kitchen, bit-by-bit

Our kitchen project pre-dates this blog. Somewhere around here, I have photos of the "Before" kitchen, with dark wood cabinets, orange laminate countertops, copper hardware, and OMG, the most amazing silver foil wallpaper, with mustard yellow and orange daisies printed on it in stripes. It was really something. Where the sun had hit some portions of it through the window for decades, the flowers were faded. Where it hadn't, they were hurt-your-eyes vibrant. 

Anyway, photos somewhere, not here, not now, except that this old photo (from 2008, when we started re-doing the countertops at the same time I was closing down the bookstore) shows a snippet of the old burnt orange countertop.

We took out the orange laminate backsplash, covered everything with 1/4-inch cement backer board, and started laying down slate tiles. We also took out the beaten and chipped up 1960s sink. 

The tile looks better cleaned and polished. This photo is more recent, from a month or so ago when I was trying to finish up the slate backsplash installation (five years after starting the project). I had cleaned everything off the counters and decided it was a good time for resealing the stone.

The mister took the opportunity to install these little undercabinet lights from Ikea.

The kitchen is small, so the three pack was enough to light up the area. A really nice touch. It makes the whole place look brighter and more modern.

We don't renovate our kitchen; we evolve it. And I guess that all evolution takes time. But making progress feels good. I'm really looking forward to getting a little further along soon. 

Anyhow, take heart, you fellow slow renovators! I sometimes get this feeling like every other blogger in the universe is able to diy amazing renovations in a relatively short time. When I was a kid, though, this was more how things got done: a little change here, a little change there, a new walkway and paint.  We were in it for the long haul. Money and time constraints, other projects to pursue, weekend bike rides, and a passel of little kids running around; our house was in a seemingly constant state of flux. As is my current home. And while somedays it would be kinda awesome to just have something finished already, I kinda like our weekend adventures, and playing in the backyard, and working on side projects. So the backsplash will get finished eventually. And so will the plaster and paint in the bedroom. And the siding on the studio. You know. Someday. 

Thanks for reading. 

thrift store finds: steel storage box

Update: voting for "So You Think You're Crafty" is completed for the week (as of today, January 11th) and I've made it through to the next round!

Thank you all for your votes, and please check back; I'll have a full tutorial for my project up within the next few days. Woohoo!


I found this great steel box with a sliding lid out at Bring awhile back ($4) and have had it sitting in my carport on top of a set of lockers for a couple of months now.

Finally, right before Christmas, when we were expecting house guests and I was trying to get things just a smidgeon organized, I went out and cleaned it up and decided to finally hang it on the wall like I'd intended to do since finding it. Its purpose: to hold cleaning supplies and the kitchen fire extinguisher.

I don't know what purpose it served in its previous life, though it looks to be from the first half of the 20th century. I thought at first it might be a flammable liquids storage box, except the vent on the front (or top, depending on how it originally sat) wouldn't make much sense.

My sister-in-law suggested that it might have been a bread box, which would make sense. Maybe one that stored inside a drawer or something? The sliding lid could still have functioned that way.

At any rate, there were no holes or hangers on the back, and a note (written in marker on bright pink paper) attached to the side (with masking tape) read, "curtains to mend". Not that those two clues narrow it down much.

I admit it: I drilled holes in the back and tried hanging it with picture hangers, but that was just a temporary fix and was really unstable; it needed to be hung with drywall anchors, screws, and washers. I'd normally woman-up and do it myself, but I didn't want to brave the shed right now to find the drill. When the mister offered to take care of it for me, I let him.

I always like the character that beat-up old things add to the house. And it inspired me to put in a little more time priming the kitchen walls, so hey, double points for me!

So: what fun old stuff are you bringing into the house these days? Anyone getting any eye rolls? The mister is a master of hiding his, if he's rolling them at all. He's a good guy.

Thanks for reading!