Kitchen Makeover

Winter is a time where I enjoy working on our house -- with Chicago winter weather outside, it just seems like a good idea to enjoy the nice weather while I can and save my home improvement projects for a time when the weather turns chillier.

This winter holds an ambitious list of home improvements, the first of while was to re-paint our kitchen/dining room area. Upon moving into our home in 2006, we painted the kitchen a rich brick red and added a wide crowne molding to accent the ceiling. Four and a half years later, it was time to brighten up our kitchen a bit, this time with Martha Stewart's Opal Blue paint.

See these photos of the painting process -- only 1 coat of primer and 2 coats of paint to go from brick red to a very light blue!

I worked up a combination of dark walnut wood furniture and black wall decorations to best show off the blue in the new paint. The chandelier is original to the house (circa 1999) and was originally a delightful hunter green and brown crackle paint. I purchased one of the Martha Stewart paint sample bottles for $2.49 (complete with a brush built in to the cap) and painted over the crackle to produce a matte finish.

Tips for painting a chandelier: Remove the light blubs and place painter's tape over any areas you do not want paint.

Comments

DIY Burlap Placemats

BLOG UPDATE! These placemats are now available on my Etsy store TheSundayPaperie Customize with any words you'd like! I saw this picture on Pinterest, courtesy of the design blog, Cottage and Vine , and fell in love with the simplicity and quirkiness of these placemats. The original poster advises some basic burlap and just using a Sharpie for the lettering. A great afternoon DIY project. I set out to make 6 to use on my kitchen table when it's fully set. Now, for what the write? Here were a few options: 6 synonyms for 'eat': eat, nourish, chow, bite, dine, devour 6 ways to say 'eat' in various languages: eat (English), φάω (Greek), comer (Spanish), manger (French), essen (German), jeść (Polish) Or I was thinking to just write out the works one through six. After a little survey of friends online, the concesus was to write it out in various languages. So here is how it went down: I wanted each placemat to be 14" x 20", so I p...

Current Faves

Here are just a few things I'm currently loving this summer: All the new layouts for Shutterfly photo books . After YEARS of saying I'd get around to scrapbooking photos from last year, and the year before, and the year before, I finally caught site of one of my good friend's adorable little girls gracing the cover of one of these photo books at her home. That was it -- it was decided I would finally get around to creating my own albums. So far I have created albums for 2007, 2008, 2009, our wedding, and our honeymoon. More to come! If you haven't previously seen pics on the blog of our pup, Flaps, you don't know what kind of cuteness you are missing. He's a Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier we rescued last Fall when he was only 10 weeks old. My pup-based obsession right now -- these great, fluffy dog beds from L.L.Bean. I haven't braved the recent Maxi Dress trend, but I picked up this black Maxi Skirt from Old Navy and have been wearing ...

Instant Pot Thick Greek Yogurt

We are Greek, yet I have never attempted to make my own Greek yogurt (I know, *gasp*). We are Fage faithful purchasers, since this is what my husband and I both grew up and deem "the real stuff." But since our Crock-Pot Express joined out family at Christmas, I decided it was time to try it out. Worst case, I was out a half gallon of milk. This recipe was a huge (good) surprise though! Perfect tart taste and thick, creamy consistency. Ingredients: 1 half gallon of milk (use can use any fat level, I used 2%) 3 T of Fage Plain Greek Yogurt (be sure it says "Live Cultures" on the container) Instant Pot or Crock-Pot Express Cheesecloth Mesh Strainer or Colander Digital Thermometer Large Bowl Hel pful Tip: O nce you start making your own yogurt, save 3T of your last batch to add to the new one as your “starter”. I like to freeze it as a yogurt cube, then I never have to worry about saving some. Instructions: Starting with a...

Sunday Southern Days

Search This Blog