Oh, hey. It’s Friday and I’m just hanging out in my laundry nook posing all The Price is Right beauty-like. I am so weird. My idea of a good time is staging amateur photo shoots in my house. Not necessarily with me in the picture but I like seeing other bloggers in their homes, so I thought I’d give it a go. I should have put on shoes.

The last time I showed you the laundry nook it looked like this…

Not too much has changed but I would like to point out my recents tweaks and then give you the full monty. Of the laundry nook’s innards, that is.

First up, I took all y’alls advice and rehung the homemade curtains {I cut up and hemmed IKEA linen panels} under the DIY countertop. Instead of clipping the curtains across the top, I gathered the fabric and clipped it about 2″ from the top hem. I guess you could call it the poor man’s pinch pleat. And it rocks. You guys are awesome with a capitol AWE! The gathered top looks more polished and pulls the curtains up off the floor a bit which makes sweeping easier. I haven’t heard other bloggers say this but I, for one, think a great advantage of having a blog is receiving ideas from the peanut gallery. Sometimes, even as a blogger, it’s really helpful to see my house through others’ eyes. Thank you!

The other obvious change is the mirror. The original mirror wasn’t the best shape for the vertical space between the two upper cabinets. The round mirror hung above the mantel in our previous home and there was no harm in trying it out but, once I hung it, I knew I’d eventually replace it with something taller and leaner.

I spotted Feiss’s Cleo mirror on Wayfair and the measurements were perfect. Its shape is curvier and a bit more feminine than I’m usually drawn to but I thought the curves would help break up the straight lines of the cabinets and countertop. Plus, hello, I am a girl {I don’t think I’ll ever be able to call myself a “woman” and feel comfortable saying it} and I am the only person in our household who uses this nook so I’m entitled to a little girlification when I’m handling dirty underwear, no? I clipped some forsythia, redbud and other green stuff from the backyard and threw them in a vase. Along with the leaning mirror, they give the nook a relaxed feel.

Please note the reflection of the dining pendant light in the mirror. Money shot.

I also enjoy seeing pictures of all the people whose dirty underwear I’m tending to while I tackle mounds of laundry. The second tier countertop was the best idea I could come up with to hide the dryer’s control panel. The magnetic photo strip is angle iron that you can find at any home improvement store. Ideally, I would prefer a dryer with controls on the front but there’s nothing wrong with ours so I made do. I strategically placed a few horizontal photos near the start button for easy access.

The photos can be removed to change the dryer’s settings but I rarely change them from load to load.

HH made the wood countertops using boards he found in the attic during renovations. He secured them together lengthwise with joiner biscuits and wood glue to get the depth we needed. The lower counter rests on wall cleats at the sides and a 2×4 in the middle. I painted all the supports white to blend in. The upper counter rests on the wainscoting.

There’s a secret trap door that gives me access to the washer’s control panel.

HH installed sliding latches to lock the door in the closed position. The door itself can’t support much weight when closed {a full laundry basket is fine} but the rest of the countertop is really sturdy. I can stand on it, no problem, and I have. Both countertops – the lower, deeper one & the higher, shallower one – are removable in case we ever need to get to the water/electric hook ups for the washer or dryer. They just slide out.

And now for the full monty…

BAM. The cabinets and woven baskets hold laundry supplies, lightbulbs, a water pitcher and our owner’s manuals. We have empty shelves!

The washer and dryer take up most of the floor space under the countertop.

There’s room next to the dryer for a rolling cart, drying rack, petite ironing board and small trash can. I hung the ironing board from a hook that’s screwed into one of the wall cleats.

My little laundry nook isn’t perfect but it makes me happy and I’ve come to love it. Since it is part of our mudroom/dining room, I keep it tidy and it keeps me honest. I try not to let laundry pile up in here. And whenever we get around to having a party {we are so due for a party}, I think it could moonlight as a bar.

Everett really, really, REALLY wanted me to take his picture. He says he’s going to be a principal when he grows up {lord help us all} and this is his attempt to dress like one. A clip-on tie on top of an argyle sweater vest on top of a striped polo and everything tucked in to show off the *reversible* belt. So smooth.

Thanks to Wayfair for supporting my habit.

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

So…we had a blizzard yesterday. And thunder. And lightning. Weird winter storm. Anyhow, I promised some updates. Here they are.

Current pics of the painted french doors in the kitchen…

We love the drama of the high gloss finish.

Do you see the snow covering the skylights? It’s much darker in the great room without all that natural light. I can’t imagine not having those skylights. So happy we decided to go for them.

