To David with Love

This post is dedicated to my awesome hubby.  He bought us our house for our 15th anniversary, and then gave me the time by myself to go home and redo the kitchen, alone.  He had faith I could pull it off even though I had never ever done anything like that before.  Thanks Honey!!  (Also he has been nagging me for about 8 months to get a finished kitchen post up on the blog. Here ya go Babe, one long awaited blog post.) 

Today I was looking through all the pics of our little house in the 'hood that I took last summer.  Oh, how I miss my little house.  Don't get me wrong I love all our adventures living overseas, but just as much I love having a place that is unequivocally MINE. A place that is quietly waiting for me to come home, unlock the doors, throw open the windows, and breath life back into it. With summer coming up soon my little house has been on my mind a lot lately.

Last summer I went back well ahead of the kids and Dave to give the kitchen a facelift and make it the house just a little more ours.  I blogged the early stages of the renovation but once Dave and the boys caught up with me in Texas I sorta quit blogging. Ooops! Sorry about that.

I did eventually finish the kitchen, or more accurately I finished painting and put the cabinet doors back on then David showed up and put the finishing touches on the kitchen.  Little things like lighting, new shelves, and door handles.

A quick review since I haven't blogged in forever.  Here's the kitchen as it was when we bought the house.

There was nothing essentially wrong with the kitchen.  The cabinets were in reasonable decent shape. The appliances are old but still in good working conditions. I described it as builder grade ugly.  Boring cabinets, no door handles, cheap light fixtures.  Just blah.

I decided I could fix builder grade ugly with a little paint and creativity because Pinterest!  Dave and made arrangements for me to head home without him or the boys.  For the first time in 22 years I found myself on my own without kids.   For a while I wondered what I had gotten myself into. Most of May and into June the house looked like this.

The kitchen was torn apart and pretty much unusable, the dining room and living room became a makeshift painting studio for all the cabinet and drawer fronts.  I really thought that I had made a dreadful mistake and was never going to get this finished. I kept working at it because what else was I going to do?  Then all at once it began to come together.  By the time Dave and the kids arrived it looked pretty much like this. 

Not bad, better than it was, but not exactly what I had in mind.  David put his skills to work and took care of all the finishing touches needed to finally pull it all together.  

Now our kitchen looks amazing.  It's hard to believe it is the same kitchen.  It's really all paint and illusion.  There are no new appliances, no new cabinets, no new granite countertops, but it looks and feels brand-new and amazing.  I can't wait to be home cooking in my pretty new kitchen this summer.  

Drum Roll Please!  Here is the grand bloggy unveiling of our new and improved kitchen.

The sink side as viewed from back door. It shows perhaps the most important part of the kitchen, the coffee station.  

Same side viewed from the other direction.

Dave added door handles, crown molding and a pretty new school house style light over the kitchen sink. The brown thing next to the fridge is my antique 4-drawer card catalog that I use to store tea.  One of my favorite things, ever! Eventually we'll replace the sink with a white porcelain sink, the refrigerator with a counter depth European style (tall and narrow) fridge, the dishwasher with a Bosch and add under cabinet lighting. I still have no idea what to do about that fluorescent light. It's practical and gives off lots of light, but it's kinda ugly. I'll figure it out eventually.

Stove side viewed from the back door.

On the other side of the room you can see the glass shelves Dave added under the cabinets.  I use the open shelving for the stuff I use everyday: Plates, glasses,  coffee and coffee cups, spices for cooking.  The stuff I use less frequently is hidden away in the cabinets safe from dust.  I think moving the cabinets to the ceiling and eliminating the dust-collecting, wasted foot of space above them was the best idea I've had in a long time.  The kitchen works so much better now.

You can also see wine rack above the stove.  I couldn't move that cabinet because it has the plugs for the microwave inside it.  I had originally ordered a wine rack I thought would fit that space off the internet.  When Dave saw it, he threw it out and went to work with a jig saw and created this.  Amazing!  I couldn't be happier.

Both sides at once and my gorgeous carpet runner Dave brought back from Oman.

View from dining room table, and the only views that shows my tiny pantry across from the fridge and the back door.   

So my big reveal is nearly a year late.  At least I got it up before I flew home for this summer.  I really don't have any big home reno projects lined up for this year.  It's more an assortment of small projects.  Nothing very exciting, although for me just going to the hardware store and then doing it, what ever it is, all by myself without waiting for GSO to get around to it is excitement enough!

Tape, Miles and Miles of Tape

It's another kitchen reno update.  I know I'm obsessing about the kitchen, but seriously it is all I am doing morning to night right  now, so it's all I've got to blog about.  And if you've ever lived in government housing where you have no choice in furnishings, curtains, or even the house itself, then you understand  how excited I am to be playing with my own little house.

