Night owl

For those of you, who will remain nameless, that are incredibly committed to checking out my kitchen... I give you a few crummy nighttime shots of the in-progress space. First, you must appreciate the mess we made emptying out our cabinets into our dining room. Impressive, right? See that bag of chips in the left corner? We kept walking by the bag and, as a result, it took no less than 2 hours to gain back any of the calories we burned while working on the kitchen.

Drum roll... Keep in mind that we still need new window treatments, cabinet hardware, matching cabinets above the semi-island, a dining nook, a rug, and crown moulding.  These pics were also taken at night and don't accurately reflect the colors in the room, but at least you can get a good glimpse of what's going on:

We have since added the cabinet hardware, but you'll have to wait to check it out. Trust me, it looks great.We're making progress folks, we're making progress.  Thanks for sharing your thoughts and suggestions with us along the way! This kitchen wouldn't be unfolding so beautifully if it weren't for your help.

While the husband is away...this girl will play!

The first weekend Mark left I consoled myself the only way my mother taught me: I went shopping.  I went to two Homegoods, one TJ Maxx and one Marshalls and didn't find a single thing to buy.  You could have put a golden egg in front of me and I wouldn't have been amused. Fortunately, I survived a week and after Mark left on Sunday (he came in for a short 18hr trip) I went back to a Homegoods and had plenty of luck.  Probably too much luck, really. During my incredibly successful shopping trip I had a moment of deep self-reflection and came to realize that (1) despite my best efforts to hate the whole "stick on" furniture look, I really think it's adorable and (2) with Mark gone I'm at least five months away from starting my new bathroom project and I can't stand another week getting ready with key lime walls. These two profound discoveries lead to an even more profound checkout.  Just look at how cute this stick-on chandelier is next to my homemade chair!

My guest bedroom now looks more like a teenager's dream than a luxe guest suite, but the sticker is removable and won't damage the walls. For the moment, I'm totally smitten. Forgive my fashion faux pas, but it just had to be done and for only $9.99 I don't feel bad about the indulgence.

I then decided I was going to redo the upstairs bathroom on a shoe-string budget without Mark's assistance (i.e. give myself a bathroom that I can at least tolerate for the next five months). This gives me ample time to research every penny I'll be putting into my dream bathroom without dreading each moment in between.  At first five months didn't sound like a long time... then I survived a week. The key lime has gotta go. So here are the before shots (and yes, I've already put up some painters tape around the trim - I told you I was over it!):

As you can see, I've already tested a few colors on the wall.  It really only adds to the charm of the space. Right now, my plan is to remove the shower door and hang the curtain (already purchased), paint, replace the hardware and the faucet (with my Belle Foret faucet), put up new window treatments (bamboo shades?) and throw some artwork on the wall that ties the whole space together.  It's going to be hard to do without ditching the sink, toilet or tile floor, but I'm going to give it the old college try and see what comes. 

Worst case scenario: I do all of this, I still don't like it, I am out $150 for the joy of not looking at key lime green for five months while I patiently wait on the bathroom of my dreams feeling confident that it's exactly what I want.

Dream case scenario: I do all of this and I love it enough to (temporarily at least) give up my dream bathroom concept thereby saving us a few G's.  Sure, I'd have to sell that console sink on eBay, but I'd have no problem turning a profit on the purchase.

With any luck I'll fall somewhere in between the two aforementioned scenarios and it won't be a total waste. Mark doesn't know about any of this, but I figure if I approach it with the, "I did this to take the pressure off of you, honey" attitude it will go over quite smoothly (thanks for the advice, Meg!). Here's a sneak peek at what I'm looking at:

Oh, and I've already started. See that toilet paper holder? It's new. If you're looking for bathroom hardware, check out your local Homegoods.  I purchased a matching towel rod, hand towel ring and toilet paper holder from the Hotel Collection for $9 each. That's a steal.

For those of you annoyed about my lack of a kitchen update, just hold your horses.  There have been a few glitches.  First, I have to actually be home during the daylight in order to get a decent picture of that room. Considering it's February and my job is insane, this never happens. I know you're thinking, "but what about the weekends?" Contrary to popular opinion, I do have a social life and occasionally I take a break from photographing my cats to have a little fun. More importantly, two Saturdays ago (which was the first Saturday that our kitchen was in photograph-worthy shape) I was in Key West.  Last Saturday I was with Mark shopping for antiques on U Street.  Hopefully, you'll have better luck this weekend, but don't bet on it since Maureen is coming to visit.  Also, I've found that crown moulding isn't that easy. All is painted, but the crown moulding isn't up.  I can cut inside corners just fine (upside down and backwards. got it!) but outside corners confuse me and measuring a single piece of wood to be cut correctly on one side as an outside corner and another side an inside is some kind of geometry class I never took.  Mark and I stared at a compound miter saw for 3 hours and destroyed $30 worth of moulding before deciding that we should wait and let my dad do it teach us.  I'm also fabric shopping with my mom in two weekends for the window treatments and the dining nook, but those projects will come later. I promise, as soon as the pics are ready I'll have them up. Now on with the gratuitous Frank photos:

Totally unrelated: We lost power for about 36 hours during a recent snow storm.  It resulted in a nice evening next to the fireplace snuggled up with a bottle of Malbec and the cats.

