October 1, 2019 | girl & grey

One Room Challenge – Modern Mountain Kitchen and Family Room – Week Five

October 29, 2019 2 Comments

Oh my gosh it’s week five and I can’t believe it! How do we only have one week left until the big reveal? Well, whether I like it or not, we have one week left and I’m gonna finish this dang space up even if it kills me! And it just might! I joke, I joke. For now, lets talk week five and what has been going on during this fuller than full week. But just in case anyone is new here, we are just one week away from finishing our One Room Challenge, a six week challenge where you renovate/re-imagine a space from top to bottom! I was very ambitious this round and committed to a very big, kitchen and family room overhaul. Here’s a visual of the space that I’m planning, to help you picture what this crazy lady is picturing in her head.

A few big things happened this week and LOTS of little things too! The kitchen cabinets are finally installed, thanks to Jennifer and Chris at Nelson Tile & Stone, who came and walked us through the install process when we were struggling. We were supposed to have our cabinets installed and ready to measure for counter tops when they arrived. But since we have been running behind schedule, and instead of leaving us high and dry (like ANY other countertop place would have), they helped us get the cabinets installed and Jennifer even helped me tear out the old carpet on our stairs. Seriously!!! I mentioned in Insta stories the other day, but if you live in Central Oregon and are going to be remodeling a kitchen or bathroom, GO TO THEM! They are the best!

Also this week, I have been busy painting, painting, and painting. After our drywall was finished last week, all the fresh walls and ceilings needed paint. And my black staining project from last week didn’t come out how I had hoped, so I decided to paint it. The stain was shiny in some spots and matte in others and I was just not feeling it. But now it has a fresh coat of black paint and I’m loving it!

That cute face gets me every time I see that pic. And check out the fireplace progress! Here’s what it looked like when we moved in.

And now…after the paneling was replaced with fresh dry wall and everything was coated with bright, white paint.

Now, I just have to tile the hearth with those cute cement tiles from Zia Tile, and install our new fireplace. Cross your fingers that it shows up in time as it’s shipping out of California, and we have been warned that everything is running way behind schedule due to all the fires that have been burning there.

Another fun project that we have been working on this week was updating our scary stairs….seriously this carpet was keeping me up at night. SO BAD! LJ Smith offered to help us do just that, and I am very grateful! Here’s what they looked like before we started.

And here’s how we look after removing the old carpet and stair railing. Look at those gorgeous hickory treads and risers!

We are almost finished with the treads and risers and are set to begin on the railing portion of the project this evening when the hubs is finished with work for the day! It’s going to make such a big impact on the entire space!

And lastly, instead of writing a very LONG to-do list for the next week, I will just touch on a few of the big items left to take care of.

countertops arrive on friday morning
tile fireplace hearth
tile backsplash in kitchen
install appliances
open shelving install
there are many more but if I keep listing them, then I’m afraid I might have a cardiac episode of sorts, and then I’ll be in the hospital instead of finishing up this project. HA!

Ok….that’s it for now! Cross your fingers for me and send me all the energetic, caffeinated and positive thoughts! XOXO

Ps…don’t forget to check in with the other 19 designers to see what they’ve been up to this week! I linked them below for ya!

At Charlotte’s House | Design Addict Mom | Erika Ward Interiors | Erin Kestenbaum | Girl & Grey

Nicole White Designs | Old Brand New | Oscar Bravo Home | Place of My Taste | The Rath Project

one room challenge

One Room Challenge – Modern Mountain Kitchen and Family Room – Week Four

October 23, 2019 4 Comments

Hi friends! Welcome to week four of the One Room Challenge. This week we’ve been all over the place, and I mean that it in a very literal way. One day I’m painting a wall, the next I’m tiling and the next, I’m off to hunt down slabs of wood for our shelving. I’m all over the place, but It’s finally feeling so bright and fresh in here, and I’m loving it. For weeks, all we did was tear this place apart so it’s nice to see it finally coming back together and starting (just barely) to shine! As always, lets have a look at the vision for the space.

First up, we made the decision last week to hire out our drywall work out, and I’m quite sure that is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made! Jordan from Summit Drywall of Bend (message me if you would like his contact info. I can’t recommend him enough!) came and transformed this shell of a space into a real house complete with beautifully textured walls and ceilings. He finished everything in just a few days which would have taken Nate and I at least a week to complete and I KNOW our work wouldn’t have the professional look that Jordan delivered.

Before Jordan came

After Jordan worked his magic

Another project that I tackled this week was staining the wood on the half wall that surrounds the loft. It was the same knotty pine that is on the ceiling, and because there is so much of it between the two spaces, I knew this loft wall needed a face lift. My mom suggested that I paint it black and after talking it over in Insta stories, I decided that staining it black would be a better option. It would show the wood grain while masking some of those orange tones. Win Win! I couldn’t be happier with how this one came out!