The gloss finish still looks wet to me. It should be easy to wipe down. I wanted to show you a close-up so you can see how the gel paint’s claim of ‘no brush strokes’ held up. The finish is smooth enough but not totally perfect.

Onto the mudroom…

The tulip chairs are here. They are a nice modern contrast to the traditional pedestal table that was a family hand-me-down. They are super comfy too. I’m thinking of recovering the seat cushions with something textural {faux fur?} but HH suggested dying the removable covers to have a second set on hand. What a great idea! I’ve never dyed fabric before. Any suggestions or tips?

We added woven blinds and curtains to the window. The curtains were a great price – $20! – but the tabs at the top looked cheap to me. I cut them off and sewed a rod pocket instead. That did shorten the length of the panels a bit but they fall behind the sofa so it doesn’t matter.

You may have noticed that I changed my mind and slipcovered the small sofa in white cotton instead of navy linen like I had originally planned. I actually got halfway through the navy linen slipcover when I realized it wasn’t going to jive. It’s not a total loss though. I’ll be using the navy linen for pillow covers throughout the house. I DIY’d the slipcover. It’s not perfect but it’s done. And it cost me less than $50. I have pics and details for a how-I-did-it post. I wouldn’t call it a tutorial because, like I said, it’s not without flaws.

The mirror and pillow covers on the table are accessories in waiting. As far as the dining part of the mudroom goes, we have a surprise planned for the wall opposite the french doors. We’re really excited about it especially because we didn’t think we’d have time to tackle it before the photo shoot in January but we have been working our tails off to stay on schedule. Hint: The mudroom might be one of the rooms featured in the photo shoot.

The laundry nook in the mudroom is taking shape.

I painted over the stencil. Womp-womp. Sorry stencil lovers. I loved the stencil but it didn’t feel right. I guess the lesson here is to not try incorporating something just because it’s given to you. The good news is it was an easy fix. I used paint leftover from Mabrey’s room. It’s Benjamin Moore’s dark pewter. HH saw my repainting as a home improvement mistake. I saw it as a learning experience. We see things differently sometimes. If I end up with a result I love and learn something along the way {i.e., stenciled walls aren’t my thing in this house} then I see it as a success – even if it involves extra work. I’m one step closer to the look I’m going for.

During renovation, HH found some old boards in the attic. He salvaged them and used them to construct a reclaimed wood countertop above the washer and dryer. He used wood biscuits to connect the boards to each other for a seamless look then sanded, conditioned, stained them with Minwax’s special walnut and finished them in a semi-gloss poly. Because our dryer controls are at the back of the unit, HH designed a tiered countertop. That way we still have access to the water shut-off and dryer knobs. I have plans for hiding the shut-off and knobs. To be continued…

I sewed curtains from the same type of panels used on the mudroom window to disguise the washer and dryer. We hung them from curtain wire and clips. There is an eyelet ceiling hook underneath the center of the countertop to support the wire. The curtain isn’t as full as I’d like so I’ll probably add more panels. We still need to paint the cleats and vertical support white to blend in better.

Wondering how I access the washer control panel?

Ta-dah! HH cut an access door and added hinges and latching hardware to give me full access to the washer controls and soap dispenser.

The dryer. Not much else to say about that. The laundry nook isn’t quite done but we’re close.

We moved the location of our bathroom hand towel and switched out the towel ring for this one. Confession: I’ve been removing HH’s electric razor from the sink every time I take pictures of the bathroom. We tweaked the bathroom a little to get HH’s razor off the sink once and for all.

We added a shallow cabinet to the wall left of the vanity. We bought it in a birch finish and primed and painted it white.

It’s deep enough to house HH’s razor and toothbrush {What can I say? The man likes his electric toiletries.} but shallow enough not to crowd the sink and vanity.

HH cut a hole in the side of the cabinet to run cords to a nearby outlet. You don’t notice it unless you’re looking at the cabinet from the shower or toilet. I’m just happy not to have HH’s razor staring at me from the sink all. the. time.

And in the midst of preparing for a photo shoot, this is happening…

…undertaking the boys’ shared bedroom? Why not.

As if the holidays aren’t busy enough. Ha! Oh well. HH and I were talking last night and we agree that it feels great to see our house looking and feeling more and more like home with each project we tackle. You have to start somewhere.

Hope you are enjoying time with friends and family this week!

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

Here’s the deal. A photo shoot will be taking place at our house right after the new year. I know. What?! Who in the world would want to come take pictures of our house in the state that it’s in?

