Kitchen Window Seat - Simple and Easy

Here is the 1930's buffet that we converted into a kitchen window seat. This idea worked beautifully it was frugal, simple and easy.

Kitchen Window Seat - former buffet

 

 

When we were given this buffet a year ago, the legs had already been cut off, a 1960's alteration to give the piece a sleeker more modern look. I removed the handles and sanded off the heavy varnish finish, leaving most of the dark stain. Using semi-gloss latex paint intended for doors and trim, I streaked on two coats of paint, rubbing off some spots to give it a weathered look. I rummaged up some old knobs that had been on our kitchen cabinets years ago to replace the originals, which now looked too large and heavy on the white finish. Two vintage quilts folded soften the seat and a few throw pillows finish off the window seat. By the way, can you believe I picked up the hand stitched quilt complete with cross-stiched details at a neighbour's yard sale for $3!!

This cozy corner has become my (very) early morning spot. For the few minutes that it takes for the kettle to come to a boil, I sit in the darkness and listen to the chirping of the crickets and marvel at the deep blue of the pre-dawn sky. The cool air wafts in and the world seems like a sleepy, peaceful place. That is a nice return on a project that cost a total of about $35.

Buffet - free
Paint - on hand
Quilt - $3.
Pillow forms and fabric $30.

Thank you for stopping in at My Turquoise Kettle Life today.

Wishing you a peaceful place in the world today,

Sandra

Minimalist Kitchen Renovation - Update

Since my last kitchen reno post I've decided to become a lot more hands-on in our kitchen renovations.  I've managed to install the baseboards, do some basic carpentry to finish up the cabinets, painted the cabinets and installed new drawer/door pulls.



Kitchen Reno update

 

Learning some basic carpentry skills

 

 

Last week-end I ordered a laminate countertop which should be installed in about a month.  We bought a new kitchen sink and faucet.  The sink and faucet feel like a little splurge, as I had thought I'd reuse the old ones but recently my veggie sprayer broke (yay!) and I managed to rationalize a new sink as well.  Once the countertop is installed we can finish off the backsplash and the trim around the windows.



Having full countertops will be so nice.

A little bonus has been realizing that a wooden buffet that we were given last year will fit perfectly under the kitchen windows to create a window seat.  We tried it out last weekend.  With a couple of layers of quilts and some throw pillows, it became the most coveted seat in the house.  I'm currently deciding what to do about the finish; it is very glossy dark wood.  I need to decide on the look I want for it.

I can finally see some light at the end of this renovation tunnel.

Thank you for visiting My Turquoise Kettle Life today.

May this day be full of happiness,

Sandra

Minimalist Kitchen Renovation - Update

Since my last post where we installed wide plank pine flooring, I have painted the walls of the kitchen.  I painted the rough plaster walls white and the other walls blue.  For the past month I've had paint swatches taped to the kitchen walls so that I can assess what each shade looked like in various light throughout the day.

There were colours that were okay but it wasn't until we were in Ontario last month that I found my perfect blue paint colour at Lowe's.  It's a Valspar brand paint colour called "morning chill".  Our local renovation centre scanned the colour to match it.  I loved it on the paint swatch and I love it even more on the walls. 



Blue Kitchen Walls



Hand-painted wall motif

I decided to re-paint the motif over our arched kitchen entry to better co-ordinate with the new wall colour.  This week I hope to get the baseboards and quarter round painted and installed. 



Zack indicating where baseboards are needed.

Our kitchen renovation may be minimal in terms of expense but it is taking plenty of time to complete.  Sometimes I feel as though it is the job that never ends.  Today, however, I felt a little better after reading an article in the Montreal Gazette in the "HomeFront" section. A Montreal family was interviewed about renovations on their 1950's semi-detached home. Describing an extensive second renovation of their kitchen the owner said, "After a decade, we realized that it wasn't a very practical work area.  You have to live in a space for a while before problems emerge." 

See what I mean?  Our relaxed renovation pace has allowed us to live with the space, to really consider what is practical for our specific needs and lifestyle.  We've nixed a lot of ideas over the months that, had we completed the job quickly, would have been a done deal.  We moved around cabinets, tried a potential window seat, different sizes of kitchen tables, we've changed our ideas on lighting and on sink/taps a couple of times and don't even ask about countertops... I think we have finally have an idea nailed down, but I can't be sure.  We sometimes get side tracked but always come back to the questions "What do we need to do in this space and what is the simplest way to accomplish that while still creating a space that feels welcoming and is authentically us?"

The remaining jobs include: baseboards, painting cabinets, new cabinet handles, countertop, window trim and a new door to the lower level.  That shouldn't take us too long, should it?

I will certainly keep you posted!

Thank you for stopping in at My Turquoise Kettle Life today.

Wishing you a relaxed pace day,

Sandra

A Minimalist Kitchen Renovation - Update

Paying for my sins of the past.... peel n' stick tiles.  

When we purchased our house twenty years ago it had a vinyl tile floor in the kitchen.  I grew tired of the pattern and put peel n' stick tiles directly on top of the original tile; then about a decade later I did the same thing again, more peel n' stick on top of peel n' stick.  It looked fine and no one was the wiser...until now.

We decided to remove those two layers of peel n' stick tiles before we installed our new wide plank pine floor.  What difficult, messy work that was.  I put in a few hours with a hammer and chisel but my husband did the bulk of it (about 15 hours worth!). 



