Who Has These In Their Home?

These are the cabinets in my bathroom. As a matter of fact, when I bought this house 15 years ago, ALL the cabinets in the house were this type. I'm not sure what they're called, but I know they were VERY popular about 20 years ago (which is when my kitchen was remodeled-before I owned it).
Not quite my style... I definately would have chosen something else. White laminate? Not me.

My entire kitchen had these beauties, too. (nothin' against those that have them and love them, mind you). But I really wanted something else. Luckily, the cabinets themselves are wood- it's just the doors that are faux. So about 12 years ago, I had someone come in to give me a quote on replacing the doors. An hour later and $7500 in debt looming, I picked myself up from the floor and thought again. Again, lucky for me, my Dad is an awesome carpenter. Self taught, just like me in most of the things I do (both of my parents are pretty awesome, come to think of it).

This is what I have in my kitchen now.... SOLID OAK.....and GORGEOUS. All I had to do was pay for the wood and buy a new router bit for my Dad (kinda' burned the other one up!) and I got all new cabinets for under $500 bucks! Love you, Dad-you're the best.

He even made the fake fronts for the drawers that really aren't. All I had to do is replace the hardware.

For the most part, my house has been on the "country" side for the past 20 years. After my divorce, my tastes started to change (in addition to lifestyle, money, blah blah blah). I re-designed my dining room a year ago like this; and just finished my home office here in styles that are kinda' out of my element. I know, just call me "rebel divorcee lookin' for a change" (sounds like an ad for the personals...NOT).

If my Dad were able, I know he'd be here tomorrow to hook me up. I'm just glad he's here period. So I'm thinkin' about making a few changes myself on the cheap. Look out master bath.

I'll be making friends with my new best bud... Kilz in a can. LOVE IT!

I'll let ya' know how it turns out.

If You're Scared...Say You're Scared!

This is the current project we're working on... and if these pics don't scare ya', I don't know what would! This is my washer/dryer area.... actually, it's not so much an area as it is a large closet. A large closet that is an eyesore, that is conveniently located in my kitchen for all to see. I know, you're wishing you had one too. I especially like the semi-blue walls (but only on some and only so far) and the capped off pipes from the old hot water heater that are just kinda' hanging out there. I can't tell you the pleasure I get just opening up those big ole bifold louver doors to do my laundry here.... joy, I tell you.

Another lovely wall behind the dryer. I will not tell you how many socks I found here.... let's just say the mystery of the "sock graveyard" has been solved!

This beautiful shelf holds all those laundry essentials... this, of course, is only functional if you purchase products in doll-house sized proportions. Anything larger resides ON TOP of the washer/dryer (watch out for that spin cycle).

But this..... this is my ABSOLUTE favorite part....

This is the air duct to the enclosed porch on the opposite side... yes, that is electrical tape holding it together and yes, it just kinda' hangs there without any support. Oh, and that area above the electrical panel...that's what is left of the CONTACT PAPER (that's right...) that surrounds the top and bottom. Who knew you used contact paper instead of drywall? There's a novel idea.

I won't tell you the contractor's name that put together this little jewel... but here's a hint: he doesn't live here anymore..... ya' know?

Luckily, I'm much loved by someone with a little more, shall we say, attention to detail....and anything but lazy. The tongue & grove boards have been purchased, and installation has begun. I wonder if this will change my outlook on the whole laundry thing...NOT.

Office Revamp Complete!

$99 file cabinet from Staples (and free shipping) and I'm IN there! Latteral file drawers have a lot more room than regular letter size, so I can fit everything in one piece. The sorter and in/out box are about 15 years old... I bought them at Sam's club (along with a file basket in another picture). I thought they could use some sprucing up, too, so I painted the wood frames on each black and left the wicker alone. Pretty cool to me!

This is my "re-purposed" chair (one of two) and my now organized desk. I made runners for all the pieces in here to match the chairs (cuts down on scratches and what not, and hides a multitude of sins on my old desk!). Artwork courtesy of Carson!

Printer stand (also known as a dresser). You can't tell from this angle, but I painted the fronts of the three drawers with black paint, too. Ties it into the other stuff in the room.

Sewing machine (love this cabinet- I've had it since I was a girl. Thanks M&D). This is a second chair from another room in the house that I painted black and covered in the same material... sure did get my money's worth out of that buy from WalMart!

This is the basket file drawer... so to speak.. that goes with the other two pieces. I painted the frame on this black, too and added the brown silk ribbon.

This is soap central... bought the shelving unit from WalMart (I know, again with the WalMart! But we live in a small area... not much shopping opportunities here and this is actually solid wood- not flimsy at all).

This is it looking in from the kitchen. I'm definately liking this MUCH better!

The other corner...

And my valentine's gifts from the boys.... there's a little one sitting on the lap of the bigger one. I won't tell you how many teddy bears I have... that's another post entirely!

Indulging Myself....

I go grocery shopping (the big shop) every two weeks. And I always hit the flower section (funny how it's right at the front door-impulse buy, anyone?). One store has a really nice floral department... you can get gladiolas, delphinium, lilies...you name it. At this time of year, it's usually roses- which is okay, too. I just like treating myself every couple of weeks, and putting fresh flowers out makes me feel better.

Sometimes they fade before they open up... that's okay, too. I just leave them in water until they dry out. Sometimes they'll stay whole, and sometimes they fall apart. But the ones that dry well?....


They become this... I love this arrangement in by bedroom. It's hard to tell from the picture, but the roses actually dried "yellowish" with pink tips.. and the hydrangea are green and purple.


I love these... I cut them from my sister's shrub last year (she gets zillions blooming every year!). These were actually BLUE when they were blooming, but dried this beautiful shade of green. Pretty cool, huh?

So go and buy yourself a treat today...just for you.

New Office Chair

As you know, I am currently attempting to set up my home office. A lot of the furniture and stuff are old pieces from other parts of my house that have wound up here. This chair is a prime example. (and look... there's another one of those cables hangin' out- Geeze! oh, and disregard the lovely stains on the chair pad... kids, ya know?)

This is it without the chair pad- even worse! There is like NO cushion left! Those of us with bony butts (and no, that is not a good thing) cannot sit on something this hard for hours on end. Your legs go numb after a while and you have to get up and walk around to get the circulation going! Needless to say, this was one of the first things I worked on this weekend.


I pulled it apart, added a LOT of batting for cushioning, painted it (who new Kilz came in a spray can? LOVE IT), and re-covered it in some of the fabric left over from another project.

This is the after, and I am much happier sitting "here" than "there". Ignore that stuff in the background- the whole room is a work in progress. But for those of you who have never recovered a chair and would like to, it's really a simple process. So go forth... and recover!