Our front door doesn’t work properly. The garage is completely dysfunctional and in disarray so we have resorted to entering/exiting through the mudroom’s french doors at the back of the house. There are some baseboards still missing in the hallway from our water leak scare. One full bathroom is gutted and awaiting finishes. The TV area above the mantel is open to the cinder block walls. All of the interior doors are installed but need paint and a few still need hardware. The laundry nook looks like we stuck the washer and dryer in a corner. And I haven’t done any real decorating other than Mabrey’s room which I wouldn’t consider finished. Don’t even get me started on the outside of the house.

Luckily, the photo shoot will only focus on three rooms of the house. But even those rooms need a ton of work before they’re camera worthy. With the holiday season in full swing, we’re in a rush to check off a bunch of projects on our to-do list. Nothing like a photo shoot to light a fire under your tush!

The good news is I’ll have a bunch of decor-related posts to share in 2013 but the bad news is you have to wait until 2013. And since I can’t postpone Christmas or the photo shoot, the blog is pretty much taking a back seat to everything else in my life. Which sucks. Because I really enjoy blogging. I write mental posts in my head all day long. I have 4,188 unpublished posts just sitting in my brain taking up space. In fact, that’s why I started this blog. To empty my brain. Oh, my brain is so heavy right now. My neck can barely support it. THE AGONY.

We’ve been fortunate to have a little financial help in the way of a photo shoot budget. The money is going towards projects and decor that we had planned on funding already. We’re not doing or buying anything that we wouldn’t have done or bought otherwise…just getting to it sooner than we had anticipated. This ‘recent purchases’ installment includes some of those photo shoot items AND some other random stuff. I won’t tell you which is which. Because I like surprises. Especially when I’m the one doing the surprising.

1 – Endless Topography 4 I found this amazing original artwork via the Aldas Project on etsy. The plan is to hang it in the kitchen. HH and I are stoked about incorporating some real art into this house. We were drawn to the colors and movement of this abstract piece.

2 – Seagrass runner This rug is for the hallway that leads back to the bathrooms and bedrooms. I wanted something durable and simple. Seagrass was the way to go.

3 – Navy linen I bought 7 yards of navy linen to DIY a slipcover for the petite sofa in the mudroom/dining room. I had an interesting conversation with the employee at the cutting table. Of course, they always ask what you’re planning on making with your purchase. I told her a slipcover. She said I was braver than she was then said she never sewed anything without a pattern. I told her I was the complete opposite. I have never sewn anything according to any pattern. Not because I’m a particularly expert sewer. It’s just that if I have a pattern then I see all the things I’m doing incorrectly. If I make it up as I go, there’s nothing to tell me I’m doing it wrong.

4 – Tulip side chair We actually bought four of these for the dining room. They’re modern, comfy, kid-friendly and easy to clean…everything we were looking for in a dining chair. They came with plain white seat cushions. I’ll recover them at some point.

5 – Moravian star mirror I found this gorge mirror on a whim while perusing a Joss & Main event last week. As soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted a pair to hang on either side of the TV above the mantel. They are just the right size and shape to work around HH’s boob speakers. I’ve decided the best way to deal with the orbs is to just decorate around them. We’ll see.

6 – Stainless steel containers I bought four 3-packs of these containers to organize our herbs and spices. When we moved in, I threw all of my cooking spices into the cabinet above the microwave. What was I thinking?! Obviously, I wasn’t. I have to get up on a stool every time I need my oregano. Which happens quite often. Because I love tomatoes. And nothing goes better with tomatoes than oregano. I’ll be editing my spices and what makes the cut will live in these round containers on the side of the fridge.

7 – Chevron runner Nate Berkus. Chevron. Dhurrie. ‘Nuf said. This handsome man lives in my kitchen now.

8 – Batik pillow cover Have you been over on etsy lately? Seriously. Is it just me or is etsy just getting better and better? I couldn’t get enough of this vintage Hmong textile cover. I added it to my favorites and visited it several times a day for a week or so until I decided to go for it. It’s one of those decor items that I would totally wear if it were in clothing form.

9 – Velvet pillow cover I have been wanting a velvet-covered something for a while now. I love the texture velvet brings to a room. The bright pop of chartreuse is unexpected and fun. I’m going to try pairing this velvet cover with the batik one on the leather couch in our family room. No matchy-matchy pillows here!

There it is. My bounty. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some weekend warrioring to do. Yes. The weekend officially starts NOW. Go!

