A little kitchen update

Friends, do you ever find that you decide to make a little change somewhere and next thing you know it has dominoed into every room of the house? This is my current predicament. Billy is thrilled.


This is a kitchen update, but it all started with the living room tv stand. I don't like having glass that low in an area that Ben is in a lot, so, it has to go. And then, once I started to think about it, the same is true of our coffee table. And the dining table is taking up too much space, and the kitchen table is too high/awkward to really feed Ben at....the list goes on for about a mile. Anyway, it's going to be baby steps, and some of my future-to-be-won lottery winnings that I feel I have already spent in my head. But, this is what having a home is all about, making it perfect for you and your family, right? Kind of wish I had Ben BEFORE we did the layout around here...but oh well...


Anyway, where our awkward kitchen table is concerned, Kijiji came to the rescue. The other day I saw this really cute set on there, a round white wood table with 6 chairs for $100. YES! I was so excited. I was really inspired by the style of Danish spindle chairs like this and this because they seemed kind of timeless and kid-friendly, and are surprisingly comfortable. I took a quick walk over to check the set out, and next thing you know I had purchased it and become BFFs with the sweet older couple who was selling them. Bill and Mary-Lou, I miss you guys! If you follow me on Instagram then this is old news, but such is the way of the social media cycle these days. 








It' not 100% perfect, it's pretty old but it feels sturdy and I like that we don't have to treat it like it's all perfect and new (preparing for when Ben draws all over it). Oh, and I did find that a lot of the sets on kijiji had been painted white by the owners, unlike this set which was purchased white initially. Always a good question to ask, people rarely paint wood well (myself included) unless they have it professionally sprayed. Yes, I'm pretty particular.


We put three chairs in the basement for now since we don't really need them out, but it's SO nice having a table that's a good height with Ben's high chair. So happy!


Now, back the never ending list. I think we may be having a garage sale later this summer to get rid of a LOT of extra things we have piled up downstairs...the dining room chairs need to go, coffee table, sideboard, etc. If anyone is interested in buying any of them please drop me a line!!! 

DIY: Chalkboard Wall

I FINALLY got around to doing this. I have been wanting one of these in our kitchen for months...and to be totally honest, it took all of about 10 minutes, so I should have tacled it sooner.





This project is one that can easily be done while your baby naps, and it's so much fun! Before I did this I had a chalkboard on that wall that I had made a few years ago out of an old picture frame, but it just wasn't nearly as cool.





Yes, that's a puppy calendar you see on the wall. So what.


Anyway, here's what you need to convert a boring kitchen wall into a super cool chalkboard.


Supplies:

• Chalkboard Paint (you can pick this up from Home Depot or something like it for about 20 bucks)
• Drop clothes (I mean it, this stuff gets everywhere)
• Wet rags for cleanup (lots of them)
• Brush (obviously)
• Roller (obviously)
• Painter's tape if you're not the freehand type

How to:


If you're lucky like me and have kitchen walls the colour of chalkboard, you don't have to do anything but start with the brush and then roll it in. But, chances are you will need to tape off the area, or be very careful cutting in with the brush. Incidentally, I really do recommend repainting your entire kitchen while you're at it to Benjamin Moore's blackberry, but whatever. 


Prepare your area with drop clothes as far as the eye can see. Chalkboard paint is not like regular paint, it spatters like CRAZY, so be prepared to clean up little spots as you go. 


Once you have your cutting in done (or area taped off), roll it in just like regular paint (again, be careful and wear clothes that you hate). 


Let the whole thing dry for about 3 days before getting near it with chalk. This was the worst part for me because I wanted to write something cheeky on it the moment it was done. But, bide your time and think up all of the hilarious swear words that you will be able to write on it once it's done.


That's it! I can't wait until Ben is old enough to stand there drawing on the wall while I cook dinner. I'm preparing myself now to have to paint all of the walls in the house with this stuff because he surely won't be able to differentiate which walls you can draw on and which you can't, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.


And as for the baby chalkboard that I had before, it made the perfect addition to the office area. 





And, for those of you who didn't notice, yes, I forgot to give Billy arms in the Duckworth family picture on the chalkboard. Whoopsie.





So there you have it! Now go buy some chalkboard paint! And share your project with me if you do!

The kitchen...done!

As requested (ha ha, thanks Mom) here are a couple of pics of the black kitchen in all it's glory. We had a pretty amazing kitchen to start with, so we painted, changed the light fixture, and that"s about it!

Also in the kitchen is one of my favourite little projects I've worked on. I started with this old picture frame:

I painted it with white trim paint, and cut wood to size as the backing, which I spray painted with chalk board paint. And voila! Here it is hanging in the new kitchen, ready for a grocey list (or random cheeky messages as I'm sure we'll discover after one of our parties).

Kitchen goes black

More accomplished this weekend! Here is a glimpse of our kitchen mid way through the project. It’s actually finished now and PERFECT! The living room is also fully painted now, so that’s four rooms down, two to go! Should be a piece of cake.

On Saturday we did a big Ikea run, so we’re all set for furniture. The EQ3 couch is ordered, the patio set is set up. Progress!!

This week we have a good size to-do list already in the works. I’m hoping to have all of the painting done by the weekend so I can relax for my holidays which start this Friday!!!

To do:

• Paint both guest rooms

• Pick up new light fixture for bathroom

• Buy garden lights

• Exchange kitchen chair, master bedroom curtain rod and blinds

• Set up new TV unit for rec room