Removing old peel n' stick tiles with a hammer and chisel

 

Removing peel n' stick tile - slow, messy work

 

It was slow going and so for about two weeks sections of our kitchen floor where the tile had been removed, were super sticky.  Our solution was to roll out lengths of waxed paper to create little "paths" to the sink, the fridge the kettle.  As long as you stayed on the waxed paper path you were safe; one false step however and you might have to leave your shoe behind.  Our dog, Zack,  quickly learned to stay on the paper paths!



All the old tile removed - if you look closely you can see the waxed paper paths

Last Saturday with all the tiles, baseboards and trim removed, my husband and our dear friend, John, set to installing the pine planks. We had chosen a mix of 10 inch and 6 inch wide planks for a more authentic farmhouse look.  The planks are tongue and groove and while some where finicky to fit together others went together really easily.  The wood was pre-stained and pre-treated so once it was installed the job was complete.



wide plank pine floor installation in progress



pine floor - pre-stained and treated



pine floor - installation complete

I just love the colour, warmth and texture of the wood.  Because it is a soft wood, it will get nicked and dinged and yet that is what will give it even more character and charm as the years go by.  And if we, or the next owners, ever want to remove the floor, it will be a much less frustrating task than removing peel n' stick tiles.

Thank you for stopping in at My Turquoise Kettle Life today.

Wishing you a lovely day,

Sandra

Minimalist Kitchen Renovation - An Update

Our kitchen renovations are beginning to progress, a little.  Since I wrote last month, we have installed a newly created cabinet beside the oven, and adjusted and permanently attached a double lower cabinet in its new location.  This will make our counter area longer as you can see in the image below; the current countertop doesn't quite cover the new configuration of cabinets.  New countertop will correct that but in the  meantime it is ever so easy to access the contents of that last drawer.



In a moment of discouragement (and crankiness) earlier this week, I measured up the kitchen and went to the big box store to calculate how many pre-assembled cabinets we'd need to buy to replace what we have.  I made plans to buy them this weekend. "I'm just doing it."  My husband quietly agreed and then one evening when I was sufficiently calm, he said, "You do know how much toxic gas those new cabinets will continue to give off over the years don't you?"  That's all he needed to say to re-establish my willingness to work with what we have.

Kitchen - A work in progress

The funny thing about a situation like that is I suddenly felt as though I'd saved a pile of money.  My original plan never included new cabinets, that idea lasted only three or four days but it was long enough to feel that nixing the new cabinets  now justified a few extras that I hadn't previously planned on, such as a double sink (since we do all our dishes by hand) and perhaps a new tap.

Our next steps include repairing the drywall around the window and putting down new flooring.  I'll definitely keep you posted.

Thank you for stopping in at My Turquoise Kettle Life today.

Wishing you a fun day,

Sandra

Minimalist Kitchen Renovation

The Renovation Rule Book:

Rule 19: Telephone calls always come when you are atop a ladder with a loaded paint-roller. They are always a wrong number

Has it really been four months since I wrote anything about our kitchen renovation?  (kitchen reno)Well that is more than likely because close to nothing has happened in the past four months.  Since November we've been slowly (s-l-o-w-l-y) thinking about what we really want. I'd like something timeless, plain, even a little rustic.

I have this image (taken from a magazine) on my vision board. It captures the essense of what I'd love in a kitchen: simple white wooden lower cabinets, natural materials (where possible) uncluttered and functional

One of the things I am having to re-consider is the ceramic tile countertop I wanted to create.  I make several batches of pita bread each week which involves a lot of dough kneading and rolling.  That won't work very well on a tile countertop.  So now I'm back to square one considering countertop options. 

What we have done:  We reconfigured one of the lower cabinets in January and have determined the layout of all the lower cabinets, a couple still need to be built. This week I plastered the far wall (where the oven is ) to create an old world feel of a rough plaster wall.

Plastering the wall was easy and the results are exactly what I was hoping for.

I used LePage's Ploystipple.  It is safe and odour free and washes up with soap and water, in addition it is quite inexpensive 8 litres was about $35. (check the container for coverage, it depends on how thick you want to apply it.  For my application I could have covered about 100 sq.ft.)

 

There was a lot of damage to the backsplash area where I had removed old ceramic tiles, but the Polystipple had enough texture to conceal the lumps and bumps. Wooden trim will cover the gaps around the window.


Hopefully my next kitchen reno update will be a little sooner than this one was.

Thank you for stopping in at My Turquoise Kettle Life.

Wishing you a wonderful day,

Sandra

A Minimalist's Kitchen Reno... I see the light

From The Renovation Rule Book
Rule 7: It's not true that the builder will never turn up. In fact, he'll turn up on day one, at precisely the time promised, whereupon he will disconnect your plumbing, remove a section of your roof, then disappear for six months.


After three weeks of plywood windows in our kitchen (a dark and cold kitchen) , our new window has been installed.

Window Installation
The plywood is removed

 

After installing an additional header and preparing the opening
the window is lifted into place

 

The kitchen window was assembled as one solid 13' window

 

 

Exterior of kitchen window

 



I am delighted with the airy feeling the new window has created, it’s as beautiful as I imagined it would be. Well worth the cost and the wait.

 

Check back in a few weeks as we try to keep our kitchen renovation design simple and costs to a minimum. In an attempt not to get swept away with grandiose ideas, my self-reminder and kitchen mantra is, "Less is more, less is more, less is more...."

Thank you for visiting my Turquoise Kettle Life today.

Wishing you an enlightened day,

Sandra