Click here to see who won this week’s giveaway.

images: polyvore collage by Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

Truth: We juice. As in fruit and vegetables. {Or is it fruits and vegetables? Ah. Irrelevant.} After watching the compelling documentaries, Fat Sick & Nearly Dead and Food Matters, earlier this year HH and I were inspired to start juicing. Neither one of us was looking to lose weight or cure disease {which juicing can do}, we were simply hoping to optimize our physical and mental health, be proactive, prevent disease and set a good example for our kids.

One thing I always had a hard time with in my past job as a retail pharmacist was regularly getting asked by obviously unhealthy customers with nothing in their grocery cart but sugary drinks and packaged foods, “What’s best for {insert ailment, symptom, disease, complaint here}?” The answer I wanted to give wasn’t the answer they were looking for. What I really wanted to say was, “Go put everything in your shopping cart back on the shelf. Then head to the produce section and fill ‘er up. When you get home, go for a walk. That’s the best thing.” It would have been a good start and I probably would have been fired on the spot. Our society is funny like that.

After a little research, HH purchased the 8004 Omega juicer.

That was six months ago and we’ve been giving our juicer a run for its money ever since. We juice once in the morning most days of the week. We both feel good about getting in a bunch of healthy stuff at the beginning of the day so even if we don’t do a great job eating right the rest of the day, at least we started the day right. Hey. We’re not perfect. And Thanksgiving {a.k.a. the day we show our gratefulness by indulging in gluttony…what’s up with that?} was just last week so this post is rather timely, isn’t it?

Anyhow, I’ve been receiving more and more questions about our juicing experience so I thought a little how-we-do-it post was in order. Be warned: we’re not professional juicers. If there is such a thing. We could be doing a lot better and we hope to continue to improve upon our juicing experience now that we’ve made it a part of our lives and are committed to it.

We have a few juicing staples that are included in every juice we make: kale, spinach, carrots. Other produce we use and move in and out  of rotation are: celery, cucumbers, melons, pineapple, apples, tomatoes and whatever else is getting a little too ripe in our fridge.

Per the first image of this post, the end of our island across from the fridge is our juicing command station. It looks intense but it takes less than a minute to set up the juicer. Before beginning to juice, I cut up anything that’s too large to fit into the juicer. Basically, anything larger than ~1½” in diameter gets cut down to fit in the shoot.

Then I turn on the juicer and load the produce into the top. The juicer comes with a nifty handheld plunger to push the food down into the juicing chamber. We’ve discovered that starting with softer things {like the leafy veggies, cucumber, pineapple and tomatoes in this example} and ending with harder produce {here, the carrots} works best to extract the most juice possible. The firmer produce sort of cleans out the juicer.

There are two tubs under the juicer to catch the juice and pulp. This is what the extracted juice looks like after some spinach leaves make their way through the juicer.

This is what the spinach pulp looks like at the end of the juicer. It crazy how dry the pulp is. Nearly all of the juice is gone.

Here’s where I started adding the carrots. You can see how the juice and pulp change color as I add different foods.

Everett LOVES helping with the plunger and asks, “Can I be your squisher?” every morning. It’s so easy a four-year-old can do it!

Look at that pretty pulp.

The juicer does make some noise but it’s nothing loud. We’ve yet to have anything get stuck. There’s a reverse switch in case that happens.

On this particular day, I was juicing just for this post so I didn’t make a full batch. The juicer can handle much more. We drink up as soon as the juice is ready.

{Everett was still in his ‘army’ pajamas.}

Layne and Everett drink the juice too – albeit smaller servings. When we first started juicing, we paid the boys 25¢ for each glass of juice they drank. Bribery. We do it. A month into it, though, we let the pay slide and the boys still drank the juice so we no longer have to bribe them. I did buy some stainless steel straws that seem to make the juice more palatable for the kids. For particularly ‘robust’ batches, we’ll add some ice cubes for the boys too.

How does the juice taste? Well, it depends on the ingredients. It helps to have a little sweetness in there to balance out all the green so that’s why I include pineapple, apple, honeydew, cantaloupe or watermelon. Does it taste like fried chicken or chocolate cupcakes? No. But it doesn’t taste like poop either. {Not that I know what poop tastes like.} Now that we’ve been juicing for several months, I actually crave the juice but not in the way that I crave tasty foods. I don’t crave the taste. I crave the effect. It’s difficult to explain. My body craves it as opposed to my taste buds craving it. It’s weird.

