A basement kitchenette

Hey everybody! It’s time for the kids to go back to school around here, after a THREE week break. I’ll miss the kiddo but getting back to the schedule will be good for us. I guess. Boo.
So I got a ton done again this weekend, but like the other projects I’m working on lately this one going to be a multiple step thing. This was step two of who knows how many but I’m excited about the progress! I like to share the process with you all instead of before with nothing and an after with it all done, cause obviously that’s not how it happens.
When we finished the basement last year we knew we wanted a kitchenette down there somewhere. It’s not a HUGE space though so we needed to make it work in a spot that wouldn’t take up a lot of room. We decided on a small wall in the family room, just outside the laundry room:

I shared that pic late last year after the cabinets were installed. What you don’t see is there is a rough in for a sink – the part I’m most excited about. :) But today we’re talking counters and paint.
I’ve gone back and forth on the counters for months now. My original plan was butcher block with an undermount sink, but then a few weeks ago I found a laminate counter I loved at Lowe’s. They didn’t have the one I loved in stock though, so I went back to my butcher block idea.
But getting the block means a long trip to IKEA (which I’m planning on doing today, but whatever, it was last minute) and I already need to get some butcher for the mud room bench, so getting two was going to get expensive. And then last week I was back and Lowe’s and the counter I loved was in stock and I noticed it was only $34! Thirty bucks people, seriously…I couldn’t believe it!
Laminate means no undermount sink but I’ve lived with a regular drop in sink for all of my 38 years so I think I’ll survive.
I tackled the installation of the counter last week and for the most part that’s easy – but I had to deal with the rough edge on one end:

Thankfully there’s little kits that are sold right by the countertops for just this problem. It was nearly $20 so that cheap countertop get a little more expensive, but still, pretty good.
It comes with wood pieces and laminate for the edges:

First you take those nailed in jobbies in the photo up above out, so the edge is flat. Then you nail the little bitty piece to the back to fill in that part:

And then you’re supposed to do the same underneath with the long piece. This is all so the laminate edge has something to stick to. Well, this wall and the cabinets were pretty much exactly 72 inches (which I don’t think we did on purpose, but it was a nice accident so cabinets and counters were easy to find), but this meant there wasn’t enough of an overhang to add that piece of wood underneath the counter. So I just didn’t add it – we’ll see how this hold up without it.
The next step was a little scary – you take an iron and use it to “glue” the laminate on the edge of the countertop. I didn’t get pictures of this cause I was sweating, but I put the iron on medium heat and used a lot of steam (just as I do with webbing tape when “sewing”). I just steamed it like crazy and was careful not to hold the iron down on the laminate too long:

It worked great! There’s stuff on the back of the laminate that melts and glues it right on. (You can hear it “crackle.”) I couldn’t get it to budge once it was dry. But as you see above, it’s not a perfect fit. The next step was to use a wood file and knock down the excess laminate along there.
I didn’t have a wood file and thought I could just file it down with a chisel. I was wrong. :) It didn’t work. It was about 9 p.m. and I so didn’t want to run out to get the annoying wood file, so I started trying anything I could find. It went…OK. ;) These heavy duty scissors worked for cutting vinyl tiles so I figured they would work for this and they did:

But I couldn’t get close enough to the edge to get it flush. I was also afraid I was going to damage the counter by messing with it so much, so I put a line of my Frogtape along there to protect it:

Then I went back at it again – this time with tin snips. :) With those I was able to get much closer to the edge. And then I got it real flush by ending with my original plan, the chisel:

You can see there why I put the tape down – it really did help and the counters are just fine even after all that abuse. :) After all those tools and the time it took to get it all done, I just should have made the run to the hardware store, but whatever. I was already in my pj’s and not going anywhere.
The counter is actually quite cool, I love the way it looks! It’s got the “3D” look to it – it has a very minor texture that’s supposed to look like granite. We have similar counters upstairs and they get mistaken for granite on first glance all the time. They’ve also held up GREAT, so I know it will be perfect in the basement:

