It's the Little Things

Sometimes, it's the projects that are (relatively) small, that make me smile the most when they are completed.

BASEMENT DOOR

After replacing the garage door and the pantry door, the door to the basement was painfully, obviously, begging to be scrapped. All three are in a line in the kitchen, so the ugly hardware and dirty door stuck out like crazy.  Also, it didn't close - that's kind of a theme around here apparently.

The above photo was taken before we moved in, while we were working on painting the downstairs, so the pantry is still in its original state as well. Those old window treatments from the living room sat in the hallway like that for an embarrassingly long time, by the way.

It makes me a lot happier to look at those doors now that they are shiny and new.

The unmatching hardware is totally my fault.  A long time ago, I decided that the pantry door should have a different handle to distinguish it as a closet, not an entrance.  Then, when we worked on the pantry, I decided I liked the way the knob looked more than the handle.  Then, I refused to buy new (matching) hardware for the basement door, because it seemed like a waste.

I'm a crazy person.  Moving on...

ENTRY TABLE

This may seem like a very minor change, but I searched for weeks and weeks for a table to sit next to our front door.  We made-do with a moving box for a while, but it just wasn't the "look" we were going for.

There is a 16" vent on the baseboard, and an outlet that I didn't want to cover just above it. This spot is also right at the foot of the stairs, so the table couldn't protrude too far from the wall. I didn't think it would be an especially tall order to find an appropriate little table, but weeks of searching my usual favorite haunts and two returned purchases later (darn vent!!) showed me otherwise. Then, one fateful afternoon in World Market, Mum spotted this gem in a corner back by the rugs.

I ended up getting 10% off the sale price because it was a floor model and slightly scratched (nothing a little stain pen didn't fix), and they let me use a coupon on top of that so I paid $32 out the door.  After looking at wobbly, not-even-real-wood, crappy pieces that were upward of $100 it was such a steal!
I know it's just a table, but I love her so much. Of course she's a she. Look how pretty and perfect she is - she was made for that spot.

LINEN CLOSET

Before we could put away all our sheets & towels, we desperately had to do something about this:

Why do the closets in this house give me the creeps so much?! Why do the shelves look like they're melting?!

So, after a couple of cut-to-size shelves and 2 coats of paint, I no longer feel the need to hold my breath when I open the door to the linen closet.  The paint was just leftover from the dining room, so this transformation was totally on the cheap.

If only I could make it look as neat now that there is linen spilling out of it...

I might be a towel hoarder.

These projects were by no means the most thrilling or grand, but they make a huge difference in ridding the house of that "we just moved in last week" look, that we're so good at.

Backsplash Part 3: The Finishing Touches

There were three little jobs left before the kitchen backsplash tile project was officially finished.

SEALING THE GROUT

To avoid moisture damage in the future, we had to seal the grout lines, and natural stone tiles in the backsplash.  Honestly, I have no idea if I really did this right, but I sprayed the whole area very generously with the sealer, spread it around with a sponge and soaked up the excess with paper towels.  I let it dry for 15 minutes or so, then repeated the same process.

CAULKING THE EDGES

We used a tile caulk in the same shade as our grout, to finish the rough edges of the backsplash.  I also ran a bead along the bottom of the tile where it meets the countertop, for added waterproofing.

ELECTRICAL OUTLETS

Since the outlet faceplates now rest on the tiles rather than the wall, we needed to bring the outlets forward to meet them.

The lady at the tile workshop had told us to expect this problem, so we had the plastic shims already on hand.  Unfortunately, the original screws weren't long enough, but after we bought some longer ones, it was as simple as unscrewing the outlets and switches from the wall and placing as many shims behind it as necessary (in our case, 2).

 And with a couple of screws to reattach the faceplates, the backsplash project was officially complete!

Other than a window treatment, this is about all the kitchen updates that we have the budget for.  Some of the Black Friday appliance sales were very tempting - an entire new suite for $2000ish! come on! - but since all of the current appliances are hanging on for the moment, hopefully we can get a few more years out of them.  We did buy a chest freezer for the basement though; hooray for soup making!

And a quick look back a few months to when we moved in...

Backsplash Part 2: The Nitty-Gritty

See part 1 of the madness here.

BACKSPLASH TILE INSTALLATION - STILL DAY 1

Step 1: Grab your mortar.  If using glass tile, make sure to choose the appropriate mortar so that it doesn't show through.  This is the one we used:

Step 2: Mix up the mortar with water according to the package directions.  We highly recommend using a drill attachment for this.  Mostly because it's fun, partly because we don't have muscles like these guys.

Step 3: Use the flat side of your trowel to spread the mortar over the wall, and apply pressure with the grooved side to even it and take off the excess.  This step was kind of like working with really thick frosting or peanut butter, so it's helpful to imagine you're frosting a really big, flat, cupcake - just kidding, it's not really that helpful. Work in big sections of the wall at a time, so you won't have to worry about spreading mortar around tiles already up on the wall. 

 Step 4: Apply the tile to the mortar, and press evenly across the whole area with a clean grout float. Adjust as needed.  Ignore weird bendy eye-trick caused by the random tile pattern - or is that just me?