And the juice is actually filling. Not in a way that makes my pants feel tight around the waist but in a way that leaves me satisfied until late morning.

To clean up, I dismantle the juicer and rinse all the parts. {As of right now, the pulp gets trashed but it would be great to compost.} Then everything minus the actual juicer goes in the dishwasher on the top rack. Yes, there are a lot of parts. Eight to be exact. But that comes with the juicing territory I guess.

The juicer gets prime real estate in a drawer close to the sink since we use it so often. As far as kitchen utensils go, the juicer is heavy {~20 lbs} and it’s easier not to store it up high.

So, yeah, I spend the majority of my grocery shopping time in the produce section and I usually have to buy fresh produce twice a week. I’ll be honest. {This is Honest Monday after all.} When we first started looking into juicing, trekking to the grocery store more than once a week sounded like a pain. Now that we’ve been doing it for a while, it’s just become a part of life. We buy organic whenever possible. Yes, it’s more expensive. But it’s our health! When you compare the cost of a trip to the doctor/emergency room/hospital/pharmacy to the cost of a few pounds of produce…well, I think you know which costs more in the end. Plus, my skin has never looked so good! And my skin used to be infamous for acne breakouts. Hell. Now that I’ve just celebrated a birthday and I’m officially in my mid-30′s, I’ll gladly pay a little more at the grocery store to reap beauty benefits.

In the Food Matters documentary, one of the speakers made a comment about our society having things backwards. We gladly stretch our pursestrings for a nice big house but complain about the cost of healthy food. Where are our priorities? This whole downsizing adventure is looking better and better every day.

As I mentioned, we’d love to improve our juicing experience. Adding in some wheat grass and spirulina is next on our list. What about you? Have you ever juiced? Any recipes you want to share? Do you have a juice bar in your city? HH and I have casually thrown around the idea of opening a juice bar. We’d offer organic produce from local farmers and let customers gather their ingredients into a basket then we’d juice it for them OR they could order from a simple juice menu. And I think there should be a drive-thru. There aren’t enough healthy drive-thru options out there.

One thing is for sure. I haven’t thrown out overripe produce in months. I’m not above juicing wilted lettuce or mushy strawberries. I’ll juice anything.

FYI – I wasn’t compensated for mentioning any of the products above. I’m just sharing our juicy experience!

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

What. A. Week. We’re rounding out our second week of HH being away. Being a single parent to three kids is no joke. It’s busy, chaotic and exhausting but I’m grateful to be able to stay home with the kids while HH is traveling so there is some stability and consistency in our house. I have so much respect for single parents!

So, yeah, the kids have been my priority and the blog has taken a back seat. As if you didn’t notice. To remain sane, I’ve had to limit my time online. Ma’am, step away from the computer. I hope you understand. I couldn’t end the week without a little update though.

After repainting the mudroom {funny how it seemed like such a chore before I worked up the gumption to do it and now it seems like eons ago even though it’s only been six days since I repainted} I wanted to give the laundry nook a little flair. I’m all about making the mundane feel less so. I figure if I’m going to spend a lot of time washing/drying/folding clothes, then I might as well make the most of it!

I decided to DIY a stenciled pattern to the laundry nook wall. I didn’t want it to be a WOW! statement but was looking for more of a subtle surprise. So when I’m standing there doing one of the 8+ loads of laundry that I do weekly I can look at it and smile. I thought a graphic pattern in a tone-on-tone color scheme would be best. I chose this stencil and used leftover trim paint in semi-gloss Benjamin Moore White Dove to DIY the patterned wall.

The stencil arrived rolled up so I used a hair dryer and heavy design books, of course, to flatten it as best I could. {I didn’t remove the stencil from its packaging upon arrival like you’re supposed to. Oops but no biggie. I’m blaming it on the kids.} Sorry for the poor lighting. I attacked this project one night after all three kids were tucked in bed and I’m still learning the whole ‘white balance’ thing on my camera.

Just as I was setting up, a black cat made an appearance outside the door. My immediate thought was ‘uh oh, a black cat just crossed my path.’ Bad omen? I considered backing out but decided to snap a picture of the cat instead. That way, if the project turned out to be a disaster I had a legit excuse. Haha.

I hung the stencil with painter’s tape after measuring to find the center of the wall. The stencil came with a nifty little level that you can rest on the top of the stencil to make sure you don’t end up with a pattern that slopes off to one side. I was pleasantly surprised to find that where the wall met the ceiling was already level so I used that as my guide.