Shop, Shop, Shop, Shop Around (to the tune of House of Pain)

It's Monday and there's nothing like a great '92 classic to remind you why Irish-Americans are bad rappers gangsta. Enjoy:

I've been shopping around these days for a dream bathroom. Of course, I hate spending money and I love expensive things so "shopping around" for a Markle-Harlan project typically requires more time and energy than most are willing to put into the actual project itself. Fortunately, Mark comes from a frugal family and patiently appreciates my fastidious commitment to getting everything I want, 75% off or more. In my mind, the best bathrooms are classic bathrooms.  They don't have modern lines or granite - they have marble and traditional chrome accents.  If you're going to invest in something like this, it aught to be a worthwhile investment meaning that it aught not to go out of style in 7 years. To avoid such mistakes, I choose to go back in time and opt for styles that are timeless like the one below.  It's kind of like Back to the Future, but in reverse, better, prettier and for bathrooms...so really not like that at all.

If it's been fashionable since 1920, I feel confident it's not going anywhere soon. So it's console sinks and basket-weave tile for us. Where's all of this going? Oh, in the worst '92 throwback of all: our upstairs bathroom. Sometime ago, there was an individual that believed a blue/hunter green fabricated counter would work well with lime green walls, an etched glass shower door, a stumpy "modern" toilet, rusty vanity lights and cheap 4x4 ceramic tiles. It's classy folks, I tell ya. I'll save the "before" shot for a later post, but many of you know first-hand the terror that awaits you at the top of the stairs. Thus far we've made the following decisions and purchases:

1. Replace the glass door with a curved shower rod with an extra tall shower curtain that's ceiling height.  We hope this will make the room feel taller and "grander" ... whatever that means. We've purchased the shower rod, the curtain liner and an extra-tall shower curtain. Total Cost: Free. We used Amazon credit from previous used-book sales to pay for these items.

 2. A console sink. These puppies are pricey! After two months of searching, I was able to purchase the American Standard Retrospect for $300 on Craigslist.  She came to us in a new box, never opened and retails (top plus stand) for about $680.

3. Of course, sinks need faucets and I am a sucker for Belle Foret faucets. They're perfectly vintage.  I fell in love with the one pictured below, but didn't have the $282 to shell out. Fortunately I found a seller on eBay carrying it for $75 and that included shipping.  Shipping was important because these faucets are known for being quite substantial and heavy, so our package weighed in at 18lbs.

4. Basket weave tile floors. The ceramic tiles have got to go. I originally was happy to settle on another porcelain floor option available at Overstock.com for $6.20/sq foot. Then I walked on a carrara marble basket weave tile floor.  There is simply no turning back.  Go big or go home. I'm already home, but you know what I mean. We stepped into Architectural Ceramics near McClean, VA this Saturday and received a quote of $24/sq foot. No thank you. Have no fear, I went home and so far I've been able to find online retailers with great reviews for only $9.99.  Yes please.  No purchases have been made yet, we want to be sure we're not putting the cart before the horse with this purchase since our bathroom isn't big, but it's not small either.

5. A new toilet.  Sexy, I know. Our current toilet looks a little truncated.  It's whatever Japan thought was the hippest in 1985 and it uses 3.5 gallons of water with every flush. Yikes. That's not very green of us. So after hitting up Architectural Ceramics, we walked in this fancy-schmansy hardware store nearby just to dream. Faucets in there started at $680 just to put things in perspective. We certainly weren't planning on purchasing anything.  Then we found a beautiful toilet that was "last season" according to the store owner. Heaven forbid! A season old toilet! As a result, it was marked down from $600 to $100 dollars.  And she's a beauty.  I never thought I could speak to the aesthetic quality of a nice toilet, but let me tell you...this one is nice. It's not the Porsche of toilets, but I love the flush fixture on the side.  This picture shows the fixture in solid chrome, but ours has a porcelain middle.

We still need to find a new light fixture (I believe I've convinced Mark to switch to classic sconces...they look traditional and are better for applying makeup) and a new mirror but we're making progress!

Color Recap

The big reveal is coming soon, don't worry.  We are still debating where we want to drill the knobs.  It seems that the trend is to drill them about 2.5-3" down the panel.  Here are some shaker cabinets with a similar look:

See what I mean? So anyways, while we determine that stop for a moment and remind yourself of our three kitchen colors...then suggest what fabric colors you would bring in to make the space a little cozier.

The walls are Glidden's Smooth Stone:

...and the cabinets are Sherwin Williams' Escape Gray:

...we've also got a boat load of white trim, and white Silestone countertops:

Then we've got travertine tile floors that look something like this:

I. Need. Warmth. I know what you're thinking...just where is this fabric going to go? Answer: All kinds of places! I need a rug, window treatments on two windows and we're turning that awkward bar/semi-island into an adorable built-in dining nook that will require pillows and seat cushions. One thing is for sure, I know I want an "eclectic mix" of fabrics.  That is, I want a few different patterns that "go" but aren't mitchy-matchy.  It's not 1998 and this isn't the Gap.  The problem is that my thoughts are all over the place and I can't pick my main squeeze fabric.

Should I go all soft and paisley?

Mod and Dwell-studio-ish?

Or do I go somewhere in-between?

One things is for sure...the options are endless.  Somehow I'll incorporate a stripe into the mix and probably manage to sneak in a small bit of geometric pattern even if it isn't the star of the show.