Today I got up and decided I would knock out the backsplash on the second side of the kitchen,  I figured I could do it all in one day, no problem.  I already know what to do since I did the other side of my little galley kitchen last week.  Yeah, that worked. Either I am an incurable optimist when it comes to DIY projects in spite of being a glass half empty kind person in the rest of my life, or the paint fumes have gotten to me. I didn't even come close to finishing up today.

10 am blocking in the area to be painted with wide tape to protect the cabinets, counters, window and what ever I can possibly splash paint on while creating the faux tiles.

At this point I thought I was making good progress. Paint fumes I tell you, paint fumes. I worked pretty steadily until around 2:30 or so when some family dropped by to see the progress.  I love being someplace where family can just drop by.  We visited for a while, it was great.  You never realize what a luxury that is until you live some place where it takes a couple day's travel for family to "drop by."

After they left I got back to work, but realized fairly quickly that I probably won't be painting today, but I was confident I would finish up the taping at a reasonable hour (paint fumes!!) and have a relaxing evening.  Yeah, that didn't work either.

6:00 still have the part of the area behind the fridge and most of the area around the window to do, plus all the little vertical pieces that make it look like tile instead of stripes. At this point I'm starting to think it's going to be long night, but I was still confident I would finish up before I headed to bed. Yeah, riiiight! It has to be paint fumes, no one is this delusion, I mean optimistic. Yeah, I totally meant optimistic, not delusional. Whose delusional?  I don't know what you are talking about.

9:00  The window.  Oh the window.  At this point I should probably apologize to my high school geometry teacher.  Perhaps if I had paid more attention to Ms. Lange that window would have been easier to tape. Suffice it to say that stupid window was taped and untaped and retaped several times today.  There has to be an easier way than the way I did it. I measured, marked, and taped only to find when I got to the top of the window the two sides didn't match up.  Starting at the ceiling and working down didn't work either, apparently the ceiling isn't level. The result were even worse.

10:30 VICTORY!!!  The window is finally taped.  Whew!  I finally taped the very top of the window, and then worked up and down from there.  Several rows are a tiny bit wider or narrower than the rest to make it all work.  The difference is so small I don't think anyone will ever be able to tell unless they take a ruler to the wall.

I still need to add in most of the little vertical stripes. I will be spending several hours in the morning doing this.  Yay, more tape.  I'm so excited. No really, I am.

I am confident that by bedtime tomorrow I will be done with the backslashes, except for applying the polycrylic sealer in a few days. Please don't let this be paint fumes talking.  I really want to be finished with this step.

In the meantime I am going to enjoy some beer and brats with a side of salad for a very late dinner. Good night y'all!

It's Starting To Come Together.

All of my cabinets have doors again.

Finally I can see how it's going to look when it's all done.  The little space above the microwave will be a wine rack which David will install when he gets here, along with crown molding, handles, and shelves.  I think it is going to look amazing.

There is work for me too. The opposite side of the room still needs the backsplash painted, and both sides need to sealed with polycrylic to make protect the faux tile and make it scrubbable. The wine rack needs to be sanded and painted to match the cabinets.  I still need to  clear away the the painting gear and pack it up for another day. And I probably should mow the lawn before David shows up.

It looks so plain without the backsplash painted. I can hardly wait to see how it looks when it is finished.

In the dining room it is out with the sawhorses and in with the carpet, table and chairs.  It feels like a house again, instead of a disaster area.

I am wrapping up another busy day with a celebratory dinner.

Yes, Oman friends, those are pork chops. Pork chops, baked potato, and salad...Yummm!

Kitchen Update

I had planned on blogging the kitchen as I went a bit each day.  What I hadn't counted on was the amount of work, and the amount of time it would take to do that work solo.  It all sounded so easy.  Move the cabinets up a bit, slap a little paint on the cabinets add a few shelves and viola a whole new kitchen!  Yeah. Not exactly.  The only easy part of this was moving the cabinet, and that was easy because I paid someone to come move them for me.

Just to review my kitchen started like this

Not bad, a little generic but not bad.

By the next day it looked like this.

I call this stage the Oh My Gawd!  What have I done?? stage. It is too late to turn back, but there seems to be no end in sight. It just goes on

And on

And on.

And just when you think you are making progress the Mother Nature decides to make things more interesting.

I am using oil paints even though they smell horrible and are awful to clean up.  They give the most amazing hard smooth finish, perfect for kitchen cabinets.  I learned something else about oil paint. If it's raining they don't dry.  I had all the doors set up in the garage to keep the stench in the house to a minimum. A friend who has done this a time or two told me to move everything into the house and drop the A/C to help control the humidity.  It worked like a charm.  Of course now my house looks like this. And it smells.

But I finally started seeing thing slowly come back together.