Step 5: Keep going. 

Step 6: When all your tiles are in place, let the mortar set overnight.  Figure out the best way to dispose of the excess mortar and clean the bucket and then please let me know what that is.

DAY 2 - THE GROUT PARTY

Step 7: Invite friends over for dinner/hanging out with the assumption that you'll be finished grouting in about half an hour (...).

Step 8: Mix up your grout in a bucket with the mixer attachment, just like the mortar.  If using glass tile, be sure to use non-sanded grout as the sanded kind can scratch the tiles

Step 9: Apply the grout to the wall, pushing it in between every tile with the grout float.

Step 10: Keep going until all cracks are full, you are covered in grout, and your friends who arrived almost 2 hours ago are very hungry.

Step 11 (optional): Order a pizza.

Step 12: Wipe off excess grout.  Realistically, this is done in sections as you finish applying the grout so that it does not dry on the tile.  With each wipe, the sponge much be clean.  Here's the process:

-wring out sponge in bucket of clean water

-wipe once over tiles

-turn sponge over and wipe again with clean side

-wring out sponge in bucket

-repeat (changing the bucket water very frequently) for longer than you can possibly imagine

Bonus Tip: For pete's sake, save yourself some serious discomfort, and WEAR GLOVES. Literally, my nail beds were swollen and painful from all the wringing, and my skin and nails were incrusted with fine grout particles for almost a week. Take off your rings too, that's just some common sense I don't have.

When you can't handle the endless wiping anymore, thank your friends profusely for their patience and help, and call it a night.

Step 13: Let your grout dry for the instructed length of time.  If I remember correctly, ours was at least 48 hours.

There's one last installment of the gritty (grouty?) details coming up, and then the madness is over.  Yay, right?

Backsplash Part 1: Prep & Planning

When we found out that last Sunday's Home Depot workshop was backsplash tile installation, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to finally tackle the job we've had on tap for months.  We're currently working hard to get a lot of projects done before we host Thanksgiving and a house full of family, and this was the most intimidating of the bunch.  As it turned out, we were the only people to show up for the workshop, which worked fantastically in our favor.  The flooring expert let us practice spreading mortar, grouting, and answered all of our questions about how to handle cutting the tile, surrounding outlets, waterproofing, etc.  She also pulled all our supplies for us which was probably the most helpful - there are lots of different varieties of everything.

MOSAIC BACKSPLASH TILE INSTALLATION - DAY 1

Step 1: Clean up the kitchen in order to take a "before" picture that you're not only slightly embarrassed by.

Step 2: Clear off the countertops, and remove faceplates from electrical outlets.  Clean the wall to remove any grease residue.

Step 3: Realize you can no longer delay dealing with the weird metal backsplash sheet behind the stove.  Pull oven away from wall.

Say hello to the basement through some oversized holes in the floor.  Remove screws, pry away the lower part of the sheet from wall and, when you realize it's clearly secured at the top behind the hood as well, assess your options:

a) Attempt to take down and reinstall hood.

b) Somehow cut off the sheet just below hood (without damaging wall).

c) Reattach sheet to wall, and pretend none of this ever happened.

Obviously, you know which one we chose.

When reattaching the metal to the wall, do not drop the screw.  I repeat: DO NOT DROP THE SCREW.

Find replacement screw, and clean the bottom of the panel (since it's staying).  Push oven back to proper location.

Step 4: Map out your backsplash area on painters paper (or something similar).  Mark where you will have to make cuts for edges, outlet boxes, etc.

Bonus Tip from me: Even though this planning is long and arduous, do it all before you move on to applying the tile.  It is much harder to measure and diagram accurately when you're feeling the pressure of mortar drying out more and more with each passing minute.  Trust me, I know.

Step 5: Start planning the arrangement of your tiles on the paper.

Cut through the mesh backing with a blade to separate rows, and to cut off end tiles as needed.  Try to arrange the pieces so that the fewest cuts through whole tiles are needed (choosing a mosaic with square tiles would have made this much easier).  Remember to leave room for grout lines, and that your spacing doesn't have to be exact - it won't be noticeable in the end.

Step 6:  Introduce yourself to a wet-saw.  If you aren't lucky enough to have recently inherited a collection of power tools, either rent a saw from your neighborhood hardware store, or consider using tile-nippers like these. We highly recommend getting your hands on a wet-saw for this job, though.  Even with zero experience, it made cutting through the sheets of tile totally painless.

Fill the tray with water, turn the saw on, and run the sheet of tile through the blade front to back. Be sure to wear eye protection, and a breathing mask is a good idea too.

The guy at Home Depot who gave us the basic saw info told us that you couldn't actually cut yourself with a wet-saw blade.  Apparently you'll give your finger a nasty burn, but it's not as scary as a table saw blade.  Still, I don't feel great about how close Husband's hands are in the above photo.

Step 7:  Finish arranging the tiles on your plan.

We made the areas around the outlets look as seamless as possible by removing the half tiles marked above with Xs.  This way, we could add full uncut rows above and below the square and not have two half pieces next to each other.