The other major thing that happened this week was we road tripped up to Sumner, WA to pick up our kitchen cabinets! After going over delivery options with the cabinet company, we discovered that we could have our cabinets 10 to 14 days sooner if we picked them up, vs. having them shipped to our door. So off we went! It was a fun trip and felt so good to get out of the house for a couple of days because it’s been nothing but craziness since we started our big reno, so this mini break was a welcome one. However, we drove into crazy rain (welcome to Oregon) which nearly put me into a catatonic state of panic and despair. After trying our best to cover them with tarps, on a whim, we decided to rent an enclosed u-haul, and spent an extra night at my sisters house in Portland. Actually, it turned out to be quite the fun evening while they calmed my rattled nerves and all the cousins camped out together in sleeping bags.

These next two weeks are going to be crazy as we get down to crunch time! Here’s a list so you can see how much is left –

Cabinet install
Countertop/sink install
Tile – backsplash and fireplace hearth(i know i know…I STILL haven’t tiled the hearth)
Fresh paint for all the newly textured walls and ceilings
Stair demo and install new railing and treads/risers
Open shelving install
Range hood installed
New kitchen appliances installation
New lighting EVERYWHERE
Paint window trim black on the skinny windows in dining room

Ok…here we go! There’s a lot to do, but I’m feeling good at the moment! I better get busy so I’ll be back next week for week five…how is it going so fast?!

Ps…Don’t forget to check out what’s been going this week with the other designers! Things are starting to come together!!!!

At Charlotte’s House | Design Addict Mom | Erika Ward Interiors | Erin Kestenbaum | Girl & Grey

Nicole White Designs | Old Brand New | Oscar Bravo Home | Place of My Taste | The Rath Project

Decorating, DIY, one room challenge

One Room Challenge – Modern Mountain Kitchen and Family Room – Week Three

October 15, 2019 8 Comments

Howdy friends! Welcome to week three of the One Room Challenge and I can’t even believe it! Where is the time going? Let’s get into this, and I will fill you in on allll the happenings around these parts! There are LOTS! For anyone who’s new here, here is my vision for the space, and if you’d like to look back to week two or week one, feel free to clickity click!

Let’s start with windows! Sierra Pacific Windows provided me+ with three of the most glorious, modern, sleek, black windows and to say that I love them would be the understatement of the century. Here is what the above the sink situation looked like before SPW came to the rescue.

And now LOOK!!!!

CAN YOU EVEN?! Guys…I love these windows so much that I could write them a poem about my deep, intense and everlasting love. Just kidding…but only sorta. We spent an entire day installing these bad boys and lucked out big with a Dad who was a commercial glazier for forty years. So he definitely knows his way around a window install. It was so exciting and scary all at the same time! It seems obvious when you think about it, but you have to cut giant holes in the side of your house, and that is NERVE WRACKING! I will write a blog post in the coming weeks to show you guys these beautiful windows up close and personal. Also, they have some pretty cool features!

Another thing that we worked on this week was giving the fireplace a face lift. This is what the fireplace used to look like in all of its brown glory.

I decided right away that the brick was calling for some bright white paint to freshen it up.

The old pellet stove that has been residing in this spot since 1993 was re-homed with a local family who have a rustic cabin on the river that they rent out to vacationers. For the hearth, I am going to add a cool cement tile from Zia Tile that will add a pop of pattern. I have mentioned before that my goal is make this house feel alive again, and I think this funky tile addition will help do just that.

Finally, the last bit of demo was completed this weekend because this old pantry is going to house the new refrigerator with a cabinet surround.

The closet that you see on the backside of the pantry will be removed to make room for the refrigerator and additional cabinetry. I was hoping to keep the closet for obvious reasons, but lost that battle so new drywall will be added in its place. And speaking of sheet rock, we decided to hire out some of the drywall/texture work out and I am so excited! We could really use the help, as our list of to-do’s is looking looooong.

Tearing out these two closets brought us to our first major hiccup in our plans as well. We were sure that there wasn’t any plumbing/electrical inside these walls that would get in the way of the refrigerator placement, but we were wrong. SO WRONG. Allow me to introduce our upstairs shower drain pipe. Which is now going to be re-routed to make way for the refrigerator. Not a huge deal…but definitely an unwelcome sight.

Ok…so here’s what’s on the list for this next week.

Finish flooring
Tile hearth
Finish painting walls and any touch ups that need some attention
Paint the ceilings
Rent scaffolding
Install new lighting in family room/dining room

I can’t believe week three marks the half way point! OMGOSH there is so much to do! I’ll be back next week with all the dirty deets for week four and don’t forget to check out all of the other designers to see their progress! Until next week! XOXO

At Charlotte’s House | Design Addict Mom | Erika Ward Interiors | Erin Kestenbaum | Girl & Grey

Nicole White Designs | Old Brand New | Oscar Bravo Home | Place of My Taste | The Rath Project

one room challenge, Renovating

One Room Challenge – Modern Mountain Kitchen and Family Room – Week Two

October 8, 2019 13 Comments

Well hellllllllooooo week two! Things have been moving right along over here with this One Room Challenge and I am so excited to finally be able to catch you guys up on all the good progress we have been making! Last week, I mentioned that we have been busy planning and working on this space for the last few months but couldn’t fill you in on all the details in an effort to keep the project documented for you all in a way that makes sense for the timeline. As always, here’s a look back at my vision for the space.