 At last I could start on the back splashes. The tutorial I found on line said it took her 2 - 4 hours depending on the complexity of the design. Add 10 hours to that and thats about right.  I started at 10 in the morning and finished up at 11:45 at night.  By the time I cleaned up and realized I never ate supper (not too sure if I ate lunch come to think of it) it was after midnight.  I ate my sandwich while staring at the wall.  It makes me smile very time I walk by it.

Yes that is all painters tape.  Miles and miles of skinny tape.

Paint in progress

Finished product.  I love it!!!

There is still plenty to do, like the backslash on the other side of the kitchen. Today I put the last coat of paint on the top doors, YAY!! I am waiting for them to dry completely so I can hang them in the morning. Here is a shot of a finished door.

I love the way the wood grain shows.  I can't wait to get it all back together.  There are a few things David will take care of when he gets here: new light over sink, shelves at the height of the cabinets before I moved them and of course some cabinet jewelry (handles and drawer pulls).  Then it will be finished.  And totally uniquely ours.

This and That and the Other Thing Too

Well despite my vow to post at least twice a week, it looks more like I am managing twice a month.  I could make all kinds of excuses, but why bother?  Just chalk it up to being a lazy blogger and move on.

There is a Blog Rejuvenation going on in the FS blogosphere.  I signed up for it then managed not to actually do it.  Click on the words Blog Rejuvenation for a link to those who are a little more on the ball and managed to get their acts together and participate in a timely manner. I am counting this post as my very much belated first entry, and yes i know prompt 2 should already be published.  I'll try to get to that tomorrow, and maybe I'll get promo three up on time. Don't hold your breath.  I'm choosing Prompt 2:  Do something wonderful for yourself and tell us about it, no matter how small.

My something nice isn't small at all, it's is huge.  Momentous even.  It is like nothing I have ever done before.   I am currently in the states enjoying my little house in the hood.  David is still at post with the kids finishing up the school year.  Yes you read that right I am temporarily single. Since Navy boy is 22, (??!??) this is the first time in 22 years I have had more than a few days to myself.  And like most domestic engineers I work 7 days a week, 365 days a year.  22 years with no real vacation, I think I'm due. There is nothing in the world I love as much as my kids and husband, but I really needed this break, and I think I will be a better mom and wife for the time to myself.


For a vacation I am working pretty hard.  The original plan was to deal with the floor. Remember this post from ages and ages ago?  Yes, we bought a bought a little vacay/retirement house and then the week before we left post the floor exploded.  YAY! Exploding floors...how fabulous.

I had initially planned on stripping and painting the floor.  I  researched and obsessed and planned. Then after looking at perhaps the 10,000th revised plan for painting the floor David said he thought maybe it would be better if we just held off  for a few years and put in the hardwood we both really want, instead of trying to make due with a painted finish.  Ummm....Okay? All that planning and obsessing for naught. And really as long as you don't move the carpets who would ever know what a mess is hiding under there?

Still, I have a house, a little house to be sure, but it is our house and I can paint it pink with orange polka dots if I want to and GSO can't say a thing about it. HA! The HOA probably would have an opinion about polka dots if I put them on the exterior, but inside I can do what ever I want.  Enter the new and revised and even better plan.  THE KITCHEN!!!

The kitchen was standard builder grade ugly.  Golden oak builder grade (cheap) cabinets, laminate counters, plain white appliances. Very boring. We could, and probably someday will, yank everything out and start over new cabinets, new appliances, upgrade everything, make it totally mine.  Someday however, is not this year.  This year is all about the cosmetic.  A little paint, a little creativity, a whole lot of sweat and tears and I will have a new(ish) kitchen.

Before Pictures

Looking at those pictures makes me slightly hyperventilate, because that's not even remotely what my kitchen looks like now.  I think I am having an "OMG WHAT HAVE I DONE?!?" moment.  But I think that is a post for another day.  I'll be posting updates on the renovation as I go.  Wish me luck!

Unpacking: Making Progress and Dreaming of Floors

I am finally nearing the end of the cardboard boxes. YAY!!  By this time next week the artwork will be hung (I hope), and I can post some finished pictures of our home here in Oman.

The house has a few quirks, like who thought it was a good idea to put the kitchen light switches BEHIND the fridge, seriously.  But what FS housing doesn't have quirks? It's beginning to feel like home, quirks and all. And so far I haven't found a single spider  large or small, so it's all good!!  By the way karma, this is not the signal to send hordes of giant spiders heading my way. Nope I am really good with no spiders!