Another Bonus Tip: If there are tiles glued on crooked(ly?) to the mesh, cut them off and replace them.  For some reason it didn't occur to us to do this, and they are still just as crooked on the wall now.  It bugs me.

Continue laying out tiles efficiently, until all areas are covered, then get psyched for the exciting part

To Be Continued...

Let There Be Trim!

You may remember our infamous door project from back in August. You may also remember that we left it grossly unfinished due to a complication with the trim not fitting on the hinge side of the door.

This past weekend, Husband and one of his colleagues finally had time to bust out the miter saw (yeah, we apparently own one of those too), and hide all those door-innards behind some snazzy new trim.  They cut out notches for the hinges to rest in, and nailed the trim to the wall.  After some spackling, sanding, and painting - the "new" lather, rinse, repeat - the door looks as good as new (which it ought to, because it is)!

Except for the small gaps between the trim and baseboard, and shelf bracket on your right side, of course.  The baseboard will be filled eventually, but the shelf bracket is staying as-is.  Honestly, I like that it's slightly imperfect - a constant reminder of our very first project, gone awry. 

Just 16 Hours and a Can of Paint

When last we spoke about the kitchen it was looking like this:

But messier in real life.

Painting the cabinets had been our plan all along, but somewhere along the way I realized that it would be a big, agonizing, pain in the butt and, as it turns out, I really didn't want to do it.  So we bought some backsplash tile (which then sat in the garage for two months), and painstakingly chose a paint color for the walls that we hoped would compliment the gray cabinets as they were.  Well, we know how that theory worked out...with me deciding to paint the cabinets after all.

I walked past that intimidating can of paint every day for weeks and weeks until one Thursday afternoon when very suddenly, around 4:30pm, motivation struck like lightning.  I slapped some paint on the inside of one of the doors "just to see" , but never really stopped to "see" - which is probably a good thing, because the color of the paint while wet was less than appealing...

  

I kept painting into that night, slept, then painted all day and into the next night without stopping (I honestly don't know if I even used the restroom - it was like one of those times you pull into your driveway and can't even remember driving home).  When there was nothing left to paint, the kitchen looked like this:

A total warzone.

We lived like that without closing the doors and drawers for almost a week to try and avoid the thick paint sticking to itself and chipping, but it did anyway.  Now, I can't seem to get the motivation back to do the touch ups.

My fresh shelf liners look even better now

I would really be remiss if I didn't mention our relic of a dishwasher here, since it adds such a lovely touch to the kitchen.  The inspector found a stamp that dates it to 1972 (!!), and the repairman sent from the home warranty company when it broke immediately after we moved in told us that it's the Cadillac of dishwashers.  Great.  I was really hoping it would break beyond repair before our year warranty is up.

So, what's the verdict?  Ultimately, the cabinets are just old fashioned.  There isn't much I can do about that.  I don't know if painting them is an "update", but it's a huge change and we are really happy with it.

Yay!

Pantry Overhaul

Here's the thing about dirt: it's gross, and it's much much grosser if it's someone else's. 

Cleaning the house before we moved in was not a fun job, but the previous owners were clearly not dirty people, and relatively speaking, the whole place was already in really good shape.  

Even so, there was no way I was putting my food in here:

PANTRY UPDATES

Step 1: The original plan was to replace the contact paper and call it a day, but the shelves looked even worse underneath.  They were porous, and bowed, and honestly, a little smelly.

So we ripped 'em out.  It was pretty fun.

Step 2: Painted the floor, spontaneously, without priming - oops. It turned into a sticky mess.

Step 3: Spackled and sanded a bunch, and painted the inside of the pantry the same green as the dining room, and primed and repainted the floor.

(This was taken after only one coat on the walls; the second looked perfect, I promise)

Step 4: Replaced the door.

Did you catch how I said that as if it was a simple, quick, easy little task?  It wasn't.

Even though the door was the appropriate size, it didn't close.  After a lot of planing and sanding, it did close, but after repainting the sanded edge, it didn't again.  We were frustrated, so we abandoned the cause for a while.  Then autumn arrived early and the temperature dropped by 25 degrees, so the door now works.  I guess we'll deal with it next summer...

 

Step 5: Installed melamine shelves from Lowe's.  Lesson learned: they will not cut this particular kind of shelf to size for you.  Husband cut them with a circular saw, and yes, he still has all of his fingers.  I know, it's quite impressive.

Step 6: Sealed the floor with two coats of polyurethane to make it super hard and durable.  It was supposedly "clear gloss", but clearly tinted my floor yellow.  I considered getting a rug or something to cover it, but ultimately decided that I don't care that much.

Step 7: Collected some baskets and shelves, threw the food in there, and have since spent many hours trying to figure out the best way to organize it all.  It's still a work in progress, but here we stand at the moment.  Ignore the mess, please.

Project: Pantry reno.

Cost: Low-Moderate

Payoff: Well, we have a place to store food now, so there's nothing to complain about.  I think it's a big improvement!

BEFORE                                                AFTER