A Big Girl Room

A couple of weeks ago, we took on a new house project -- making Bean's big girl room! Since new baby is a girl, she'll be going into the nursery as is, which allows Bean to get a brand new room.  We let her help in making some decisions (like bedding, lighting, and paint options).  She was very excited in the process which we were hoping would translate into her being excited about the new bed.  I was worried about all her picks and didn't think her room would ever come together, but in the end, she loves the room and so do we!

(This room is painted wallpaper and I REAAAAAALLLY wanted to take all the wallpaper off and start from scratch. However, my heart was never fully into that portion of the process and I didn't get started on it earlier.  So we just decided to paint over the existing painted wallpaper and pretend the wallpaper doesn't exist.)

(Bean loved every step of the transformation process.  Especially when she got to just sit and play with some of daddy's tools.  Her favorite pastime involved taking all the Allen wrenches out of their case and put them back in - which is what she's doing in the picture.)

(Steve HATES painting, but he sucked it up and helped me out a ton.  He painted a lot of the trim while I did all the taping and rolling.)

(Did I mention how much she loved to help?!  She thought it was great fun to help with the paint roller.  Little did she know, there wasn't much paint on her roller.)

(More painting with the roller!)

(She was also a big help in taking all the tape down.  Even all the trim, windows, and doors got a fresh coat of paint!)

(I got the brilliant idea to have her help me build her new bookcase/organizer.  About 3/4 of the way through I almost called the whole "have Bean help" idea off, but we managed and made it successfully.  She then helped to put a few books on it until it was time for her move to the new room.)

(Steve helped on the weekend, but I did a lot of the work on my own during Bean's naptimes.  I built the dresser and bed during 2 separate days.  I had her help me put the sheets on the bed - bad idea, should've done it by myself! She did, however, enjoy eating her snack in her new bed.)

(The color pallet I had to work with after she picked all the different items.  Not shown is the dark blue star light for her wall (purchased from Ikea) and teal curtains that I bought to finally finish her room.)

(Ta-da!  The room is complete! I might cut the curtains in half so that they hang on both sides of the windows, but for now they are serving their purpose to keep the sun out as one whole piece!)

(View from her bed.  Bean helped put all the different stickers around her room on the walls.)

(From this view point, the bed is to the left and the book shelf is to the right.)

Once her room was all complete, I let her decide if she was ready to sleep in her new big girl bed. I told her that her paci (pacifier) was for the crib and that she couldn't have it in her big girl bed.  She told me, "ok, I don't need paci! Sleep big girl bed!"  I had her sleep in it during nap for the first time, just to make sure she'd sleep okay.  It took her almost 2 hours to fall asleep.  I wasn't sure if it took her so long because of the novelty of the new bed/room or if it was because she didn't know how to fall asleep without sucking on her pacifier.  She slept really well once she passed out.  I had to wake her up because I didn't want her to sleep much later (or she'd never fall asleep for bed).  That night for bed, she went to bed like a pro and fell quickly asleep!  She's not mentioned anything about her pacifier since then, and she's been in her room for over a week now! 

(I'd say her new bed is a success!)

Kitchen Remodel -- Phase 3

Our last phase in the kitchen remodel was painting and final touches.  It took us longer to pick out a paint color than it did to tile the kitchen.  I thought I wanted something with an orange in it (to match all my orange appliances and utensils), but Steve wanted something more neutral.  We went to Lowe's together and each picked out a sample color.  Turned out that Steve's pick was the exact same color already on the wall.  It was an instant veto.  My choice was a "peach" color, but it ended up looking more pink than orange on the wall.  So it was a veto, too. Back to the drawing board.

We have a ton of extra paint around our house from all the samples and painting I've done.  So I pulled some out and painted swatches all over.  I started to lean towards the same green in the dining room.  But then that's a lot of green in those two rooms.  So then I thought maybe I'd repaint the dining room a different color (Steve thankfully vetoed that crazy thought).  I finally came across the gallon of blue paint I used to paint the kitchen bathroom.  I still had almost a full gallon and really like the color.  Steve isn't the biggest fan of it in the bathroom, but I decided to gamble with it anyway.  Besides, there's no loss of money in it since the can was just laying around!