Unpacking an entire house can be mind numbingly boring and tedious.  While I am unwrapping the bazillion and one dust collectors we seem to have accumulated I am only half focused on finding a place for them here in our new home, mostly I am thinking about flooring options.  Hardwood, or tile, or natural stone?  Polished concrete, or acid stained, or painted? No the house here isn't getting a new floor, our floor here is all shiny, slick marble.  I am thinking about my little vacay house in the 'hood.  When we bought it the floors looked like this:

But then just before we left Malawi for home leave this happened:

I know right? What a mess.  All total we lost 24 tiles in 2 rooms. 24 oversized 15 inch tiles.  That is a lot of floor.  We had the foundation checked, it's fine.  Apparently what happened is that there was a heat wave that lasted for about a week and with the house unoccupied at the time and not air conditioned the tile expanded a lot faster than the foundation.  That combined with a bad DIY tile job and POP exploding floor.

Dave and his brother Paul chipped away all the loose, broken tiles and mortar, cut plywood to fit the holes, threw some carpets over it and called it done for the summer.

It looked good, really good actually, but at best it's a very temporary fix.

The plan is for me to head back to the states ahead of the rest of the family and take care of the floor so that the summer would be relaxing and fun. There is not much relaxing and fun about living in a construction zone.  Originally we were thinking I would just supervise the contractors, that plan was great until we started getting some quotes. OUCHIE!

I really want black slate tile but the quote to get that done rules out the possibility of going to Thailand, or Zanzibar, or China, or pretty much anywhere really.  And you know one of the major benefits of the FS is the chance to travel.  Why would I give that up for a floor, even a really pretty floor? There is time for that slate floor when we retire and by then I will probably want something different anyway.

So began the search for affordable flooring options.  First thing that came to mind was laminate. I don't like laminate floors.  They feel fake.  Probably because they are fake. And it's a lot more expensive than I thought it would be.

I really like the look of this plywood floor, and it wouldn't be that expensive.  That really is plywood. Gorgeous isn't it? I might like this better than slate, maybe.

Plywood Floor

But this is out my skill level, and since the new plan is for me to head home early and do the floor by myself, what ever we choose has to not only be cheap, it has to be something I can handle as a solo DIY.

Enter the painted floor. Do a quick internet search and you come up with some really cool looks.  I love the way this floor looks painted solid robin's egg blue.

Blue Floor

Simply stunning, and I would imagine it shows every blessed piece of dirt that comes by. With 3 boys who spend the summer roaming from house to house with their pack of friends, that can be a lot of dirt.  So maybe not for me, not right now anyway.

How about faux bois?  I may have to do this just so I can say I have a faux bois floor. Isn't it fab?

Faux Bois Floor 

I thought about simple diamonds in grey and white.

Diamond Painted Floor

It's classic, and probably not too hard to do.  Sounds like a winner, BUT if I am going to go to all the trouble of chiseling up all that tile, scraping, sanding and painting BY MYESLF, I think I want something different.  Something fun and maybe a little funky.

So I looked at stencils.  Wow are there some cool stencils out there.

Stenciled Floors

Check out this all over floral stencil from Royal Design Studios.

Lace Stencil by Royal Design Studios

I love this!!!  It's a little funky.  It's fun.  Done in grey and white it will make a lovely background for my rugs and furniture and brighten up the room.  BUT I live in a house of men.  I showed this to my husband and the boys. Four men looked at all those flowers and simultaneously broke out in hives. I'm guessing door to door flowers are out.  Of course I will be in the states and they will be in Oman, so it's not like they would know what I was up to until it was a fait accompli.  Would that be too mean?  It would, wouldn't it? I thought so. Darn it!

I like the organic look (exactly what does that mean??) of acid staining, but doing it professionally is not cheap, albeit a whole lot cheaper than slate, and it's out of my DIY range.  Plus it seems like 99 out of 100 acid etched floors are brown.

Acid Stained Floor

Not a big fan of brown.  If I wanted brown I would just leave the plywood and broken tiles there for a few more years.

I have a freind who's the queen of DIY and faux painting who tells me I can totally get this look with paints, and it's cheap and I can choose my own colors!  Cheap is good. Colors are better. Mottled floors are good for hiding dirt. With 3 boys and their pack of friends in and out of the house all summer hiding dirt is a very good thing.  I am thinking something like this

stained concrete floor

Mostly grey with hints of blue and green and touches of brown.  Nice and bright and fairly neutral, but still fun and funky.

And then I found these really cool stencils.

Fossil Stencils

I am not sure exactly what I want to do with them but they do seem to suit our family to a tee.  The boys are forever dragging home skulls and bones and rocks, shells and fossils and feathers. In fact right now there's a goat skull on the front steps, a cat skull on the book shelf, what we think might be a fox skull in the display table, and sea shells everywhere.  Somehow stencils of long dead critters seem entirely appropriate, I just need to figure out what to do with them.

I have months yet to figure out, and research exactly what I want to do. In the meantime I am having a ridiculous amount of fun day dreaming about all the possibilities.

Does anyone else out there day dream about DIY projects?