The original Kitchen...circa 1967 with 80's upgrades!

This is what the kitchen looked like when we bought the house almost exactly 4 years ago. When we bought the house we fully intended to do a full kitchen remodel ASAP...  it's been 4 yrs!!!

 

Isn't she pretty.... not!

  Check out that dishwasher, I swear it sounded like an airplane was taking off when we ran it and that sexy florescent light above the sink.

 

Yes people there is pink flowered wallpaper!!! on the far right you'll notice some track lighting, you can't tell from the picture but the eating area is actually a step down so when you would stand a the counter the lights would hit you right in the face. They were the largest track lighting lights I have ever seen!! crazy bright! and if anyone knows what that extra little cabinet was on the left?? please let me know we are still stumped! 

 Look at all that wasted bulkhead space, it makes me cringe. why? why? why???

The kitchen is in the center of the house so it is very dark..

 I am embarrassed to say we actually kept those pink puffy (stuffed with tissue paper) curtains for a while. The floor is 8" x 8" tile that are beginning to crack they have absolutely no pattern or texture to them so they always look grungy :( believe me I try but it's hopeless! If you look below the cabinets you'll notice the vinyl base boards..yuck!

The double ovens were great but they were TINY!! and the giant floor to ceiling cabinet cut out so much of the much needed natural light.

 

 Here you will notice I removed some of those ugly handles and what an improvement!

Now the ideas are starting to flow....

Jute Balls... they actually worked!

 I had seen a few tutorials floating around the blog world on how to make your own jute balls. I had all the supplies on hand, so one day during nap time I decided to go for it! That's the life of a mom.. when you got a minute..you GO!

 

I gathered:

white glue

warm water

a spoon for mixing

a measuring cup

a bowl to mix in

vaseline

balloons 

jute

paper towel

I covered a baking sheet with wax paper

Oh and I put down a plastic table cloth... this is gonna get messy!

Once I had gathered all my materials I mixed one part glue to 2 parts warm water. This is where the measuring cup came in. My bottle of glue was 4oz (118ml) so I used 1 cup (8oz) water and added the whole bottle of glue to the water and stirred it with my spoon to mix well. Then I added the jute. My highly scientific method of measuring the jute was.. I pulled 5-6 double arm lengths off the roll.

Next, I blew up the balloon to the size I wanted. Mine was about 6 inches in diameter.

Now.. it gets messy!! You better make sure you have 10 minutes of uninterrupted time.. trust me!

I squeezed out a glob of Vaseline and smeared it all over the balloon.

 

Unfortunately I don't have pictures of the next step.. it was messy and it needed all hands on. 

Grab your balloon by the knot in one hand and use the other to start pulling the jute out of your bowl. This is the really messy, drippy, splashy part. Continue to turn your balloon in different directions criss crossing your jute as much as possible. Once you've got a few layers you'll be able to let go of the knot and just balance the ball in your hand. After a few tries I started running the jute through my fingers just above the bowl trying to drip some of the excess back into the bowl.

When I reached the end of my jute I tucked it in and rested the ball on my tray to dry. While they were hanging out on the tray drying.. every time I passed by, I gave them a little turn trying to avoid having a flat spot.

 

Here it is 48 hrs later, perfectly dry and stiff. Woo Hoo! 

Now for the scary part... popping the balloon. I took my scissors and sniped off the knot of the balloon and poof, it shrunk and the ball kept it's shape... another celebration!  I gently pulled the balloon out and Voila! 

Welcome!

I started this blog as a way to share my ideas and design inspirations with friends and family.

I'm always emailing or texting photos back and forth to show friends and family what I am up to. What I have torn down, painted, reno'd, bought, built, recovered, re-purposed... it's my obsession.

I love bouncing design ideas around with friends and hope this becomes a place to do just that!

If you happen to come upon it while roaming the blog world Welcome!