So while Steve was at work, I pulled the trigger and started painting the kitchen the same blue from the bathroom.  I immediately fell in love with it.  It was brightening up the kitchen right away. Plus, since blue and orange are opposites on the color wheel, it made my orange appliances pop!  Steve wasn't as excited as I wanted him to be when he got home, but he didn't hate it either.  I'll take it! (For the record, the color has grown on him.  He just had to adjust to it at first!).

It took several coats and almost a full week to paint.  I did most of the painting during Bean's naptime.  In the afternoons, the neighbor girls would come over and entertain her so I was able to continue my painting.  Wins all around! Once I got the blue on the wall, I taped off the trim and repainted all of it, too.  The trim was all mismatched and in dire need of painting.  Once the painting was done, the kitchen felt like it was brand new -- almost.

The big changes made everything look so much better, but also pointed out what we didn't change - the cabinets, appliances, and floor.  I spent a couple days using some good old elbow grease and cleaned everything up really well.  Now we truly have a brand new kitchen!

(You know you're kitchen remodel is taking too long when your child prefers to play with paint cans and not her toys.  I was at least smart this time and did NOT let her help paint.)

(It's amazing how a little elbow grease and cleaning something can change it.  I spent several days cleaning cabinets and the floor.  Look at the difference of the kick board under the cabinets - left side is cleaned, right side is not.  Once I cleaned the kick board, I repainted the trim.  There was years of neglect on and under cabinets!)

(I should have taken a better side by side photo of the grout cleaning process, but I didn't.  Here is CLEAN grout! I used a toothbrush and a spray cleaner and just went tile by tile.I also learned in this process that my tiles aren't supposed to have nearly as much "black" detailing in the veins as they appear to.  In other words, there was a lot of crud stuck in the tiles.)

(Here's a better sot of the difference in clean vs. dirty grout.  I started from one side of the room and worked my way out.  In this photo, the grout from the window to the stove is clean, and the bottom 3 rows of tile are still dirty.)

(Kitchen is so much more bright and light with the light blue paint!  I still need to paint the tiny hallway by the entrance.  It will get a coat of the beige from the main hallway.)

(Brand new kitchen!)

(I love how the blue walls makes my orange accents stick out! The clean grout/tile on the floor now blends in to the cabinets, too, making the counters pop all the more.)

(Pictures don't adequately capture how bright and new this space is.  Guess that means you just need to come visit and see for yourself!)

Kitchen Remodel -- Phase 1

Once we decided we were going to do the remodel, we purchased the countertop kit (Giani Granite) via Amazon.  The kit involved painting a primer, painting the colors, and then putting on clear coats to seal the counter.  Each step had to set for about 4hours.  We did the math and figured out we could knock the counters out in 1 weekend but would need help with Bean (and could use help on the counters, too!).  So we enlisted the help of my parents!

My mom had actually been at our house earlier in the week.  Steve, Bean, and I had gone into IN the wekeend before to visit their county fair & go to an air show my dad was working at.  Steve came back to OH on Sunday night and my mom brought Bean/I back on Wednesday.  She stayed the night and headed back to IN on Thursday.  As she was about to leave, she was talking with Bean and Bean acted like she wanted to go with my mom.  So we went with it.  I quickly packed a bag and she got right in the car with my mom.  They waved goodbye and off they went!  I had a 24 hour kid-free window to get all my prep work done!

I was able to clean the counters really well with Brillo pads; tape paper up over the counters; and move everything off the counters and set the kitchen up for all the work.  Steve got home from work a little early and took the sink out -- no turning back! I had made dinner earlier in the day and had it warming in the oven, awaiting my parents and Bean to arrive! Once they arrived, we ate dinner (on paper plates for easy clean up!) and quickly got to work.  Mom did the bedtime routine with Bean while dad, Steve and I busted out the counter kit and did step 1 -- priming!

