Update in the kitchen

Twelve months ago we bought an old home in the city with our son. This was his first step into the world of real estate. He had us travel to the city on many occasions to look at houses, most of which were too expensive, too ugly or just not right for him. Finally we found this cute (he hates me calling it that!!) little house in our price range. We leased it out for 6 months so he was able to get used to mortgage repayments etc then he and his fiance moved in in March. You may have read my post on our first afternoon in the house here.  Well, finally I had a few days spare so we painted the kitchen cupboards. My son had already painted the walls in three rooms. We would love a new kitchen but at the moment that is out of the question so paint was the next best thing.We scrubbed, primed and painted like our life depended on it!! After two days we were finished and we were exhausted.  The difference is amazing. We had plans to cover the old cream tiles with bead boarding but we have just found out that it is not available in Australia! EEk! That has really upset our plans. As this makeover is just for a couple of years until we can put in a new kitchen we didn’t want to spend too much money but it now looks as though we will have to replace the tiles. Not what we had planned but I guess you have to do what you have to do!!





As you can see, the cupboards were in very good condition but very dated. 


Layers and layers of crisp white paint!




We are all so in love with this new look but now need to decide whether to paint the existing tiles along the sink side and add some to the opposite side or rip off those on the sink side and replace the whole lot. We haven’t done any tiling before but this might be the time to start!! Next on the list is to replace the tile floor with flating floorboards. What a difference that will make!
                               Suzy

FOOTNOTE: I have been asked if I removed the doors to the cupboards.....we cheated and left them on. We had three days to complete them and the first was a right off because my son came down with gastro (he is a paramedic and this is sometimes part of the job!!!) so we did nothing the first day as I was not game to go near. For two days we painted flat out - two coats of primer and one coat of low sheen but this wasn't 'finished' enough so we gave them all a coat of semi-gloss! We started off painting over the hinges but after the primer decided they looked tacky so we chipped them all off - time consuming but really worth it as it looks so much better. We sent my son's fiancé to buy the handles on her way home from work the first day. At 5.30 on the second day my son fitted the new hardware while I had a major cleanup...job done!!

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Update on the patio

Mr FH and I had a couple of nights at the beach house on the weekend. Mind you, I needed it after a trip to the endodontist on Friday! My worst fear in the world is going to the dentist and it looks like I’m in for some extensive treatment on a tooth over the next 6 months!!! Not something I’m looking forward to but while we were there we started our ‘after winter, get ready for summer clean’. You know what it’s like – cobwebs and dry leaves everywhere but it’s amazing how much better it looks in just a short while.
During the winter months I had brought home a mat I had outside (which was very dull and boring) and decided to attack it with a paint brush! I am just so pleased with the results! Talk about a metamorphosis.

The ‘before’ picture!!

Here it is looking very plain and unloved. This is a cushion off the outdoor lounge I was using for inspiration.

I spent ages taping stripes on the mat. Actually that was quite easy as the mat already had some very fine lines on it. I used an old toothbrush to paint with to start with then it was really trial and error. Most of the paints were bits I mixed from old tins, craft paint and some school paint. The red was the only one I needed to buy.

Now this is starting to get a little exciting!!! Lovely straight lines. Mind you, they weren’t all like this. I did have to paint a few ‘extras’ in just to straighten things up a little.

What a difference!!! After I finished painting I sealed the whole mat to make sure my hard work didn’t all wash away in the first shower of rain!

Even Mr FH commented it was a perfect match! Most of the time he never notices anything I do!

Ready for summer! I just need to clean some windows and spray around to get rid of spiders and sit back and enjoy!

Suzy

PS. You might notice a little frog on the table…I hate frogs but my little grandsons just love this little fellow left by the previous owners!

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The Heat of the Moment!!

We are coming to the end of summer – I’m ready for some cooler autumn weather but we’ve had some really hot days just to finish off. I realised just how hot when I saw my beautiful 3 year old grandson doing a spot of painting the other day.

Doesn’t this just make you smile???

                       Suzy

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Bedrooms

I’ve been thinking about updating my bedroom and have found some really beautiful ones that I love. My mind is really confused now!!!

 

Aren’t these just so beautiful and restful??

I now realise from this little exercise that I am heading towards some lovely neutral colours. Far different from the hot pink feature wall I have in my bedroom now!!

 

Suzy

 

Changes in the kitchen

I have been thinking of painting my dresser in my kitchen for ages. I haven’t been able to buy Annie Sloan’s chalk paint here in Australia so I really had lost a bit of interest until I saw Sherry's post on No Minimalist Here the recipe to make your own chalk paint. Just what I wanted to hear so armed with my paint and some plaster of paris I set to work. I still haven’t been able to find some wax to finish my dresser but I am really happy with the results. I am now thinking of painting my kitchen cupboards.




This is the dresser after I added my white china but before I attacked it with the paint brush. It was a very old pine cupboard I had bought when I was first married (now that’s a loong time ago!!) so it really wasn’t something that was going to be a family heirloom!!

Suzy

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Time to Paint?

What do you think?  I am getting the urge to paint and redecorate and I'm thinking of painting my bedroom cream (I'm sure I had it cream years ago and now I'm doing a full circle LOL) and having it all in muted cream and white colours.

 

At the moment it is pink and flowery but maybe I'm past that..... You can see just how pink it is here. Son No1 said recently to his father that he could not see how he could sleep in here so that got me thinking..is it time for a change?

 

I have a lovely white bed cover under the quilts which I would keep and the curtains are white so they could stay so really it's just the paint colour and the accessories that would have to be changed.

I'm really warming to this I think. Dangerous really cos when I get something in my mind it can't stop thinking and planning. I would love to paint our bedhead which is pretty old but Mr FH is a bit boring like that..I'll have to work on him.

 

I'm actually not sure how I think I can find time for this but my mind is working overtime...

Suzy

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