Backsplash Blues

The remaining task on my "Three of Three" list for the kitchen at our little old house is "install backsplash." For the past two years our backsplash was merely painted, in part because we allocated the funds for that project to more important areas such as plumbing, electric and more. Another reason was I was completely 'shopped out' and just couldn't make up my mind what I wanted (or whether what I thought what I wanted was really what I wanted to live with for the next umpteen years).

So far, the painted backsplash hasn't worked out too bad. We picked a quality paint that can be scrubbed down and if all else fails, paint touch ups are easy-peasy and done in moments. No wonder the whole backsplash project got pushed even further to the bottom of the to-do list.

There is something really nice and pretty and finished about a 'real' backsplash though, and I caught myself browsing tile sections both online and at the store lately, so it got moved up on the list.

Penny tile is darling and one of my favorites. Since I didn't get to use it in the master bathroom, I've been oogling it for a kitchen backsplash.

Ohh, fancy! Marble is just sooo pretty and classy and would add a nice bit of bling to our more country chic kitchen. I like the nod to our beekeeping adventure in the hexagonal shape of the tiles, too, but wouldn't complain too much if they came in little squares or pennies either.

Beadboard (or even beadboard wallpaper) would fit rather nicely with the overall look of our country kitchen. It's probably the most economical choice so far.

And there is, of course, the classic subway tile that will most likely never go out of style.

The problem with all those choices?

They are too thick!

No kidding. How can they be too thick? I mean, they are standard size tiles. Everybody uses them. What could possibly be too thick about them?
That's where I come back with the old adage "It's not you, it's me."
Heh.
You see, a prior owner drywalled over the existing plaster (and lathe) walls, probably because they didn't want to deal with repairing plaster walls throughout the house. Plaster repairs can be a real pain and it's hard to find real professionals who know what they are doing. So, drywall went over those walls which added insulation to the house but in turn removed quite a chunk of the reveal of the trim. My kitchen window, for example, only sticks out from the wall by mere millimeters.

That really puts a crimp into your style, I'm telling you. The average tile is twice the thickness of the reveal I have available without making my window recede into the wall, and that's not accounting for the thickness of the thinset that needs to go behind the tile. Oy!

More googling and surfing the 'net, however, revealed that there are options even for tricky situations like ours.

I discovered this lovely lovely 'Mother of Pearl' penny tile that is just ...wow! It adds just such a beautiful sparkle to a wall, and comes in all shapes to boot, everything from mini bricks to hexagons to squares.

I think it would go nicely with our butcher block countertops and white cabinets. The price is a bit higher than what I'd like to pay though but, oh well, it is what it is (about $16.50/sqft) but it is very very thin which would be perfect for our awkward situation.

We also discovered that some of the glass mosaic tile at the blue and orange box come in thinner styles which would also work for our particular set up (*cue sigh of relief*).

In the end, we're still on the fence with which option to go. We are thinking along the lines of simple, white or clear, possibly glass for ease of maintenance and timeless appeal.

Thoughts?

Busy Bees

On a completely different note ....

 While we are still waiting for the chicken legislation to pass that will one day hopefully allow us to legally keep a chicken or two in our urban back yard (I so would love to own a pair of silkies!), we have been toying with the thought of keeping bees for several years now.

Last year this plan of ours was tabled due to a possible job offer that would have relocated us waaaaay north (too north for my comfort, if you ask me) but this year nothing was going to stop us from adding a bee hive to our little old house.

After much research we decided to go for one of those new-fangled topbar hive - its simpler nature of construction and maintenance appealed to us, including the smaller amount of needed storage and heavy lifting (neither of which we have to waste nor feel too keen on doing). The drawback of a smaller honey harvest is no big deal for us since we are not looking into going into business with it. We are looking forward to 'harvesting' more sweet-swelling beeswax, and frankly, an expected 15-35 pounds of honey from a healthy topbar hive is still way more honey than we use in a year.

Soo, all that being said, when we received the notification that the apiary from which we are getting our bees and queen this year has begun preparing the bees for shipping, we frantically started building our hive.

And here it is! In all its glory, with topbars in place. It's a simple box, about 4 1/2 feet long. The inside is angled at 120 degrees and measures about 7" at the bottom board and 20" at the widest point.