(Part of the prep work was to fill in all the seams with wood filler and sand for an even finish.)

(There were some dents in the edges of the counters that we fixed with the filler, too!)

(There was some silicone seal around the top of the coutners behind the stove.  Steve took a razor edge and got it off while I finished up cleaning the counters.)

(We opted not to put tape up along the walls.  We knew we were going to tile so we didn't care if paint got on the wall.  The primer was black and the base color for the countertop.  We had to let the primer dry 8 hours before doing the colors; so that's why we chose to put this on Friday night and do the color layers on Saturday.)

(All primed and ready to go! Let me just tell you how difficult it is to use a kitchen without it's counters and the stove and fridge in the middle.  It's ridiculously hard!)

We got to work on painting the "minerals" on the counters on Saturday morning.  There were 3 colors (in addition to the black primer) that was to be painted on the counters.  The kit came with some black paper that you could practice on so that you could figure out your desired look.  We decided that each of us (dad/Steve/I -- mom was still on Bean duty) would take 1 color and paint it on.  Then we'd each go one right after the other and paint (no need to wait in between colors).  After practicing a couple times with the sponges on the paper, we decided to go for it! 

(Steve took on the first color.  We stared him down as he painted.  My dad took on color 2, and then I'd do the final little details with color 3.  Color 1 was darkest - 3 was lightest.  I wanted the counters to be a little darker, so we didn't do much of #3.)

(Color 2 was my favorite so I told my dad to be heavy handed! Steve decided to smoke some pork for us for dinner.  So he had to go do a bunch with the smoker.  I took over the #1 color.  We liked to have a couple of feet inbetween us as we worked.)

(The hardest part was to be consistent.  Since you sort of worked in sections as you passed down along the counter.  You also had to make sure you left room for the next color, but not too much room!  We finally got in a flow and made a lot of progress.)

(The hardest part was to get the cracks where the back of the counter and top of the counter met.  If you weren't careful, you'd end up with a smear/blotch from the sponge.  We had little brushes for the fine details.  The back corner -seen above - was the hardest space because you had to reach and put your head under the cabinet. Ha!)

(The final look! We did just a little bit of the white color to make it shine in certain spots)

Once you got all the mineral colors on, you had to wait 4 hours before you started with the clear coats.  We decided there was no rush to get the clear coat on Saturday, since there wouldn't be enough time to get all the coats done in 1 day.  I didn't want to start on the clear coats, clean up the mess, just to pull it back out and use again the next day.  So we called it an early work day, enjoyed delicious pulled pork, and spent some time with my parents! Steve & dad played some computer games while mom and I watched movies and "Jammed"! 

We went straight back to work on Sunday morning.  My dad did the first clear coat.  They stuck around for a little bit and had to leave after lunch.  Steve got some input on dad over some of the next steps in the kitchen remodel before they left.  I put the second coat on during Bean's nap and the 3rd & last coat on after she went to bed!

(All shiny after the clear coats! Now to let it cure and not use for a few days.  We decided to wait about a week before we'd put anything on it.  You aren't supposed to use any chemical cleaners on the counter.  I have a norwex cloth I use on it or just some mild dish soap.)

("When did the Ackermans get granite??" -- joke of the weekend.)

(We did easy meals for a few days and got some meals out.  But one can only go so long without a homecooked meal - especially when I do a homecooked meal every day normally!  Bean was being especially needy -- probably from her going back with my mom and then me being focused on the kitchen -- and wanted me to hold her.  I had to make dinner and we compromised with the carrier.)

(I get this look a lot!)

(Steve waited a week before installing the NEW sink.  Go big or go home, right?!  We got a new granite composite sink in "espresso".  I was hesitant to get the new sink.  I mean, we didn't NEED a new one.  The old one was sufficient.  But now I'm in love with it!)

(Even with the sink in place after a week, there was some plumbing that needed to be re-worked.  I ended up going almost 2 weeks without a sink in the kitchen.  I had to hand wash all the dishes in either our bath tub or this little sink in the kitchen bathroom.  I don't know which one was worse -- the small space in the bathroom, or bending over the big tub.  Either way, I'm so thankful for my kitchen sink back!)