So I know we still need to cut the hole for the sink but I wanted to make sure it was staying put for the time being, so I got some pillows to lay on and got underneath and secured it to the cabinets using screws:

Nice picture thanks to the Bub. ;) It was not the most comfortable thing I’ve ever done. Remember when doing this part to use screws that aren’t too long so they don’t go through the top of the laminate! Yikes.
Then…it was time for paint. Why must EVERY SINGLE PROJECT involve so much paint? WHY. I’ve done a coat of primer and one coat of glossy white on everything so far:

Yes, the kitchenette also serves as the basketball court. :)
The cabinets still needs another good sanding and one more coat of paint, but I was tired people. So. much. painting. 
Next steps are to install the hardware on the cabinets, continue the baseboard around the bottom, install the sink and then decide what I’m doing on that wall above. First I need to decide on uppers or no uppers – I wasn’t going to do any but more storage wouldn’t be a horrible thing, right? I’m thinking maybe skinny ones one easy side of the lights, then maybe shelving between. Or just shelves and no cabinets? No idea. It will come to me eventually.
So it’s not quite a full after yet, but a halfway after still makes me very, very happy:

We are just giddy about the thought of a kitchen sink down there. I swear we’re all just moving down to the basement. We’ll be back upstairs for the summer. Or not, it’s nice and cool down there in the hot months. :)
Have you ever installed countertops? Do you have this granite lookalike stuff? My dream one day would be soapstone counters, but until then the laminate holds up great! Hopefully I’ll be able to show you this space with a sink soon!
P.S. This color was called Labrador Granite, here’s a link to a larger piece.

Paint and floors! (mud room progress)

Well when I said I wanted to get my hands dirty again I meant it. I worked my TAIL off on the mud room yesterday! Seven hours straight – it feels like I’ve barely made a dent and like it looks like a whole new room all at once.

My hand is now a claw from gripping the paint brush so long, but there’s progress!

After I installed the new door trim my next step was to figure out what color to go with on the beadboard in the room. I shared the options I was looking into on Facebook:

I was deciding between a navy blue tone and a more peacock blue color and went with the latter – I’m a little obsessed with that color. I used it as an accent in the powder room, in the basement bathroom and I’ve used it in the living room too. LOVE.

Thing is – painting beadboard is a major pain in the tuckus. Seriously up there with the most tedious jobs ever. I start by using a roller over the whole thing, not worrying about getting into the grooves. Then I take a thick, angled brush and fill in the “beads”:

I use lots of paint, don’t be afraid to lather it on there. You have to go over it a few times to smooth it all out and get any excess paint out. THIS is why I feel like my hand is permanently in the claw shape. ;)

This time, for what I think may be the first time, I painted my trim before I installed it. What WHUT? Yep. I ALWAYS install first, then paint, and I ALWAYS complain about painting after the fact. I still don’t know if I’m sold on the painting before thing. It did make it a little easier – I didn’t have to worry about taping anything off.

But I still had to fill nail holes and touch up paint that I usually don’t have to worry about. Since I used such a deep color, I knew filling the holes would leave a white spot I’d have to paint over a couple times, so I mixed up a bit of my putty with some paint:

That way it matched the wall color better. Even after it dried it was still a little lighter:

I wiped it with a wet rag and then just touched up those small areas. So, the jury’s still out on the paint or install first, at least for me. I think it may be a bit easier to paint first though. Maybe.

So the blue color is called Reflecting Pool by Ralph Lauren. I’ve had an old paint deck for years from when they sold it at Home Depot (I would get it mixed in Behr paint). This time I took it to Sherwin Williams and got it color matched. I do love it but it’s more color than I’m used to, that’s for sure! When I’m in the room it feels deep and pretty. When I’m in another room and walk into the mud room it feels BRIGHT. :) But Lordy…I’m not painting it again for awhile so I’ll get used to it:

I did something a little different this time – usually the white is on the beadboard and the color is on the walls. I wanted to flip it around this time and I really like it! Now I’m not sure the door will stay that color though. It’s always trial and error for me – I just have to figure it out along the way.