To apply the paint, I loaded a small foam roller then rolled the foam roller onto a stack of 2-3 paper towels until the roller was nearly dry. This is key in avoiding excess paint slipping behind the stencil and onto parts of the wall that you aren’t stenciling. As you can see, there were a few pieces of the stencil that still weren’t lying perfectly flat against the wall. On those areas, I made sure to roll opposite the stencil {i.e., down} so paint wouldn’t seep behind the stencil.

To check that things were going according to plan, I peeled back the stencil for a peek. Nice.

I moved the stencil down and lined it up with the already painted pattern on the wall. The stencil was smarter than me and it was really easy to overlap the stencil onto a previously painted area to keep the process going. FYI – The stencil also came with a clever, smaller top stencil for filling in that gap at the top of the wall.

HH and I have plans to disguise the washer/dryer/water valves with a reclaimed wood countertop and hanging curtain so there was no need to extend the stencil all the way to the floor.

Once I had the center of the wall completed, I worked my way to the edges. Here’s where things got a little squirrelly. If it hadn’t been for those pesky wall cabinets, things would have gone more smoothly. But HH was out of town and I wasn’t about to try my hand at taking down two wall cabinets on my own. My only option was to stencil around them. Basically, I treated the cabinets as wall corners bending the stencil into the corner and around. But I had difficulty getting the stencil to stay in place while I rolled so I ended up holding the stencil with one hand and rolling with the other. Hence, no third hand for pictures of this step. And, yes, I did stand on the dryer. Nothing bad happened but I wouldn’t recommend it. Do as I say not as I do.

Once I had stenciled all that I could, I used a tiny paint brush {stolen from my kids’ art supplies} to draw in the pattern right up to the corners and cabinets. It was tedious but necessary and really didn’t take that long to do. When the paint dried, I went back with my tiny paint brush and some of the wall paint {BM Halo} to polish up the pattern. As hard as I tried, some paint did slip behind the stencil but it was easy to paint back over with the wall color. Like it never even happened.

This is what I was left with…

It’s not perfect but the pattern works like an optical illusion so the imperfections blend in.

I’m really happy with how it turned out. I especially like the tone-on-tone, semi gloss-on-eggshell effect. It makes the pattern look like it’s glowing.

Here’s the final product in daylight…

Again, this laundry nook is far from done {wood countertop with a feature to cover the water shut off and electrical outlets, hanging curtain to hide the washer/dryer, some open shelving between the cabinets, maybe a mirror in there somewhere} but the stencil adds a nice layer to the space. Laundry just got a little more fun.

What about you? Is there anything you’ve done to turn the mundane into something marvelous?

Cutting Edge Stencils sent me the African kuba allover stencil for a product review. All images, labor and thoughts are my own.

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

Sometimes HH and I get overwhelmed, discouraged and even struck with fear when looking at the long list of things left to do on our Underdog. Especially when many of the projects are right here in plain sight for us to see on a daily basis. We’ve found that the best way to turn our frowns upside down is to look at ‘befores’ of our house and see just how far we’ve come.

We bought the house in May 2011 but didn’t really start any work {aside from tree removal and demo} until after our previous home sold in mid-August 2011. During the nearly 9 month renovation, we lived in a two-bedroom apartment away from the chaos. Even though our apartment was far from lovely, I am so thankful we were able to have a safe haven separate from the renovation.

I thought you would appreciate seeing the progress on our home as well so you’re in for a little before-and-progress/after action today! {I’ll warn you. The ‘befores’ may be frightening to anyone who suffers from claustrophobia and the ‘afters’ are far from done.}

Here’s our Underdog in all its untouched and then renovated glory…

That’s the view from the front door looking towards the dining room and kitchen.

We removed the walls dividing the kitchen, dining room and family room. We vaulted the ceiling and added skylights. The original dining room window was replaced with french doors. The doors need painted and we still have a little work to do in the kitchen {backsplash, window treatment and styling}.

The original kitchen cabinets were rotted and falling apart.

We installed an IKEA kitchen.

That’s the interior wall we took out to open up the space.

A large 9′ island adds storage where wall space was lost and serves as a casual dining spot for everyday meals.

That’s the family room. If you look closely, you can see paint peeling and water damage along the wall and ceiling above the mantel.

And that’s the family room as of this week. Eventually, painted white tongue-and-groove planking will surround and frame in the TV. An original painting {created by the previous owner no less} will hang in front of the TV and raise/lower via a motorized pulley system. HH is still fine tuning the design. Other than buying a rug, new sofa and chairs, this room hasn’t been decorated. We need window treatments, a bench under the picture window and accessories.