Every time I look at this moodboard…I get butterflies in my stomach. Seriously so excited to see this project come together! But for now, let’s focus on Week Two. The name of the game for this week was all about demo! Here is what the kitchen looked like last week.

And here’s how we look today!

You can see we have been busy tearing this house apart! But, we can’t put it back together until we have a blank slate! One thing to note as well, a lot of things are happening here simultaneously. You might notice that we have brand new wood floors down here that my saint of a husband has been laying during every spare moment he has. The kitchen was totally rewired this weekend to accommodate an entirely new lighting plan. All the walls have been getting fresh coats of white paint. Which was the first time I have ever painted any room white, but this house is screaming for light, bright and fresh. So, I listened to my house and happily hopped on the white band wagon. And lastly, the kitchen window is just propped up there in its original spot, but is being replaced this week after the new windows arrive. Told ya we have lots of stuff going on here at once!

Here are some more shots of us from the demo during the last few weekends.

Thought I would also add this one of my sister because it’s such a cute one.

Being kitchenless hasn’t been as bad as I thought it would be. Dinners have become pretty simple around these parts, and I’m not the primary cook in our house so it doesn’t bother me one bit. Think lots of cereal and frozen pizzas! We convinced our kids that living without a kitchen is a lot like camping and they love to camp, so they are thinking that this whole thing is rather exciting! Plus, we will have a new kitchen to enjoy when this is all over so I am keeping my head in the game and my eye on the prize!

What’s up next –

Finish floor installation

Touch up paint

Paint fireplace brick and tile hearth

Install new fireplace

CABINET INSTALL

Countertops/sink/faucet install

Tile

Range hood

Shelves

Lighting

Is it me or did it just get hot in here? Deep breaths and one thing at a time, right? Wish me luck this week and watch my Instagram stories for all the reno progress videos and pics. See ya next week!!! XOXO

AND BE SURE TO CHECK OUT ALL OF THE OTHER DESIGNERS THIS WEEK TO SEE WHAT THEY’RE UP TO!

At Charlotte’s House | Design Addict Mom | Erika Ward Interiors | Erin Kestenbaum | Girl & Grey

Nicole White Designs | Old Brand New | Oscar Bravo Home | Place of My Taste | The Rath Project

one room challenge

One Room Challenge – Modern Mountain Kitchen and Family Room – Week One

October 2, 2019 21 Comments

OMG TODAY IS THE DAY! It’s the first day of the first week of the One Room Challenge! I’m back at it, but this time, as a Featured Designer (still pinching myself that my name is among the list of amazing designers) and I couldn’t be more excited about it! I have been planning this space for months now, and it’s been nearly impossible to keep all of this a secret from you guys! This is my third crack at the challenge, and if you’ve been following along for a while now then you might have seen my powder room transformation from Fall of 2018, or my shack turned office project from the Spring of 2019. If you don’t know what I’m talking about…then go and check them out! Now lets get down to biz. Here’s a visual of what I’m thinking!

1./2./3./4./5./6./7.

Many of you already know that the hubs and I sold our house over the summer and moved into a fixer upper. And when I say fixer upper…I mean it. For reals, guys. This new house of ours is in serious need of some love. When I was trying to decide which room I would be tackling for the ORC, I thought about doing a smaller project like a bathroom or a bedroom because it felt like a safer choice. But, my hubs gave me the pep talk of all pep talks and convinced me to “go big, or go home.” So, that’s been my motto as I’ve been planning and we are def going BIG with a complete kitchen remodel as well as the attached family room. Am I crazy? Have I lost it? Maybe. But I’ve had three cups of coffee and full of nervous energy so I’m gonna do my best to pull this thing off!

THE BEFORE

Here’s how the kitchen looked last month on move in day.

What do you guys think? Are you scared for me? You can see we have a lot of work ahead of us! The goal is to transform this sad space into a living/dining/and kitchen that we love. This house needs to be brought back to life again and I am up to the task! That’s all for now!

See ya next week!

Ps…don’t forget to check out the other fabulous featured designers! I’m just giddy about all the inspo that’s going to be floating around over the next six weeks!

At Charlotte’s House | Design Addict Mom | Erika Ward Interiors | Erin Kestenbaum | Girl & Grey

Nicole White Designs | Old Brand New | Oscar Bravo Home | Place of My Taste | The Rath Project