It takes me eons to put a room together but that’s because I have to think through every bit of it:

I’ve had half of the walls covered with the beadboard for years, but never finished it up because I was too lazy to move the washer and dryer back in the day:

Next up I need to continue that around to the rest of the room that will be the built in bench and storage:

Those holes are where we had the dryer vent and heavy duty outlet – still don’t think I’ll even cover those with drywall since I’ll be covering it all with beadboard.

Oh I almost forgot about my FAVORITE part! The new floors!! Our flooring guy put them in for a great price again, $300 for labor. Now that I’ve watched him do it a few times I feel like I may be able to do this myself. But they make it seem so easy – they move super fast and just two of them had the floor laid in a couple hours:

I still need to add some trim over by the utility doors – I was more concerned with how they met at the transition piece to the rest of the house than over there. We went with the Jacobean stain and a satin poly like we have on the rest of the main level. After living with hardwoods for a couple years now I would use them in just about any space – even one that gets wet shoes. They’ve held up incredibly well! Any time we’ve ever had water stand on them at all they may cup up a bit but then once they dry out they’re flat again.

You may remember I installed the peel and stick vinyl tiles in here years ago – and they held up OK. Not great, but OK. The “grout” area between the tiles easily discolored, which I didn’t like. And I don’t feel like they’d be great for an area that gets moisture – the water would easily get between them. But the tiles themselves looked pretty darn good, even after years of use. I just didn’t care for the way the the grout areas looked after all this time.

If you had told me a few years ago we’d put hardwoods in both a bathroom and the mud room I would have laughed – but I’m a convert. :)

Next up – finish up the rest of the beadboard (I was waiting to decide on the bench configuration), then figure out the trim that will go around the top of the beadboard: Oh and paint the door trim. :) Yay.

THEN I can start the bench! I’m so excited about that! 

I can’t wait to make more progress in this room – and to create more storage! I’m stoked.

I’m just glad the bright yellow and black is gone:

It served us well but I’m ready for I’m ready for a change!

NOW I’m off to clean my entire house. When we’re all here 24/7 it’s so hard to keep up with it!! I want to start the new year with a clean slate! I’ll be back a couple more times this week, talk with ya later. ;)

New black (back) door

Welcome to Monday and the WEEK BEFORE CHRISTMAS!! Ahhh, everybody freak out!! I have purchased maybe three presents. THREE. I’m usually late on that anyway but the arrival of our grandbaby has slowed down my process even more. (Thanks for the love on that by the way.)

So here’s two big confessions about the way I blog/DIY – one, I usually don’t know what I’m going to write each day till usually the day before. I don’t plan it out. If you haven’t noticed I’m a procrastinator (see above) and I do better when I fly by the seat of my pants. As of yesterday I had no idea what I would write about today, this is nothing new.

The other thing is that most of what gets done around here gets finished so I can blog about it. Otherwise we would live in a constant state of undone projects. We do anyway, but it would be way worse. So yesterday I decided to finish up a project that had been kind of started for a couple weeks…so I could blog about it. :)

It started with the back door:

Innocent enough, right? Well if you read this post, you’d know it’s not innocent. Not at all:

It makes for a good story – I can tell it without twitching now.

Well for years now we’ve had issues with water and that back door. I mentioned a while back we had to cut out the floor back there, down to the basement, to try to fix it. It helped for a while but water kept leaking down to the basement behind a wall. It would wick up on the baseboards – that’s the only reason we knew anything was going on.

The handyman told us years ago the whole back door would need to be replaced, so a few weeks ago when we had water leaking again we finally scheduled it. Let me tell you – this is not a cheap job. Yowza. So I finished up a lot of the detail work myself.

But when they installed it they couldn’t find another atrium door with the plastic grids we had before. So we planned on using the old ones on the new door, but when they put it up without I was kind of in love. It was so bright and open, but so different than what we were used to. I went to Instagram to ask opinions:

And I think pretty much every person said no grid and I agreed. I couldn’t believe how much more open it made that kitchen nook feel. It was crazy!

