Kitchen Update

I followed the tracking information on the hinges but there had been no updates after they left the warehouse. So imagine my surprise when I hear the Post-Lady drive up Saturday afternoon and so I peeked out the front door and there she was walking my direction with a box in her arms. Yay! The hinges finally came! I was SO glad to see them.

Turns out that it wasn’t quite as simple as putting screws back in the existing holes. These little buggas are a little more temperamental than all that, so it took a long time to get the doors back up – but Holy Smokes! There are doors on my kitchen cabinets again! YAY! I can’t believe what a difference it makes in the room! And the white cabinets really brighten up the room! I took some photos but it was dark and the lighting isn’t that great so I’ll wait for a bit of sunshine and then let you all in on the details that are finished so far.

I have six sections of cabinets, two of which I think are complete. When I paint the toe kicks, two other sections will be finished. The fifth section needs a final top coat of paint but I’ll do that with the cabinet doors in place. And tables and red rosin paper are back out and the doors are off the final section waiting for the process to begin all over again.

We had guests here last evening and it was nice to have the kitchen looking more put together (aside from the cans of paint and boxes of kitchen hardware) even if it was fleeting. Taking down the tables and the saw horses sure made the place seem much bigger for a while and I got to enjoy the new floor for a while. But it’s really time to wind up this project, I’m very impatient to have it complete. So, tomorrow I’ll start again if I can. Photos coming when I get a little good light, though it’s been raining so much that I soon expect to see animals coming up Gypsy Hill two by two.

I just couldn't finish the post with no photos at all, so here is a sneak peak:

THOSE are the polymer clay cabinet knobs in place.  And I lurve them!  I really do!

Happy Creating,
-Carmen Rose

The HINGES are FINALLY here

I met the Post Lady on the sidewalk in front of the house, I'd been listening for the mail truck.  I was Soooo excited that the hinges had finally come... I danced with the box into my kitchen, grabbed a knife and opened the box to survey my new kitchen finery...  (which would make it possible to actually install all the doors that are LEANING against something in my kitchen right now!)

And I took a look at these... and quickly realized that they are the WRONG HINGES! O Bother! The are flush mount, I need inset hinges. These have a little bend, and the screw plate comes father in on the door. Blast!  Blast!  Blast!

I ordered these bad boys on December 27th, they didn't get here until today. Now... I'm wondering how long it will take to get the hinges that I wanted, and that I thought I was getting.

Now let me clarify.  This IS the product that I ordered. When I realized my mistake, I emailed the company and asked that they trade out what I had ordered for the other style. They emailed back and said that would be fine. I thought we had it all worked out. Only problem... they shipped the order instead of the update. Sad really, what a waste of time. I'd really like to get my cabinets put back together so things are usable again. I have a great kitchen, that I'd like to USE!

And I'm really really hoping that this second order doesn't take 18 DAYS to ship, that is TOO LONG unless they are actually making them from scratch. So at this point I'm not terribly impressed. Their website says they don't take returns without authorization... so it will be interesting to see if customer service can redeem themselves on this. I'll keep ya posted.

Thankfully, in the same box were some wonderful cabinet knobs, they are PERFECT for my lower cabinets and drawers and I LURVE them! Thing is, now that I've made polymer clay covered knobs for the upper cabinets, that changes the number of these cool "oil rubbed bronze" ones that I need... so I'm ordering more of those as well.  Can't wait to see it all come together!  Sometime.  Hopefully this year. 

I've picked out my range.  I have chosen well... it's a thing of beauty.  One catch.  I want to cook with gas, our range is electric.  It's going to cost me a variety of limbs to get gas to the house, and I haven't seen the contract yet so I don't even know if the price I was quoted gets the fuel to the house, or into the house to the range (and future gas log fireplace upstairs.)  Hmm... decisions, decisions.  I do SO love cooking with gas...  and I have my shiny new range all picked out...  And then the old harvest gold one can go to the basement to be used in the studio and as a backup.