Some more shots of the great room after…

The only decision we’ve made about the original brick fireplace surround is to live with it a while. I have nothing against painting brick but HH and I both like exposed brick. We’ll see.

We haven’t addressed the front door yet.

I have plans for a gallery wall behind the sofa to disguise the surround sound speakers and balance out the upper cabinetry on the other side of the room.

The leaning artwork is the piece that will raise above and lower over the TV.

Onto the former den…

The window unit was the only form of air conditioning in the house.

We removed the unit and installed a heat pump heating & cooling system.

We’ve repurposed the room as a dining room/mudroom/laundry room although it still needs a lot of work. HH added tongue-and-groove wainscoting and laid durable travertine tile. Even with the two PAX wardrobes, I need to address storage & organization. Somehow, shoes and backpacks aren’t making it all the way to the wardrobes. We also need to repair the man door to the garage, hang the light and hang the last interior door {to the kid/guest bathroom} that’s leaning against the wall.

The dysfunctional sliders were replaced with french doors. Just like the ones in the kitchen, we’ve yet to paint them. The dining chairs are actually outdoor chairs that will live outside in the future. For now, they’re inside.

The other side of the room housed a laundry closet.

We demo’d the closet and added upper cabinets. The plan here is to install a wood countertop above the washer/dryer and to conceal the machines so that this corner resembles a dry bar.

The opposite side of the house is where the bedrooms and bathrooms reside.

The old hallway was dark and dirty.

Recessed lighting was installed to wash the walls and brighten the passageway. {Hi boys!} The interior doors were replaced but they aren’t painted yet. We need to build a door for the attic access.

The first of the two bathrooms had cracked tile and mold within one wall.

The bathroom was gutted and is prepped, awaiting finishes. It’s on our winter to-do list. It will become our kid/guest bathroom. Yes, that means our family of five is sharing one bathroom right now.

The first teeny {smaller than 10′x10′} bedroom had peeling paint on the walls, matted shag carpet and a bed took up the entire room. It was a nice four poster bed though, no?

This room is the closest to being ‘done.’ As in the rest of the house, we demo’d the room to add insulation to the cinder block exterior walls, updated the electrical, hung drywall, installed new flooring & baseboards and painted.

The second bedroom was a decent size but crowded with furniture and clutter. The baseboards in this room were deteriorating from termite damage.

Our boys share this room now. {Surprise! You get a sneak peek of their new rug. More on that next week.} I can’t wait to add built-in desks and open shelving so the room can double as a workspace for the kids.

The master bedroom was being used as an art studio. It was dark, dirty and outdated.

It’s now a true bedroom but needs some tweaking. Don’t mind the sloppy bed with mismatched pillows. Everett made the bed and I didn’t have the heart to tell him he did it wrong.

I have to be honest. I’m not 100% happy with the wall color. It’s Benjamin Moore tapestry beige and it’s the same color we used in the hall and great room. While I LOVE it in the hall and great room, I don’t like it in the master bedroom. The problem with the bedroom is that it faces north and receives little natural light. I thought painting it light would make it appear lighter but this particular color just accentuates the shadows and comes across as dingy. I’ll probably end up repainting it. Any suggestions for good paint colors in a north room are welcome!

The adjoining master bathroom had many of the same problems as the other full bath. The original tile was cracked and the entire space was outdated.

We did a full gut job. I need to get creative with storage and organization in this bathroom. A toilet paper holder would be a good place to start. I have the same feelings about the paint color in here as in the master bedroom.

Currently, this is our only functioning bathroom. While it isn’t impossible for a family of five to share one bathroom {I do love having only one bathroom to clean}, I am looking forward to the day when the kids have their own bathroom.

So. There you have it. A look at our house from the first time we walked through it to current day.

Whew. That was cathartic. I’m feeling much better about our progress. And that’s only the inside of the house. Maybe I’ll crank out a similar post for the exterior. Can you believe HH and I walked through the house the first time with it looking like that and left with smiles on our faces? Yeah. We’re crazy.

To answer a very popular question…the house was an estate sale in a highly sought school district and listed at $99,000. It was the black sheep of the neighborhood with most homes in the area going for $140,000 and up with minimal updates. We offered $85,000 and got the house. At closing, we learned that all of the money from the sale of the house went to charity.

While tweaking this house into our home isn’t always easy or fun {damn you, concrete slab and cinder blocks walls!!}, we love it a little more each day.

