Our Light Box!

The materials we ordered for our light box came in last week, so they scheduled our installation for today! My first contracted work day began this morning, so I considered this my welcome back to school surprise! :) The guys spent the day constructing the box and then putting it into place. We absolutely love the job they did and are very pleased with the end result. Less pleasing is the new light, however. It seems to be suffering some sort of a manufacture's problem with two tipped lights (you will notice the ones on each end do not hang down as the center one does). The guys tried to adjust them, but it is just not possible. Randy and I will be contacting the lighting company in order to resolve this problem, but in the meantime we do have a light source and we love the box!

 

Whew! The new light fixture really has a blazing appearance in this picture, doesn't it?!

 

 



 

 

 

This shows the fixture lines, but also allows you to (very clearly) notice the tipped lights on each end. Ugh!

 

 

 

Today's work concluded the kitchenproject4us and we love it. Now that it's all finished, we can look back and laugh over the inconveniences during the project. We knew we would be happy with our new kitchen and we were absolutely right!

 

                                                                                         Before:



 

 

 

 After: 

 

 

 

Some have suggested that I continue to post projects, so I think I might. Don't sit by computer waiting for daily posts, though. Now that I am back at school, I have no time! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ta-da!

Last weekend we painted the light which hangs over our kitchen table. I have included a before and after. Once more, I have to say that I love being able to reuse these light fixtures thanks to my spray paint! Once the materials for our light box arrive, we can schedule the building and installation of that. A decorative box, made of wood and trim to match our cabinets, will go over the island and then our new island light will be suspended from it.

 

Before:    (Oops! Note the shades which were very crooked after we jiggled the light around for the picture.)

 

 

Ta-da!:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Window Treatment

The new cornices are made and up! My dad cut out and constructed them and then my mother and I tackled the task of covering them. I am really pleased with them and enjoy the  pop of color they provide the breakfast room.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kitchen Pictures!

 

 

 

Here are a few picture showing a table set for a summer meal. You will notice the absence of window treatments on the window beside the slider. We are making cornices for those two small windows. I will post them when they are completed.

 

Please note the open lazy-Susan door in the background.  Naturally the time I would have to leave it open would be the time the picture was taken! :(

 

For some reason, this shot is a little dark.

 

 

 

This is the cabinet above the planning center.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before and After

My new best find is Rustoleum paint!  It comes in a variety of colors so I bought oil-rubbed bronze, to match our new hardware,  and decided to try repainting a few of our light fixtures. I wasn't sure how it would work, but I thought it was worth a try. A can of this paint is around $7 which seemed much better than purchasing a new fixture. What would have I have to lose?

 

 

 

 

 

This is our light over the sink before I painted it.

 

 

 

Presto!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 



 



 

 

Baseboards and Grout

Today the baseboards and grout jobs were finished! We are very satisfied with both. Here is an close-up of the subway tile in the kitchen, complete with grout.

This is how it looks against the countertop.

 

 

 

 

The companion tile is in the butler's pantry.

 

 

 

 

Here is how it looks against the countertop.

Now that the baseboards are in, I am thoroughly cleaning all of the new hardwood floors. Then we will finally be able to put the kitchen table back in the kitchen! The carpet cleaner comes Monday which will be another step closer in getting things back together. Slowly, we're getting there! It is taking longer to settle-in than I had thought, but it is definitely worth it. :)

Baseboard

We had the (bright) idea to replace our baseboards with deeper ones since everything was removed for the flooring installation anyway. The 16 foot boards don't fit in our vehicles, needless to say, so we rented a truck from Home Depot and brought them home. We spread them out in the garage and have double-coated them so that they are ready to be put in tomorrow and Friday. This morning there was a gentle breeze which not only brought a little relief from the heat, but also periodically sprinkled bugs and environmental debris on the freshly painted boards! :)