Mies Van der Rohe said "God is in the details."  Perhaps.  All I know is that I love it when a plan comes together.  And having the doors installed where they go will be WONDERFUL!  I can't complain, there are so many that have it so much worse than me. 

A little unhinged, but counting my blessings,

-Carmen Rose

Beginning the Kitchen Tile Install

The work has started!  We've taken up the old flooring, what do you think?  Good choice?  Yeah, it was pretty horrible and there was SO MUCH of it!  (But not anymore!)

The hubby carefully took up the old stuff, it took some doin but it came up.

Then I started in laying a row right down the length of the room. 

Tile in both pantries and more to go...

Lay out a few rows worth of adhesive until it's dry enough, lay the tile... (and repeat.)

Almost all the whole tiles are down, now I'm working on the tiles that fit in around the edges.  Believe it or not they cut relatively easily when heated, which was good news to me!  I've laid plenty of tile, vinyl, ceramic and even some marble over the years but never a room this size and I don't remember ever working with VCT before.

And every time I found the process annoying, I just pictured my kitchen with the new floor complete and I knew it would be worth it!  And a few of my friends are coming Monday to help me paint the cabinets.  Slowly but surely we are saying "Bye Bye" to the old kitchen!  =)  I can hardly wait to see how it all turns out!

Have a project at your house you've been putting off?  Don't be afraid to try something new!  Give it a try and see what happens!  Happy transformations!

The Bathroom Gallery at Studio B.

This bathroom got a face lift back in July... I still can't believe the transformation! And I've been dressing it with artwork, little by little, ever since. I finally added a few details to it today and decided I was ready to share photos. So here's the grand tour of one vintage 1975 bathroom with an updated look and some cool art & accessories.

Welcome, come on in! As you turn into the bath from the hallway, this is what you'll see:
I made this quilt. Here are some of the stages that this quilt went through: Mid & Finished. It's all hand dyed cotton except for the unbleached muslin.
Turn a little to the left and check out the floating shelves we made. We bought a sheet of MDF and made them, they are available at Ikea as well but they don't ship them and the closest Ikea is too far away for casual visits. So instead of planing a pilgrimage, we made our own.
There is no window in this room, so the track lighting and the lights above the vanity are it. See the transformation post for photos of the new lighting.
It amazes me now beautifully this small painting works with the quilt. This is a piece by Melody Johnson and it's one of my favorite things in the whole wide world! (Her post about this painting is in her archives here, a ways down the page.) A friend of mine saw it and exclaimed that she wondered how Melody put a piece of my soul on her canvas.
These candle holders came out of my wood pile. After a quick visit with the chop saw downstairs, I had three. And I love it that one has a little branch sticking out. FYI, if you'd like to try this, make sure you use really well cured wood with no sap or bugs. Sap molds, and spiders spin webs and the combined result is rather unpleasant! =)
I collect fleur de lis, so when I saw this clock with the fleur de lis on the hour hand, I knew it needed to live at my house plus it is shaped like a clock I remember my father winding every night before bed. The poppy photograph is one I took ages ago by the side of the road when I took the scenic way home one day. I saw a cool old barn with all these poppys and slammed on my breaks. It was beautiful!
The little paintings are a series I did ages ago using fleur de lis as the focal point and working in all kinds of layered visual textures. And the rubber ducky is there because rooms shouldn't be too serious!
And of course there will be a piece of my hand painted art glass in the room - somewhere!
Turn more to the left and you'll find more work. The flash played tricks with the mirror reflections which is kind of cool because that way you can actually see the light fixtures! I just picked them out, I didn't create them.
These tiny little quilt has found a home here in the bathroom, I only very recently finished and framed it. Details here and here.
On the thermostat is this lovely little cardinal created using the limoges style of enamel work by my friend Judy Ligon. This little birdy is really something special in person, that's for sure!
And here is Vincent keeping my earrings and ring ready for me, what a doll! More of my hand painted art glass and a bar of soap I made.
That spot between the closet and the tub just needed something. And in keeping with my fleur de lis addiction, I pulled out this silver and copper piece I created some time ago. It's a bit big and bulky to wear, even for me. So I think it's new home will be on the wall rather than on my skin.
I'm very pleased with how it all the artwork works together and how the room turned out. Both bathrooms look good now, see photos of the facelift in the other bathroom.

