New Year, New Home, New Decor, NewModeling...

As you all have probably read, we found a house here in G'ville after looking for about 6 months. We closed on Dec. 11th and started remodeling the same day.

I know...CRAZY! Why didn't we wait until after the holidays? Well, we have a habit of planning but never actually doing. There were remodeling projects that I wanted to do at our previous house in Madison...they were well planned but we never followed through. The money we had saved for the "best laid plans" always seemed to used for something other than our remodeling ideas.

So, to avoid the same procrastination, we decided to go ahead and JUST DO IT. (Nike would be proud). Seriously, if we didn't go ahead...and waited on January or a later date we probably would have spent the money on something else or just wouldn't feel like doing it. Plus, once you've started something and you demolition to the point of not having a usable kitchen...makes for a great incentive to finish.

Of course, as usual, when you start the "what seems to be a simple project" you run into complications and unplanned discoveries and those always make for set-backs. However, honestly, we haven't had any major set backs, just some minor ones dealing with the kitchen cabinet doors.

The kitchen is our biggest remodeling project. The previous kitchen had been remodeled to the previous owner's liking which did not match mine. Her taste was modern/contemporary whereas mine is more traditional with some modern accents. The countertops were black granite tiles. I know, I'm crazy for ripping out granite tiles. However, it wasn't pure black instead it had specks of silver that shined like metal accents. This made the kitchen feel more industrial. I am replacing it with ceramic tiles. The color is Imperial Slate Rust. The colors include red, brown, and black. I am hoping this will give the kitchen a more traditional, warm and welcoming feel while keeping it "sellable" if and when the time ever comes. We also had to turn some pull-out shelves into stationary shelves to accomadate for the new doors.

The cabinets were stark white with plywood doors. Again adding to a more modern, industrial feel. Instead of ripping out all the cabinets, we are just having new cabinet doors custom made. I am replacing the previous with raised panel doors with intentions to give it a more traditional feel.

As for cabinet colors...the verdict is still out. I want the top cabinets to be an off-white, creamy, ivory color and the bottom cabinets to be a low-luster black. I would LOVE and APPRECIATE any opinions to this option of color choice. JB is not too keen on the idea of black cabinets but I think it would add some modern touches yet keep it traditional.

I am NOT a decorator and I am certainly not an interior designer; therefor, I am doing this based on my own ideas. So, I could use any advise on color choices for the cabinets and walls.

The floors are definitely not gonna match the countertops. But they will have to wait to be replaced at a later time. They are ceramic and I just don't feel like tearing those up right now. Plus the money will eventually run out.

There is a sunken bonus room down from the living room. We added French Doors to close it off from the living area. The bonus room will be used as JB's office, a guest room, the "Wii Woom" and also a sitting room with company if need be. We already have his desk in place, a double bed, a TV hooked up to the satellite with the Wii and its accessories. I have plans to repaint a couch and have new cushions made to match the bedding.

The master bathroom is rather small indicative of the era this house was built. There was a pedestal sink which didn't allow for any countertop space. And you know a girl needs space when it comes to getting ready. So we bought a simple cabinet with a countertop at Lowe's. I am so proud of JB...he installed it himself...the plumbing and cabinet. The pic below is similar to what we installed but not the exact one (just to give you an idea)We have repainted the master bedroom, the living room, the hallway and the bonus room. The master bedroom went from mint green to a khaki green. The living room went from a creamy yellow to the same khaki green. The bonus room was previously used a media room. It went from dark navy to a gray khaki. I am not that crazy about the grayish khaki...but it's what JB liked and I couldn't find a color that looked right. The lighting in there is different that the paint samples I put on the walls would turn out so different from the way they looked in the can at the store. So I just "went with it" b/c I had already tried 10 different samples and this was the least drastic.

I am so mad at myself for not taking before pictures. My camera was actually packed while taking down the cabinet doors and painting the walls and I just didn't think to take pics of the tile before ripping it out.

I have to disclose this...NONE of this would be doable if it weren't for my dad. He has made the trip up here for 3 weeks now, going home on the weekends. He has worked endlessly trying to get this house into a home for us. There are no words and or money to express my appreciation for his willingness to do this for me. His work has been the most blessed way of showing how much he loves me.

We are currently waiting on the cabinet doors. They said today that they should be ready by the end of this week or next Monday at the latest. I ordered my tiles for the countertops today and they should be in tomorrow. We were hoping to install the doors, finish painting the doors and then lay the tile. But it's not gonna work that way. So to make the best of my dad's time up here, we are gonna start laying the countertop tomorrow.

As I mentioned in previous posts...I DO NOT recommend doing this during the holidays. All this chaos kinda made the holidays slip by without much notice. Unless, I have to do it...I will not do it this way again.

I can't wait for this house to become a home. I look forward to hosting friends, fellowships and family in our new home.