Kitchen Reno Update

I have finally set aside the time to post an update. Things have been steadily progressing and I have now become a 'regular' at my local tile shop, as they said today. We have the bones of the kitchen space in place with the construction of a wall that is around 65cm (or 650mm in tradie talk) wide. 

This then brought us to the issue of the floor. This has been one of the biggest concerns for me since we took out the old kitchen and removed a wall. Doing this left us with a floor that looked like this.

What to do, What to do, What to do I thought!!!! I played around with all sorts of ideas. The problem was that the tiles that we have now are discontinued and despite all my searching, do not exist on this planet anywhere!! In keeping to our budget we didn't want to completely re-do the entire floor as it extends into our living room as well. We worked out that it would take around 51 tiles to patch the floor in the kitchen and then tile a border in the entry and fill it in with something else. So off to the shed we went and counted our left over tiles that we had stored for years.........................we had 52! I then contemplated filling in the centre of the entry with a natural sisal carpet. When someone mentioned to me that it may look like the foyer of an RSL I quickly abandoned that idea. I then went to every local tile shop to pick their brains. I finally decided to go for a smaller tile and lay it on a diagonal and try to match the colour as close as possible. I was so 'over the moon' the day I found a tile that was sooooo close to my original tiles. That excitement lasted about 2 days... until I found out that it was discontinued. So off I went searching again and found not quite as close a match but I am still happy with the result. 

 The kids enjoyed getting involved with nailing and gluing down the fibro in preparation for the tiling.

Then we had to work out a way to have access to all the bedrooms while the tiles were drying. The kids actually enjoyed this part!!

 

 And here is the finished product

The colour difference is quite noticeable but I am actually really pleased with the result. Once I have the entry bench seat and shelf in I think the focus 
won't be on the floor anyway.


The kitchen is now only 11 days away and here is my poor husband painting at 10pm at night to try and have all the painting done in time. 

Until next time...Goodnight!!!

A Project On The Side!!

As if I need another thing to think about at the moment!!! But I can't help myself. I found this pic somewhere on the Internet (I can't remember where!). I was drawn to it immediately and I have decided to try to recreate my version of it in my entry. Check it out below.

I love so many things about it. Especially the numbered frames. On closer inspection you might notice that there is a shelf, then six frames, and then a strip of hooks, but it all looks like one piece at first glance.

What is a coincidence is that recently I purchased a throw from Ikea that I thought I could use as inspiration for my lounge room, and it is so much like the one on top of the baskets. My one is pictured below. It was only around $30 which I thought was a bargain.

I also did a dash to Spotlight today and purchased my version of the baskets for the top of the shelf and also some black frames from Big W which were only $5 for two!!! (You will gather as we go along that I love finding bargains!)

The space I'm working with currently looks like this.

And I think the bench I already have will be just right!!

The floors will be tackled in the entry after the kitchen is installed. I can't wait for the ball to get rolling. The kitchen is due to get installed on the 5th of March so be sure to check back then. The wall at the end of the entry will be coming down within two weeks which will then open up the kitchen space. Until next time!!

Kitchen Renovation

Well after much nagging from my much loved sister in law I have finally decided to write something in this blog she and I created about a year ago. Until now I didn't have something I felt so excited and passionate enough about to spend the time blogging!!! With four kids and a busy lifestyle (and too much Foxtel viewing) I couldn't find the right time or the right subject to blog about. BUT..... now we are about to put a new kitchen in and I thought why not start here!! Trying to design a kitchen is so exciting and so scary all at the same time. I want to be adventurous but safe, classic but not dated, innovative but traditional.....and there can be so many little things to decide on. Doors, layout, bench top, splashback, handles, appliances, space, function,.... oh and BUDGET....and the list goes on. I feel like if one thing isn't thought about carefully it will let the rest of the kitchen down. So far my husband and I have secured all the big decisions such as layout, design, style, bench tops and door colour. Now the cake is baked the icing needs to be given just as much thought. By icing I mean the pretty stuff!!!...handles, splash back and window covering. At the moment the existing kitchen is almost pulled out but you can get an idea from the photos what the colour and style is like. I felt it was too dark and drab so for our new kitchen we are going bright, light, and white. Silver will play and accent roll in accessories, handles, and pendant lights. I have been given much of my inspiration for this renovation from other blogs and from my favourite designer Sarah Richardson. If you haven't yet seen her renovation shows such as 'Sarah's House' and 'Sarah 101' I hope you can check them out soon.

Today was all about picking a sink so that a few measurements can be finalised and also a splashback tile, although that isn't urgent. I am on such a high this afternoon because I found the most gorgeous tile. It is a penny round mosaic in a colour called 'Mother of Pearl'. I am hoping it will give my all white kitchen the bling factor it needs without being over the top. I'll try to post a pic of that too.

Where the highchair is was our dining room.This will be where the new kitchen goes. The sink will go under the window. The stud wall that you can see is a new wall. That was our loungeroom which we have now closed off and created a fifth bedroom.The wall that you can see patches of colour on is coming down which will create an open hallway from our front door to the back room that I was standing in when taking this pic. It's a bit confusing but you'll see as we go along.

ok...so the wall that the fridge is on in this pic will stay but now be a hallway.

As my kitchen is now half demolished this is currently my cooking facilities...

jealous...Na I didnt think so!!

These are the Penny rounds I found today. They are very reflective in the light and, I think, would look gorgeous with pure white grout. Let me know what you think.

This link http://www.younghouselove.com/ will take you to a blog you may already know. They show how to install penny round tiles although we will be getting a professional to do ours!! Another blog  http://thehousethata-mbuilt.blogspot.com/ shows a house that I am soooooo in love with. Check out the style of her kitchen. I luuurve it!!!

Well stay tuned and enjoy the journey...