Little House on the Prairie: The Big Kitchen Remodel

You might remember how less than a month before BB was born, we completed the addition to our house.  Well, because we are crazy, we decided that remodeling the kitchen would be the best way to welcome LL to the family.

Actually, it all started because I wanted a dishwasher.  Two kids and bottles, sippy cups, plastic bowls...I NEEDED a dishwasher!  And, as projects tend to do, this one snowballed and resulted in a brand new kitchen (complete with said dishwasher).

Here is a before photo when we first bought the house almost 2 years ago.

 

Here is a picture just before the renovation started.  (We previously re-did the floors and light fixture).

 

And now, the finished product!
 

 

Let's look at the changes...

First up, the island.  The Boy from Texas really wanted this.  I was lukewarm.  I didn't know if we had enough room and it was fairly pricey in the scheme of the overall renovation budget.  But now that we have it, boy was I wrong.  It is SO handy, I am not sure how we did without it!

 

Next, we did granite countertops.  We actually went in to look at butcher block to put just on the new island, but it was almost twice as expensive as this granite and is reportedly harder to keep clean.  Given that, we went with Santa Cecilia granite.  I think it goes really well!!  And, since we were doing the island in  granite, it made sense to do the rest of the counters as well.  See how this snowball happens?

 

We also did an above-stove microwave, which saves a lot of counter space.  Eventually, we will replace the stove and fridge with stainless, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right?

And, the star of the show, the glorious new dishwasher.  It is everything I hoped it would be! 

 

It's hard to tell here, but we also got an under mount stainless sink and new faucet.  And TBFT redid all the trim around the windows and built window sills.

 

Lastly, we went with a subway cut travertine backsplash that I think really pulls everything together.

 

And there you have it. Nothing like a major home improvement project in the middle of welcoming your second baby!  But all's well that ends well, and I love the finished version!

Barn Building

I always wanted to marry someone handy.  Not that I'm completely helpless or anything, but I feel like men should just have this innate knowledge of how to build and fix things.  I think I outkicked my coverage on this item when I landed The Boy from Texas.  He recently built a barn.  A BARN.  By himself (well, our friend Chaz helped two days and I held posts once or twice while he poured cement).  

I took it upon myself to document the progress as he worked.

Open area before construction began.

Framing gates in the very beginning.

Frame for the roof was done here.

Added in fences.

BB assisted when it was time to start with the tin.

Tin going up.

Gates in place.

Final product

Home Decor Tour (Part 2)

If you missed the start of the tour, click here.

Today, let's continue on by walking into the new portion of the house.

The living room comes first.

We got this new couch and chair right after BB was born and they were an excellent purchase!  We also collect the cow paintings on the wall and look forward to adding to our collection.

You will note that a lot of our decor is wedding related---either gifts we got from our wedding (see the clock and both frames on the table here) or are signs from our wedding decorations (see grateful heart sign on the wall).

Above you see a block of wood.  That is a piece of the actual covered wagon my great grandparents used to travel to New Mexico.

These lamps.  We got them as a wedding gift and BB absolutely loves them.  He will stare at them for hours.  Good purchase for sure!

Next to the living room, we have the laundry room. When we moved into the house, the laundry room was in the detached garage. I cannot tell you how much I love having this inside especially with a baby and all the laundry he creates! 

And just off of the living room is our master bedroom. I think it's my favorite room in the house. I love all the windows and light and after being in the tiny guest room when we moved in, this room feels huge! 

I bought this kneeler a couple of years ago after seeing St. John Paul II's kneeler at a museum in Krakow.

The Boy from Texas has his desk set up in the bedroom.  He decorated with this horse pencil drawing that I really love.

Next up, master bath.

Above you see the shower.  People who come to visit literally ooh and ahh about this shower.

And last, but not least, the walk in closet.  It's fantastic.

You'll see the gun safe we got as a wedding gift from my aunts and uncles that fits nicely in the closet.

You'll see on my side the old, beaten up turquoise chair that my Gran always had in her room.

Home Decor Tour (Part 1)

Remember when I promised you a tour of the house decor after we finished all the renovations and addition? Well 6 months later, here we go. 

When you walk in, the dining room is your first stop. 

The furniture came from my great aunt in Tennessee. I think it fits perfectly.  The China cabinet holds much of the Nambe and other silver gifts we got for our wedding.

My Gran's piano is one of my favorite pieces. You'll see her picture framed next to the What a Wonderful World sign.  My parents' neighbor, Linda, painted the photo and garden box. 

I really love our mantle. The wedding day photo, a Nambe plaque with the words from our wedding invitations from two of my sweet friends, and the Unity Cross the Boy from Texas made for the ceremony.

Here is one of the built in book shelves. Note a mixture of books, pictures, wedding cake stands, and a horse!

There is also my office set up in one part of the dining room. My ode to the alma mater.

Next up you walk into the kitchen.

I love all the storage! One day we are hoping to add an island and a dishwasher....

To the right off of the kitchen is the guest room.

The bedding was mine from my house in College Station and I love the colors!  The pillows from College Roomie show all the places I have lived and they sit atop my Gran's hope chest. 

The decor includes a quilt rack with some of my favorite quilts and a painting on the wall painted by The Boy from Texas' great grandmother.

If you peeked in the closet, you would see my diaper stash. I buy anytime I see them on sale!

Just off of the kitchen we have the guest bathroom. 

Not much to show in a bathroom. 

And, now, what you have all been waiting to see....the nursery.  We went with a farm animal theme and I really love how it turned out.

 

Over the crib you will see BB's name in letters given to him by my former secretary.  You also see a photo Linda painted of Ty's favorite horse, Dandy and a tiny photo of the Infant of Prague.  Over the crib hangs a sheep mobile and on the top rail is a lamb blanket with his name embroidered. 

Opposite the crib we have the dresser.  This actually used to be mine and it was very 1980's style brown and big gold pulls.  The Boy from Texas re-did this, painting it off white and adding rubbed bronze pulls.  You'll also see BB's gallery wall of some excellent cow and sheep photos and his collection of stuffed animals.

In the corner of the room is a toy box jammed full of toys, upon which several of BB's lambs sit.  On the wall you'll see the shadow box I made out of items from his birth.

In the other corner of the room we have a bookshelf holding books, tractors, bibs, and the John Deere canisters (which hold hats and socks).  You'll also see his rocking horse, sheep play mat, and quilt rack displaying his impressive collection of handmade blankets!

So there you have Part I. Mind you, this was the whole house when we bought it. Tomorrow, we will take a look at the decor in the new half of the house!