Pocket Door

I have an obsession  with pocket doors!!! I love how they hide away and save space. If I Had my way all doors would be pockets! I know sheer madness!

Seriously though they have their place, (and that place is in my heart!)

I wanted to create a division from my kitchen/dining to my living. But I also wanted to keep all of the light flowing through from the new windows.

Solution?:

French door Pocket door!! 2 of my favorite things had a love child!

And it looks like this!

The side that faces my living room is painted with Benjamin Moore White Dove.

The side that faces my kitchen/dining is painted with BM Covington Blue, I also used that on my front door interior.

We don't close the door too often, but surprisingly it blocks out a lot of sound.

And it means if my kitchen is a mess, guests don't need to be invited back there.

Back Splash

Back splashes service both function and form. They make it easy to wipe off spills and drips and provide another area where you get to add great design, texture and color.

 These days the possibilities and products are as endless as your imagination!

Glass, Stone, Mosaics, Ceramic, Marble, Metal and so on....Because there are so many options it made this such a tricky decision for me.

 Eventually I just "bit the bullet" (over-thinking things, again) and went with a hand glazed ceramic.

I had 40 sq Ft to cover and didn't want to break the bank. I found this tile at home depot and it was reasonably priced and pretty! I loved the crackle and variation of tones with in it.

Getting started.

So here is one of my pet peeves.... You have a beautiful new back splash that you have paid a lot of money for and then all these ugly outlets/switches that cover that magnificent work that you just did!

No Thanks!

 I had 10 double outlets/light switches. Don't get me wrong I love a lot of power sources in a kitchen but 10!?

So I had my handyman husband move as many as he could to underneath the overhead cabinets. 

You cant see them but they are still there!

Genius, I know!

Some day I may even touch up the paint under there.

Because we re-wired, we had some patching to do, and we had to remove one of my shelves in order to tile behind it.

Let the fun begin!

I used 1/8" spacers for minimal grout.

The process is much like frosting a cake and anyone can do it.

Kurt placed the tile and I "buttered" them.

Below is what it looked liked before the grout. I have always been the  "designated grouter" with every tile job we've done.

We left off the tiles that needed holes drilled for the shelves. That required special drill bits and a patient husband.

Love that guy!

 Above are the tiles with holes for my shelves.

Below is the finished product with grout and all.

Not a plug in sight!

Below you can see where they are hiding.

With the shelves back up.

Those plugs had no where to hide. I still eliminated one power point above the sink and a phone jack! Imagine 2 more plugs there!

Finally seeing how it all comes together. It really does make the kitchen feel more finished and I think cozier. I couldn't be happier with how well it turned out! What do you think?

Apple Crisp

Its September and suddenly I cant wait to bring on FALL! I love the fall the changing of the leaves, wearing scarves and hats and how everything is pumpkin flavored! There is definitely a crispness in the air and that only makes me feel like baking comfort foods and cozying up with my family.

My Daughter's favorite dessert of all time is apple crisp.

 She told me that she can't even remember how it tastes because it's been soooo long since I last made it! We did make it a LOT last year while we lived with my in-laws, they have an apple tree that was full of apples last year.

So here is my step by step version. A printable version is available HERE

 For this crisp I used a 9x9 pan so I did 6 apples If you do a 9x13 use 8 apples and even double the crisp!
 I always use Granny Smith because I like the contrast of the tart with all of the sweetness of the crisp.

       

Peel and slice 6-8 apples

Mix 1/3 C Sugar 1 tsp Cinnamon 1/2 tsp Salt

Pour over apples and toss until each slice is coated, then transfer to greased baking pan

In a separate bowl combine

 1/2 C Self Raising Flour

 1/2 C Butter

and work it with your fingers until it becomes mealy and resembles Parmesan cheese.

Then add 1/2 C Brown Sugar and 1/2 C Quick Oats.

Mix together and spread over apples.

 Look at that mountain of deliciousness!

Place the crisp on a baking sheet  just in case any crumble bubbles and over flows.
Bake at 350F for 35 mins

                                 

While its baking your house will smell amazing!

When its done serve with your favorite Vanilla ice cream, and savor the first tastes of fall!

Enjoy!

Shut the front door!

This was the front door when we moved in. Eventually Id like to see it replaced with something with a window, but for now a quick fix. I have a real aversion to Burgandy! Maybe because it was my school uniform color? who knows? Its just not in my color wheel house.

Because having the walls skim coated throughout the entire house took about a week, my projects had come to a stand still. (read about walls HERE)  It was time to breathe new life into the front door. I chose Sherwin Williams (SW) Naval pictured below.

I framed the door with (BM) White dove, my go to white, its bright and creamy!

I changed out the hardware, added a door mat and voila! I love the contrast of the white trim and I liked the way the navy complimented my brick work so much I used it on my upper shutters too!

I love this little sign. I found it at The Black Goose Design years ago. I use through most seasons. It looks great against the navy blue and sums up how I want my guests to feel.

Stairs

When you walk into my home you immediately encounter a huge staircase, there it is staring right back at you. Not my favorite feature but not something I could easily change.

 I had decided to do Carpet and I wanted a commercial grade that was tough and hard wearing, but didn't look like an office or church building. My Friend, Carmelle, inspired me. She had recently replaced her stair carpet with a patterned broad loom and it looked amazing!

 So that's what I began to search for.   

these were the patterns I was drawn to.

Ultimately I chose this one! It has been great! Its dark and tough and provides visual interest to an otherwise undesirable view.  

Kitchen Vol 2

So here is where I had left the kitchen updates. I had mapped out "fantasy Island" and had been waiting (not so patiently) for it to arrive.  That day finally came!  I was so excited to see that big truck and sweaty men ready to make my fantasy a reality.(not so much the sweaty men but the island)

Seeing it mapped out on the floor was quite different to seeing it in 3D. and I was pretty anxious about the fit. It measured 42"w by 108" long. (For my metric friends 1.06m w by 2.75 long)

So this baby was huge and I was just hoping I hadn't made it too big.

Because we had sprayed our existing cabinets and I couldn't get a perfect match on the whites, I opted for this mid-toned grey, and I was glad to have a color that would conceal dirty kick marks once we added counter stools.

View of backside

Finally done!

To my delight the fit was perfect! It filled the space exactly how I had imagined and I am pleasantly surprised by how much space I still have as I walk around and open the fridge, oven and dishwasher.

I have more than 3 ft all the way around the island.

So this was how we lived for a couple of weeks until my granite came. I had selected it before the island was finished and to my husband's surprise I had made a pretty quick decision, so quick that he wanted me to go back to the granite yard and just make sure I still liked it. So I humored him.

This is how you see the slabs, many were like pieces of art and it was hard not to get caught up in seeing it as one piece rather than chopped up as a counter top.

This was my final pick. I wanted it light and as white as I could get it (with in my budget).

And YES it was the same one I had liked weeks before. But that is always a good sign when you keep coming back to the same thing over and over again

Once my husband was done running electrical to the island the old Formica counter tops were removed and the granite was installed!

 

They look amazing! Of course removing the old tops meant that it exposed an area of old texture, that dreaded orange peel!! No big deal, the back splash tile will cover that anyway. 

I had already decided on lighting over the island. I'd had my eye on these charming little hand blown pendants for a while and just love how they turned out. I also knew that I wanted a natural toned counter stool. I found these at World Market and they have been great, easy to wipe off and sturdy.

So here are a few pics that are up to date on how everything came together. The Back splash will be coming soon. (as soon as I can make up my mind)

Stay tuned for kitchen Vol 3.