Now for the rest of the house. =) Time to get crackin!

Another Bathroom Facelift

Our small bathroom had a bad case of ugliness so we gave it a little facelift. Nothing major, we didn’t move any of the big stuff.

Vintage 1975 blue shower, blue vinyl floor with glitter in it. Can't believe anyone ever manufactured that stuff.
The light and mirror get the award for the worst things in the room. And the sink... well... it is what it is.
So I went shopping and when I got home it was time for the real work. First, that med cabinet was out of there, it had been installed way too high on the wall and I wanted it lower. Which wasn't as simple as it seemed like it should be. Never is.
Some fancy drywall patching, a coat of paint and the new light fixture installed and it's already looking like a different room. There he is, looking pleased with his work! And I love the extra space inside this mirror/med cabinet!
I put down a new floor, vinyl tiles go down fast and are pretty easy to cut if you have the right cutters. Hubby put the baseboard back down and that finished up the floor.
On the window I used a piece of vintage textile from my collection and it fits beautifully on the window. I hung it from a tension rod on clips and the hand work on it is a nice detail and a touch of color in the room. A new white shower curtain, and a nice new extra long towel holder. (curtain rod)
I painted the vanity "Italian Leather" and was surprised with how much I liked how it turned out. Removing the old hardware and patching the holes and some new hardware from the Restore and it's a big difference. A new GFI outlet and white switches and plates were more nice details.
We visited our friend John Sproul to make some bracketless shelves in his woodworking shop and for the price of a sheet of MDF we built some serious shelves. Hubby is putting the finishing touches on them after he'd attached them to the wall.It didn't take me long to fill those shelves after the paint dried. Three of my hand painted vases look great here, and a landscape photo taken from our front porch when we lived in the artist/witch's house. Of course there is a bowl of beautiful soaps. The fleur de lis are a theme with me, have been for a very long time. I don't know if that plant will make it there or not, I guess we'll see.

I found this great clock at Big Lots and it even has storage space inside which tickled me pink.

There are a few more details I will to attend to at some point in this room but for now I'm really pleased with how it is turning out.

Bathroom Makeover

Before (well... we'd already started making the mess at this point)Everything was vintage 1975! There were various colors of green in this bathroom, from the avocado tub, to the multicolored floor, to the moss green counter top… and then the gold walls. Mercy! Instead of remodeling, I decided to give it a face lift. No demolition, no tile work, no big mess or big bill. Just a new look.

After:

First of all, I covered this avocado tub...
...with this great new shower curtain from Marimekko.
And all the gold paint had to go! I chose a shade of green that would tie the other greens together and give an updated look.
I picked out a new faucet and hubby installed it for me. I picked up new hardware for the vanity. (Can you tell I have a thing for fleur de lis?!) We painted the vanity and all the trim in a lovely clean ultra white. I removed the hinges and rattle canned them white. Hubby installed new GFI outlets and changed the switches and recepts to white with white plates.
My hubby removed the old lighting and put in track lighting, with two pendants lights and some spots. I love how the glass shades echo the black lines in the shower curtain and the flexibility of track lighting spots.

I must admit to loving my new TP holder which is now on the end of the vanity to the right of the throne rather than on the wall to the left.
I like how the new towel holder works to cover up the intercom system a bit. Though I love having music from my ipod piped to every room in the house, I think the wall units are kind of ugly.
The "towel rack" is ready for towels, and that wall is ready for artwork! So I'd better get to work!
We were able to do all the work ourselves with help from my Mom & Dad who dropped by to help paint and re-hang the doors. It was far cheaper than a remodel job and we have a nice sense of accomplishment in the transformation.

Thanks for stopping by.