The Kitchen Project

If the kitchen is the heart of the home, then ours is more like an artery, than a heart.  When we bought our home, the chef (my sweet husband) and I thought, we can live with this, right?  After all, the house was in a cul de sac in a good school district, and had a huge backyard.  Well, our narrow galley kitchen is a little harder to live with than we thought.

For the past 3 years, we have been diligently putting our financial house in order.  We are debt free (thanks Mr. Ramsey) and are almost done with our emergency fund.  All we will be able to do this year is a cosmetic upgrade, and even then I am going to have to scrounge around to find the money for this project.  I hope to teach 2 music camps this summer  (Band camp anyone?)  and raise $500-$700 for the project.

This is it looking from the living room through to the garage door.  I wasn't kidding about it being narrow!  On the left, you can see our washer and dryer.  Talk about a multipurpose space. 

The left side. 

 

The right side.  Think it is time to clean off the fridge?

 This is a look from the other direction. 

I took this picture sitting on the living room couch.  There is no escaping the blue counters!

So what's on the list? 

• Paint and possibly glaze the cabinets
• Counter tops
• New faucet
• New sink?  
• Replace the dishwasher panel, or paint it so that it is white like the cabinets

The budget is pretty tight for everything I want to do, but I really thrive on a challenge like this!  Check out some of the inspiration photos I have collected.

beneathmyheart.net

This is my favorite inspiration photo, so far.  The look is light and bright, which I love!  The wood counters are warm and the open shelving makes the space look airy.  Check out the before and after photos of this renovation at Beneath My Heart.  It's quite a transformation.




This kitchen comes from Better Homes and Gardens.  I like the metal brackets holding up the shelves.  I wonder if open shelving would be a pain when it comes to dusting?  I am going to be adding more inspiration photos to my collection as I make plans for the kitchen redo.  Follow me on Pinterest to see more ideas I have for my kitchen redo.

What would you like to do with your kitchen?  I would love to see pictures of what you have done or what you plan to do.  Share plans, ideas and dreams you have, and let's do this together!
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Henny and Penny

Chickens are hard to photograph.  They are social and curious, but mainly they just want treats.  Henny and Penny are "Cinnamon Queens".  The name Cinnamon Queens, while descriptive of their personalities, is a breeder designation not an official breed.  They are actually identified as Sex-links.  There are Red, Golden, and Black varieties.  With most breeds, it is hard to tell the boys and girls apart which explains why we accidentally brought home a rooster.  Twice. With Sex-links, you can tell the boys from the girls by color as chicks.   That's pretty handy, especially if roosters are prohibited where you live.  Sex-links are actually a mixed breed chicken.   So, I guess our girls are Heinz 57 chickens, but don't tell them! 

Penny

Pick of the Flock.  What made us pick these two?  They have good personalities, are docile, are good egg layers and were recommended by the breeder.  (a good local breeder is a big help when getting started with chickens)  They lay nice large brown eggs almost everyday.  Interesting fact, chickens lay on average one egg every 27 hours.  There are days when we only find 3 eggs, and the time of day we find eggs varies too.

Henny

The Pecking Order.  Henny and Penny definitely rule the roost.  It is interesting to see how the flock functions as a community.  There are the popular chicks, the ones trying to fit in and the outsiders.  Fortunately, we have peace, but as we have added chickens to the flock, well, let's just say we could film a reality show like Desperate Chickens or Keeping Up With the Flock.

Henny and Penny lay medium brown eggs.

I Want Some!? The breeder from whom we purchased Henny and Penny is not selling chickens currently.  We now get our chickens from Chickenville USA.  The Lacys have a beautiful farm outside of Terrell, TX.  They have several breeds of chickens for sale, and are very helpful. Another helpful website is Backyard Chickens. Here you can learn all about raising chickens and find information on different chicken breeds.

Coming soon! Nutter-Butter, the Buff Orpington. 

The Formal Chalkboard

The inspiration:

A large painting with an ornate gold frame.  The picture came from my mother's house and I love its size and the colors.  And, as my decorating budget is non-existent, I take what I can get.  Thanks mom!  When we rearranged the house this summer (I will post details on this spur of the moment project later), I decided to hang the picture in the new dining room.  It looked good, if just a tad stuffy, with the other art in the room.  Then it hit me, what if I replaced the painting in the frame with a chalkboard?  Hence the Formal Chalkboard.

Here is the before shot of the picture with its beautiful and large gold frame. 

I wish I had some pictures of the process, but alas, the pictures I took only exist in my memory, not the memories of my camera or computer.  So, here is a written description.  

Supplies:  

Hardboard 

Can be found at a hardware store and is pretty inexpensive.  I spent $6 and had leftovers for another project

Primer 

I did not prime my chalkboard, but I would if doing the project again as the hardboard is pretty slick.

Chalkboard paint 

I used Plaid brand acrylic chalkboard paint.

Chalk 

Calcium carbonate chalk is best because it is less abrasive and won't scratch up your new board.

 Foam brush

Small nails

Hammer

Frame

The Chalkboard:  

1. Cut the hardboard to fit your frame.  Jason did this for me;  I like to make him feel useful.  Some hardware stores will also cut boards down to size as well.
2. Prime the hardboard.
3. Paint the hardboard with chalkboard paint, being careful to follow all manufactures directions on drying times and curing time.  It will probably take at least an hour for the paint to dry between coats and 24 hours for the paint to cure before use.
4. Lightly rub chalk (remember the calcium carbonate part) all over the chalkboard and then wipe clean.

Securing Chalkboard in the Frame:

Use a small nail to secure the chalkboard in your frame.  I hammered the nail into the frame at an angle.  I did not hammer through the hardboard. 

Instead, I just bent the nail down to hold the chalkboard in place.  Repeat around all 4 sides of your frame.

And here it is!  One beautiful formal chalkboard for my new dining room.  I am usually not too original in my craft ideas.  I read different blogs and magazines, and I window shop for inspiration.  This one came to me out of the air, however, I did see a similar chalkboard in the December issue of Country Living Magazine after my moment of genius.  I guess I will chalk it up to creative minds thinking alike!

If you like this chalkboard idea, would you please pin it?  Thanks, Christy

I linked up at:

 thriftydecorchick.com.







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