BEFORE:

AFTER:

(Look at that sink! And those counters! We also changed out the faucet and added a soap pump. Go big or go home, remember!)

(I'm in love!)

(So I don't even know if I should admit this, but we've already had 1 scratch in the counter.  I think Bean did it while "playing with water in the sink".  There was a fork ont he counter near the sink that I think she grabbed off and scraped the counter.  I did a little sanding and painted a couple coats of clear coat over it again.  Hopefully that'll work!  There's another spot on another counter that I'm not sure what happened.  It's got a sticky line of either something on it or the clear coat got messed up.  I'm currently pretending it doesn't exist.  I keep telling myself that there's really not much loss in the counters if the paint doesn't sustain our lifestyle.  It's better now than it was!)

Brand New Kitchen

It's amazing how a few changes here and there can make a space feel brand new.  Last winter, when Steve proposed a summer kitchen remodel, I thought he was crazy.  I mean, the cabinets looked good; sure the counter top was a bit outdated; and it definitely needed paint; but a whole overhaul?!  He proposed new lights, tiling a backplash and then painting the countertops?!  I thought he was crazy. I couldn't envision his proposals.  I begrudgingly went along.

1 full month of hard work and I now hate myself for ever doubting!  I LOVE the new kitchen.  It's beautiful and bright and I actually WANT to spend time in there.  We still want to switch out 1 more light, and I need to do some ceiling work (touchup/paint).  But overall, it's checked off my list.

It's hard to capture the change in the entire room in pictures.  I'll break down my blogposts over the remodel into each phase:
*Phase 1 - Countertops & Sink
*Phase 2 - Tiling the Blacksplash & Lights
*Phase 3 - Painting & Clean-Up

But I'll leave you with some brief before/after shots!

Before/After:

Finally!

Back in February we got our Nest ("smart" thermostat).  When I had painted the dining room, I had painted around the old thermostat.  It was much bigger than the Nest, so when Steve installed it, there was a section of old paint and wallpaper showing.

He had asked me to paint it back when he installed it, but I kept forgetting.  It's located on a wall in our dining room, that I wouldn't see until the end of the day.  Then the next day I'd forget to do it.  Ha.  Then Bean has become more needy and needs more attention, so I just put on the back burner for a project to be done when Steve is home.  A vicious cycle of forgetting and 8 months later, I've finally gotten to it!

My mom popped in for a couple days (pretty much to babysit Bean while I went to the dentist) and I was able to take advantage of her being here to focus on this project!  It took an entire day from start to finish, but now you'd never know a different thermostat used to be there!

(The thermostat is located on the inner wall of the dining room that faces the foyer/stairs.  It is so easy to whip around the corner and not see it - at least that's my excuse for forgetting to fix it!)

(The room was originally wallpapered, of course! I am not about to undertake another wallpaper removal, plus, I had already painted over it when I did the dining room.  It's hard to tell, but there was a lot of textural differences between the green paint I did and what was behind the thermostat.)

(First I popped off the outer part of the Nest - oh and turned off the power to the wires!  Then I unscrewed the back part, taped it up - and put a piece of cardboard inside the tape to prevent dust getting into the wires.)

(Same as previous picture - just a little more focused showing the different layers.  I took a putty knife first and scraped off some of the paper and paint.  Then I took sand paper and smoothed it all out.  I forgot to take a picture of the next step, but I puttied in all the holes, let it dry, and sanded that.)

(I had taken out the anchors and patched up the holes for the Nest, haha!  I wasn't thinking when I did it and there were multiple anchors and lots of holes.  Oh well, I was able to just poke the anchors back in the spots with minimal effort.  This is the back part that I had covered up so it wouldn't get dust.  Look at all that old school wires. Ha.)

(All finished!  Now I think it looks a little weird with the Nest just chilling on the wall, but it's better than the old wallpaper showing.  My mom asked me when I was going to take the wallpaper out of that room. . . uhm. . . never??)