOT to put food or other small objects.

By our final day Sienna (who's identity I'm no longer protecting) was ready for the beach.  An 8 o'clock beach time at an uncrowded, sandy beach, with bathrooms and showers was the key.  Surf Drive Beach was a success!  Often a little (or a lot) of patience goes a long way.

If you're planning a visit to Falmouth and don't already have a favorite beach, or your young children have just made you reconsider your favorite beach, I recommend using this site: www.falmouthcapecod.com/beaches.htm.

Roll & Tumble Press

 Perfect in any modern couple's home, a take on an old fashioned sampler; Sin $20

It's no secret that I'm a fan of letterpress posters for the home, and I'm loving these prints from Roll & Tumble Press.  With a selection of rock'n roll feeling prints that would be great in any fun-loving home.  

The prints are "hand illustrated, hand carved wood blocks, paired with antique wood type( most of it 100 years old), using a hand cranked vintage letterpress…….it’s traditional, a labor of love," and it shows.

Drink, inspired by So Cal tattoos, $20

Gig, $25

These prints, and endless others, are for sale through Felt & Wire Shop which has great ideas for your home and entertaining needs mainly in the form of customized paper goods. 

www.feltandwireshop.com

This is 3.5 years-old

Sophie (left) and Sienna

I haven't been posting to this blog lately because my girls are 3.5 years old and we're always on the go, I've taken on some responsibility outside of the home, and so my free time is at a minimum.   Over the last few months the girls have changed, but yet so much still remains the same.

The girls are becoming more independent and rather feisty.  They count to fifteen, love to play hide and seek, jump on their beds, being read to and "reading" to themselves, and telling stories.

They'll interview you about your nail polish, shoes, and jewelry, and are utterly enthralled if you mention a boyfriend, girlfriend, or wedding.  They appear to love me more when I'm dressed up in high heels and makeup.

They tell their dad he's their prince and "I was missin' you when you were at work."  They tell me they were "missin' me when I was in your belly."

They understand when they're snubbed by another child, but don't quite understand empathy not to do the exact same thing to another kid.  It's all very sad, and mom still has to be constantly alert to diffuse and educate.  I guess that's a lifelong commitment.

When given the opportunity they dress themselves, but their choices have to be negotiated, and most times the actual act of dressing sped up so that we can actually leave the house.  You'll most often still find them in tutus (or sundresses) and inappropriate footwear with sparkles.  They'll only wear jeans and vests for their dad, even though I ask them to every day.

You may or may not be surprised to learn that my children rarely sleep through the night.  Whether it's waking to pee, or just waking and realizing I'm not there, they wake up anywhere from one to three times each per night.  We clearly haven't progressed in this area.  Luckily, I've never been one to need a ton of sleep.

According to their teacher they don't yet recognize their own names by site, Sophie doesn't  pedal a tricycle, but Sienna can but prefers not to, they both aren't particularly handy with scissors, however what they lack in these gross and fine motor skills they make up for in their dramatic play and social skills.

They've been asking a lot about death, and regularly telling me they don't want their dad to die.  They know their paternal grandpa is in the cemetery in town, and that our neighbor died recently.  They're concerned that Larry and I will get old too and eventually die which is totally valid.

That last point sounds a little morbid, but overall 3.5 is good.  There's more explaining to do (they ask a lot of questions), but they're a bit easier to reason with.  Tantrums have become minimal and usually only occur when they're tired, hungry, or generally just messing with mom for kicks (but those instances are pretty obvious).

Wish me continued patience.

The word of the day is mombat....

I recently heard the term mombat,  a very close cousin to the word combat, which by definition is a purposeful violent conflict meant to establish dominance over the opposition, or to kill the opposition, or drive the opposition away from a location where it is not wanted or needed.  Mombat refers to mothers engaged in such conflict, in all likelihood without causing physical harm.

I experienced mombat first hand when my children's preschool was nominated in a local Patch poll to determine the best preschool or daycare in town.  

It was a heated race that had parents all over town voting, commenting, and cheerleading for their preschools and daycares.  Actually, mainly just the preschool parents got carried away, the daycare parents were clearly too busy with other things like WORK to comment.  The online commenting got a little ugly even necessitating the local editor and publisher to moderate at times!  One commenter advised everyone to stop getting their "panties in a bunch!" It was mombat.  It was pretty entertaining.  

Clearly something like preschool is a sensitive topic for mothers.  It's one of the first major choices you make for your child, and to imagine that you may not have chosen "the best" could make some suburban moms resort to mombat.  I've heard that kindergarden lotteries and sports tryouts evoke similar instances of mombat, but I'd bet you've already seen that for yourself.

Sexy, Cool Art

I discovered Polaroid transfer prints by She Hit Pause Studio on a fall trip to Brooklyn's flea market. Photographer Matt Schwartz's large scale polaroid transfers feature surf images and his version of pin-up girls.  I love the soft, hazy light in his images, they seem nostalgic yet still contemporary.

  

8x10 prints $75 or $150 framed and 11x17 prints $95 or $200 framed; shehitpausestudio.com

Girl Surfing 

One of the pinups.

Boy + Girl Surfing