Kitchen Progress - A Somewhat Final Reveal (For Now)

At the end of January, I posted that I was working on our kitchen and gave a sneak peak. Well, there's still plenty of to-do's let to do, but I'm too impatient to wait until I'm 100% done to show you how it looks. And really, as a DIY and home improvement enthusiast, is any space every completely DONE?

Here's what the kitchen looked like last fall. Oak cabinets and builder grade beige paint. Bland is the name of the game here.

And here's what it looks like today!

What was done:
-A pair of chandeliers for the kitchen and breakfast area
-White subway tile backsplash with gray grout
-Painted kitchen cabinets in Rustoleum's Winter Fog
-Stainless steel cup pulls on the drawers

And that's it! All done for under $300 and that's including buying a couple tools and renting a wet tile saw. I'll admit, it did involve using a couple gift certificates received for Christmas and buying a couple things across the border where some things are significantly cheaper.

What's still to be done:
-Seal the grout with grout sealer
-Install over-the-range microwave or if I can't find one small enough, run the subway tiles up to the rangehood
-Roman blind for the window over the sink
-Accent rug

Once those things are done, I'd like to paint the walls a bright white before moving on to the other side of the room, which is the breakfast area. I'll post more about my plans for that very compact space soon.

Guest Bedroom Progress Report - Update!

Good morning! Hope you all had a good weekend. Anyone watch the Oscars? Any highlights I should know about? Because I certainly didn't. It was episodes of Bones and The Unit for us since we're solely a Netflix household these days.

In between vegging out in front of the TV, my husband did the backlog of laundry and vacuumed while I kept us fed and did the following:




I hung up the chandelier and the Andy Warhol prints, both of which used to be in our dining nook at the apartment.

Here's a comparison of before, during, and "after" (although this isn't the final after):


Before & During


"After"

Look familiar? Here's what the chandelier and Warhol prints looked like in our old apartment:



I think the room looks a lot better now but there's still a few things I'd like to do before taking a break with this room:

-Add magazines and/or a small vignette to the nightstands (this month)
-Add a headboard (by summer, DIY perhaps?)
-Install window treatment (outer blind and inner curtains (this month)
-Work on the wall/bookcase facing the bed (by summer)

Eventually I would love to paint the walls if not to a color than at least a bright white to cover the horribly chalky contractor's paint (it's so bad you can rub it off with a wet cloth!).

Living Room Progress - Part II - Lights, Curtains, Action!

If you read my living room progress post in mid-January: Living Room Progress - Paint, Layout, To-Buys, you'll know that ceiling lights were on the list of to-buys.

Behold Restoration Hardware's Polyhedron Pendant:



It comes in 3 sizes (small/medium/large) and 2 finishes (steel/wood). The steel version starts at $395 for the smallest size.

Two big problems with that. First, it would cost us $900 after tax for a pair since we have two ceiling lights in the living room. We still have the rest of the house to do. Secondly, our living room is small with standard 8-foot ceilings and cozy medium taupe walls. Even the smallest size at 21.5 inches in diameter would be quite overpowering.

I've seen it since on decor blogs and in magazines and low and behold, Aritzia's "Wilfred" brand sports a coral version in its storefront as well:


image via Google

Homesense was advertising a lighting and rug event on their website recently so Friday after work I asked Cam to drive us to the one in Leaside. I've been to several others in the GTA and have to say this is the best location. It's incredibly organized, spacious, and chock full of great home goods.

This trip did not disappoint. I found a number of mirrors, art prints, vases, and other miscellaneous items. I didn't leave home with any because I ended up finding someone even better. Yes, that's right, I found the polyhedron pendant lights at Homesense!!!

...For $79.99!!

Not $395US. Not $200. Not even $100. BEST FIND EVER!!

And here they are in all their glory:


(Above photo cropped as my husband's intense Gran Turismo 5 game face would've scared you away)

This is the before photo when we visited our house:




The curtains are the "Rivta" from IKEA and the rods are by Levolor, which is available at Home Depot, Canadian Tire, Wal-Mart, and a lot of other reno and discount department stores.

Still lots to do but it's coming together!