Here you can peek into the cozy inside. We opted for a closed bottom for this hive (we might experiment later) because supposedly it's easier for the bees to maintain the proper interior temperature and humidity when they don't have to factor in a screened bottom that may or may not be open.
The screened bottom is often used as a tool in dealing with Varroa mites but we're hoping to avoid this issue altogether by buying hygienic, mite-resistant bees able to battle those pests by themselves without the 'help' of pesticides and antibiotics used in the hive.

Of course I had to pick up a few new flowers for the yard as well when I went to the Blue Box to buy the lumber! I added a few red salvias, orange bulbines, more bright orange and yellow lantana and Confederate Jasmine to our back yard. All of those plants do well in our climate, are drought resistant once established and bees like'em!

We also added a cute roof to our hive to keep the girls nice and dry. Here is the husband hard at work measuring and cutting the sides for our hive's roof. He's just as excited about the imminent arrival of our bees.

I poked around the hardware store for a lightweight roofing solution and finally settled on those light, clear but textured light box panels (you know, for those awful fluorescent ceiling lights *shudder*). We attached the panels with screws and then caulked over the screw holes to make sure no rain would seep through those holes, and voila! a roof!

Now we have to wait for a probably frantic call from the post office to come and get this 3lbs box of a buzzing nightmare busy bees and their queen. STAT! So stay tuned for more updates on this little side adventure!

Call Me Mrs. Obvious

... but I obviously enjoy stating the obvious.
Obviously.

After installing "Pull" knobs on the cabinets in the laundry room, I -knew- exactly where to put this cute little iron "Garden" sign.

Where, you ask?

Why, the backdoor to the yard, of course!

Little Man lend a hand and together we measured, marked drill holes and screwed the sign to the back door.

And after two years of grumbling about that one cross brace of the outside screen door always covering up the small narrow window in the door, I went, broke out the screw driver and - gasp!- removed it.

Guess what?

The screen door is just as stable without it (it has two more cross bars below the one I removed),  you can now see out of the back door window, and the world didn't come to an end.

Yesss!

All Done!

After stripping, prepping, sanding and priming, it was finally time for a fresh coat of bright white! We have been using Behr's Ultra Premium White for all our trim, moldings and interior doors, and love how crisp and clean it looks.

The exterior of the window is still in need some serious TLC (stripping, sanding, re-glazing and repainting are on the to-do list) but on the inside it's looking mighty nice.

Yep, it's not brand-new, in fact it has all the wrinkles of a 99 year old, but it's gotten a serious facelift and the new make-up ... err, paint looks so much nicer and cleaner and smoother.

Our breakfast station - coffee, tea cups, a toaster - missing in action are our cereal bowls.

And with that the kitchen window is D-O-N-E!

Looking at my "Three of Three" list for the kitchen at our little old house, the finishing line is near!

Three of Three - The Kitchen
1. paint window frame (Done!)
2. add lighting (Done!)
3. add a backsplash

I don't know if the budget will allow adding a back splash right away - it all depends on what we decide to install, so I might have to tide you over with a couple of musings, our decision making process and a "Three of Three" of another room before I have squirrel away enough money to sink into this project.

The Kitchen Edition: Mo' Window

On Day II of Project Window I gave the stripped window frame a quick sanding and a light coat of primer.
Nothing brings out imperfection as beautifully as a crisp coat of bright white and primer does the same. Once all the scratches, gouges, dings and divots were painfully obvious it was time for a bit of wood filler.

Yes, I use an old zoo membership card as my spatula - it's THE BEST to fill and smooth wood filler. You should try it. Any store/credit/membership card will do.

After drying, more sanding, more patching, more sanding, a dab of caulk, and finally, finally, the final coat of primer.

And tomorrow. Tomorrow will bring a fresh coat or two of beautiful semi-gloss white!

Kitchen Edition: Let There Be Light!

Hind sight is 20/20, and it's really true when it comes to your first ever renovation/remodel.

There are a couple of things I wish I'd known/thought about/done differently when we were tearing through our little old house two years ago trying to get it ready enough to move in.

One of them is the light situation in the kitchen. While we have enough electrical outlets to equip a small country, we missed out on the chance to add more lighting right at the beginning. For a while we've been musing about adding a pendant light to the area above the sink, and while squirreling away money, locking down project funds for "The Big Great Painting" and more projects on the list than you can shake a stick at, we thought we could start with a temporary solution.