So we left them off and I seriously love it. As I said, I decided I would finish it up to save some money. All I really had to do was paint the door and the new trim – easy right? Painting a door and trim is actually about 15 steps though, so it took a while.

I primed it with gray primer a couple weeks ago:

And it sat like that till yesterday. :)

Then I puttied the holes on the new trim:

Then did one coat of black on the door:

See that new trim? I’m on a mission to change it out in the whole house! You can see how I do it here – it’s way easier than I thought it would be. Buh bye skimpy trim. Don’t let the back door hit you…

Then it was time to caulk every single corner and joint:

I shared the tool I use when I caulk here – it helps a ton!

Then finally, three more coats of paint – one more coat of black on the door, one coat of white primer and one coat white paint on the trim. It still needs one more of the white but for now I’m good:

Love that beefy trim!

I can’t finish up the black on the door till it warms up a bit. I didn’t do the side of the door at all because it. was. freezing:

This shot makes me want to rip out those itty bitty baseboards even more! Have to get the door trim done on each door first. I still have to touch up the hinges too – I spray painted them but didn’t spray them both open and closed so I didn’t get all of it. Duh.

It’s so different (to me) but I love it. Before there were LOTS of grids – on the door, on the windows and on the pantry door. This is much calmer and as I said, it makes the space feel bigger:

Although I still walk in the kitchen and for a millisecond of think the door isn’t there. That door debacle may have scarred me after all. ;)

Another project (mostly) done – and fingers crossed no more leaking! It was just in the nick of time too, we’ve had snow covering the deck since it was installed.

I loathe water issues, have I mentioned this? They seem to love us though. Do you have one of these atrium doors? With or without the grids?

Chevron, take two

Hey everybody! Happy Thanksgiving week! I won’t be posting much this week, and today’s post is short and sweet. I’m taking most of the week off and hope you’ll get plenty of family and rest time in too!

So here it is – my second attempt at chevron. If you remember I tried it a few months ago with my chevron Frogtape:

WELL. Funny story. When I was cleaning out the garage a couple weeks ago I realized I used the WRONG chevron tape. I work with Frogtape and they sent me their new shape tape before it even came out in the stores. This one must have been an early prototype that they didn’t use.

I grabbed this one off the shelf and didn’t even realize it was different from the others. The actual chevron Frogtape is actually much more chevron-y and less Charlie Brown-y.

I laughed out loud when I realized what I had done. Leave it to me. So last week I decided to do another little redo to that trash can.

I spray primed it and then spray painted it white…again. :) Then I played around with the tape to figure out the design I wanted. I was originally planning a thin line of chevron around the top and bottom but decided on a slightly different design instead:

I just offset the second line a bit to make it not exactly chevron.

I rubbed some gold rub n buff in between the tape and that was it!:

I decided simpler was better. :) Much better. This I love!

Their shape tape comes in three different designs – chevron, scallop and wave. (I showed you how I used the scallop design here.) As you can see you don’t have to use them as they come -- play around with them a bit to make your own look!

Want to try them out yourself? (You can see the designs here.) Leave a comment here this week and let me know which one you’d like to try! We’ll give away three of each design. I’ll announce the winner next week!

P.S. My friend Marty at A Stroll Thru Life has a lovely blog and highlighted me last week – go here to check it out!

Some COLOR in the mud room

Hey all! Thanks for making me feel like a normal person yesterday. I am not alone!!

I’ve been making progress on the mud room lately and I’m getting SO excited about this space. Remember when I painted the room white a few weeks ago? Still love it – but I have started craving just a BIT of color. I haven’t decided on the exact color for the beadboard just yet but I know the direction I’m going.

My plan all along has been to add some color to the door to the garage so I started with that. I may kick myself for it later for doing it before the other color but it came together so well I just couldn’t resist.

