Here we've got what was once the laundry area, and is now a modular working cook top area. The previous owners had their washer/dryer and some white melamine caninets hung up here, on that LOVELY "wood" paneling. Also look at the window and see the bars over the glass? Fantastic. We chceked codes and found that if we wanted to install our gas range there, we'd need to wall in the window. I was pretty sad about this at first, losing light, but we installed a Solar Tube which really lights up the kitchen (I've blogged about it in the past). I created this gas range work station from 2 kitchen carts from Ikea, which I found to match the existing kitchen island we already owned from Ikea. We added casters to it, and I think I may add a towel bar and some utensil hooks one of these days. Anyway, I found the mini-version of the island and bought 2 of them, and set to the sides of the gas range. The reasoning behind this was due to our having 2 competing cabinetry styles already, plus the island in another style, so I worked my magic and made them all work rather than compete. And that area with the range and 2 butcher block surfaces is really convenient, especially with all the oil/vinegar hanging baskets, pot racks, etc. Love it. Check out the custom made Spice Rack, made to match the cabinets, of course.
Here I've got another shot of the kitchen (below) and the Dining Room. In the DR, there was not a lot I could do as far as changing the layout, and I love the built-in china cabinet, they just don't do that in new houses any more. Of course the paneling had to go, I repainted everything and hung a collage of original artowrk I collected on a trip through Europe. I went with Dunn Edwards Navy Teal on the walls, and Waverly Damask print curtains. The table was Warren's parents in the 60's, an artist up in Topanga Canyon made these neat furniture pieces from old barnwood. I bought those chairs at the Salvation Army about 4 years ago and they've been re-painted and upholstered a few times since I've owned them. In addition to having to pretty much re-glue and stabilize each one too.The kitchen shot is from the gas range area, where there now is our refrigerator and a shot of the refinish job I did on the cabinetry. The 2 cabinet styles were completely different, and instead of trying to make them match, I decided to make them completely different, yet complimentary to eachother. The upppers are original to the house (1945), the lowers are cheap stuff from Home Depot. You can see in the before photo that they were painted, or stained, and had cheap tile installed, OVER the ugly printed paneling. I think we made an improvement. I wallpapered Damask print in the insets of the uppers, painted everything else Swiss Coffee, we selected Verde Butterfly granite, which is basically black but has a slight twinkle of green, which goes well with the pea soup color green I did, Dunn Edwards Crocodile Tears. Next to that there is a shot of the island with Vintage poster that I had framed (Aaron Bros 1 cent sale! Usually in January and July every year, worth the wait if you have a lot to frame).
Here we've got a shot of what was once the Most Depressing Living Room in the World, now we have Warren's must-have projection screen instead of a TV, hidden by these graphic art screens that I found online and hung up on the wall with hinges. They're reversible, so when we open them up while using the projection screen, you still see something instead of a plain back. And when closed they're quite a statement. Much better of a statement than what was being made before. Disgusting mauve, smoke-stained walls, hideous Oak shelving and entertainment cabinet, a nappy plaid sofa, and a hospital bed. Vision, I have. Sanity, barely intact. But hanging on by a thread. It's over, but whew! What a project!
And last but not least, the outside. We took down the termite damaged fence to open up the property and make it look less like a compound. What a difference right there! The house was painted Dunn Edwards Rocky Ridge (actually I had it mixed at Home Depot with Behr paint because they were having a huge sale that even my account pricing at Dunn Ed couldn't touch...never agian. Worst paint ever. Dunn Ed's paint is so superior it's not even funny. ) We got new retro-fit windows, and added black shutters. Actually those were in the clearance bin at Home Depot, a return, they were gray and about 2 inches too tall. We chopped them and painted them, saving a ton of cash. We got them for next to nothing because they were a custom order that went wrong. Good things come to those who dig through clearance bins! And you can't see it in this photo, but we have a red front door, it's Dunn Edwards Pomegranete. A fun, cheery red, not too dark, not too orange, not too fire-engine. And the rocks on the front of the house, mostly obscured by the previous owners overgrown hedges, were faux painted by me with a combination of exterior stain and paint. If I have to have rocks on the front of my house, I think I can live with these.
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