You know, to see if it'd be a good thing to add a light fixture above the sink and without too much commitment (and holes in the drywall) before calling in the electrician.

Plug-in light fixture to the rescue! I went to Etsy.com to see what other crafty people had created, and found a couple of options that both, the husband and I, really liked.

 

[Source: Portman Workshop]

Those mason jar light fixtures are just sweet and very homey looking, and we both loved the funky Edison bulb!

 [Source: FleaMarketRX]

A colander! How cute is that? And those colors! So bright and cheerful - I love them all! The same etsy store also seems pretty cool tin pan light fixtures and other industrial designs so it's well worth swinging by!

[Source: OVERSPRAYkc]

We both like industrial design and so the wire cage light was just right down our alley and the pop of color from the teal bobbin really caught our eye.

After browsing many many pages of eye candy, we kind of tabled the whole idea and put it on the backburner. It's one of those not-so-important projects/ideas, and life kept us busy until my trip to IKEA when I hopped over to Tampa for the weekend to visit a friend. Before making the long trek back home I hopped into IKEA, and while there, grabbed one of their plug-in light fixture kits in a spur of the moment. Almost at the cash register I spied this cute flower pot, and that was when an idea started to form in my head.

What if ...

While waiting for the primer on the kitchen window frame to dry, I armed myself with drill, pliers and project ingredients.

I marked the center of the bottom of the flower pot with the circle hole I needed to cut to thread my light fixture. Using the drill with a metal tip I drilled lots of small holes along the perimeter of the circle essentially creating a perforated edge. I also gently bent the scalloped edge outward because I liked the way it looked.

It was pretty easy to cut the remaining ridges between the holes by using a screwdriver as a chisel and giving it quick tap with a hammer and finally I was able to pop out the circle shape.

Time to thread the light fixture on!

Voila! I made a light!

The light kit came with a pair of hooks and the light was hung up in no time! I picked up some coax staples and secured the cord along the edge of the ceiling and down one side of the refrigerator cabinet to tidy things up.

It makes a HUGE difference!

It's cute - I'm clearly channeling the shabby chic country girl right now - but it adds a sweet touch to our kitchen, and it provides a surprising amount of light to the sink area which is lovely, especially in the evenings.

The only problem? I wanna make more lights! This was fun!

Kitchen Edition: Strippin' it

Aaaand .... here we go again: stripping and prepping and priming and painting. Those are the steps you just won't get around when refinishing a window ...or a door ...or baseboards ...or any kind of molding, built-ins and yes, even stairs.

From a distance the kitchen window frame didn't look so bad (no, really, it's just my crappy photography and bad timing in regard to light) but up close you were always sorely reminded of generations of wannabe-painters: thick layering of paint, dried up drops, dings and divots. You name it, our window frame sported it like a zit on a debutante's pert little nose.

There were a few areas were I expected to unveil serious termite damage haphazardly 'fixed' by copious amounts of glompy wood filler (or caulk ...or tissue paper or ...something. If you talk to my neighbors, people in the past were awfully creative when it came to quick and cheap ...ahem, fixes).

Armed with my trusted heat gun and scraper I went to work. You know, I'm tempted to blame the fumes from cooking up that old paint but this time I actually enjoyed stripping off paint.

No kidding.

I mean, how could you not when your scraper slices through thick layers of dirty uneven paint to reveal glossy chocolate-colored pine wood with the most beautiful grain?
It also boost morale that the area was straight so zipping up and down with the heatgun and scraper was like flying down an empty highway with a sexy car.

Those areas I expected to be the remains of a termite's snack bar?
Just a bad paint built-up where people had painted over half-removed pitted layers of more paint.
Seriously ... ugh!

Sure, there are a few dings and divots, scratches and some holes from nails and curtain hardware and God knows what, but overall, the trim is in good enough shape to refinish it with a clean-up, some stain and a dash of poly.

I'm, however, not a dark wood trim kind of gal (and I'm not going down that road of refinishing all trim in the house to its original wood, nuh-uh) and love my trim all crisp and white and clean, but if any owners after us decide to go back to the original, all they'll have to remove on this window is one single layer of paint.

When I was done stripping off all of the old crusty paint, I had to call it a day. Dinner was calling - the dog had been reminding me for the past hour by sticking in his head, watching me scrape and oooh and ahhh over the window, and giving me a quick yip - and it was getting late.

More tomorrow!