And with the trim taken off around the door it was much easier to paint – I could make a little bit of a mess and it would be covered. :)

A year or so ago I started using the back of our door as a command center of sorts – but honestly, it hasn’t worked that great:

I have a small calendar on here that I used to put all our appointments on, but we haven’t used it in a year. I clip coupons on the door thinking I’ll grab them on the way out and I don’t – I ignore them and remember I need them when I’m actually at the store. So there’s that.

I have a smaller version of this in mind down the road for this room, but for now I just took it all down.

Before the smaller calendar I had a larger one and it left a mess on the door:

SO pretty. :)

I started by scrubbing off what I could (most of it didn’t budge) and then cleaned the door really well.

Now, if you’re going to paint a door you want to do one of two things first. Either check to see if it’s oil or latex paint that’s already on there (I explain how to do that here) or you can just prime it.

I usually just prime because it gives you a nice clean surface to start off with anyway. This door is a slick steel door so I knew the paint would do better over a primed surface.

You’ll want a heavy duty primer for the job. I use the little quart sizes I get at True Value:

This stuff is great and is truly odorless – I really don’t smell anything, which is huge for this type of primer! It’s usually really stinky.

I usually have this tinted, just because I’m typically painting a color when I use it. In the past I’ve had it tinted gray and it works great, but I forgot to do that this time.

I did one coat but went over a few spots more than once:

And then it was time to figure out what color to use! I raided my paint stash first to see if I had anything that would work. And I’ll BE, guess what I found? It was (nearly) PERFECT.

I pulled out the rug I’m planning on using in the room (but not as a rug, more on that later) and realized this blue True Value color I already had was just lovely with it:

It’s called Ticker Tape, how cute is that? You can see it in it’s true form (at least on the computer) by searching the name here – so pretty.

You may recognize it from the samples I had painted on my walls for months years:

OK, you probably don’t recognize it because it was painted over the blinding yellow. But it was the color on the left. Or the right? Not sure. I think the left. I was considering it as a color for the whole room years back.

I knew when I started painting it on that it was going to be so pretty:

I would call it a very saturated aqua I guess? Not sure. The more I look at it completed the more it leans blue.

To paint both the primer and the paint on the door I used foam rollers (you can find them here online) and a small, angled brush:

And I use a specific system I told you about here:

It works great!

I was so happy with the paint too, it went on SO well. I even used the brush to paint the raised panels in the door, which I never do (because I can see the paint strokes). I always use the foam roller for those areas.

After the first coat I gave it a quick sanding, just to knock down any texture from the roller. And when I say quick sanding, I mean like two minutes and done. I hate sanding. I only had to do one more coat after that, so two total, which is impressive for a color over white.

I wanted the door to be fun and colorful and it is!: 

Oh yeah, there’s the spray painted knob I told you about. :)

It’s not an exact match to that rug but it’s close enough, and they won’t be right next to each other anyway:

I was going to wait until the new floors are installed to do the door trim, but that got pushed back to later this month so my zero patience won out and I installed it all:

I made a few minor changes to how I do the DIY craftsman trim around the doors which I’ll tell you more about soon. OHHHMG. Love them.

Here’s the before and after over the utility closet:

It all needs about four coats of paint (oh happy day!) but it’s a step in the right direction.

I also started continuing the beadboard on that door wall:

I didn’t go too far with it because I’m deciding on the bench dimensions first.

The room still looks like a bit of hot mess right now but it’s getting there – I always like to share the process along the way because man, it takes time to do this stuff! It sure doesn’t happen overnight.

I should just make a to do list for this room and knock them off on here, right? But so far I’ve pulled down all the trim and installed new stuff, painted the walls and now the door. Next up will be the flooring, finishing the beadboard, more trim, then the part I’m most excited about – building a wall of built ins and a bench! It won’t be done till next year but it’s coming along.

Do you love a painted door? You know I love the black doors and that’s on my to do list elsewhere in the house. I do like having one that’s more fun and playful and the mud room is a great spot for it.

 

I was one of the bloggers selected by True Value to work on the DIY Squad. I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program as well as writing about my experience. I have also been compensated for the materials needed for my DIY project. However, my opinions are entirely my own, I would have done this project anyway and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.