Check to see who won this week’s Stella & Dot and Signs by Andrea giveaways!

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

I’m about to show you a house tour. Don’t peek! First, I need to tell you how this came about. A few months ago, I blogged about my affection for fig trees. Many of you kindly offered green advice for my black thumb. But one reader actually sent me a picture of her happy little fig tree. Just from the image of the fig tree vignette, I could tell this reader’s home was special. I graciously thanked Heather for the picture and advice she openly gave, then all but begged her for a house tour. Four months later, here it is! The time lapse is all my fault – not Heather’s. As the saying goes, “Good things are worth waiting for.”

Enjoy!

Who lives in your home?  I live with my husband, Win, and our dog, The Baron.

Where is your home located? New Orleans, Louisiana

What do you do for a living?  I work in the Oil and Gas industry and Win is a documentary filmmaker.

What is the architectural style of your home? We live in a Victorian shotgun cottage.

How would you describe your style?  The best way to describe our style is cottage/contemporary. We paid homage to our 100+ year old cottage in most of the design elements, but also incorporated a few contemporary pieces to shake things up a bit. Our style may be a bit all over the place for some, but I love that everything in our house has a story, whether it be original artwork from Win’s talented family, an antique night stand salvaged after Katrina, or an old soda bottle I dug up in my garden.

Where do you find inspiration for your home decor? When we first bought our home in 2008, my best friend Rachelle brought over three binders filled with gorgeous images and articles pulled from Cottage Living magazine. She compiled the binders while rebuilding her home after it was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. I spent an untold amount of time poring over the binders, soaking up the inspiration brought forth from its pages. Cottage Living was such an amazing resource to me. I still have a hard time believing that it’s no longer in publication. I would say that most of my current home décor inspiration comes from the web. I cut my teeth on amazing blogs such as Young House Love and The Lettered Cottage, and lately it seems like my day is not complete until I check out the latest projects over on Chezerbey, Manhattan Nest, The Brick House and House*Tweaking.

Where did you splurge? Those who know me know that I pride myself on being a serious bargain hunter and that I rarely splurge on anything other than a great meal. Looking around my house, I can say that 99% of the furnishings and appliances were either passed down from our families, bought on sale, picked up at a thrift/consignment shop, or plucked off the street. With that said, there have been one or two splurges along the way and our custom walk-in shower in the master bath is definitely one. Everyone was trying to convince us to install an inexpensive fiberglass shower stall, but Win and I wouldn’t hear of it. We knew what we wanted and even though it was a quite a splurge, it’s been worth every penny.

Where did you pinch pennies?  As for as supplies go, we definitely saved quite a bit of money by reusing our existing cabinetry and purchasing IKEA wood countertops in the kitchen. Our carpenters pushed the idea of custom cabinetry, but being an avid reader of house blogs, I knew that all they needed was a paint job and new hardware. We also saved by purchasing stock tile and stone from a discount retailer for our bathrooms and kitchen instead of custom ordering it from a tile shop or stone yard.

Favorite space in your home? For me, it’s got to be our kitchen. Being an avid cook, baker and collector of all things culinary, I love being in the kitchen. I still can’t believe that it took us over three years to get around to gutting and rebuilding it. Thankfully, we worked with an amazing carpentry team that worked tirelessly to develop my kitchen vision into a warm, inviting area that maximizes every inch of usable space.

Least favorite thing about your home? We both love the fact that we have reached the point where there are many more positives than negatives about our home, but there are still a few things we can’t wait to transform. Our backyard is definitely something we try to avoid because of the sheer “ugly factor”. It’s downright hideous and that’s no joke. My main problem with the yard stems from my love of gardening. The gardening gene runs deep in my family. Some of my favorite childhood memories include digging in the dirt with my mother and grandmother. Currently, I have planted and pruned every inch of my front yard, but unfortunately, my back yard is completely useless to me because it is covered by a virtually impenetrable 10” thick concrete slab. One of these days Win and I will rent a jackhammer and get to work on transforming it into an inviting space filled with fruit trees and a large vegetable garden.

From your point of view, what’s been the best improvement you’ve made to your home? It’s really hard to pick one improvement over the others since each project has made such a significant difference to the house as a whole, but if we had to pick one, the renovation of the master bath is high on the list. When we bought the house, it was two separate spaces: a huge fire-charred laundry room and a miniscule bathroom with the toilet falling through the floor. Until the space was renovated in 2010, it was a depressing, dark disaster area that I only ventured into long enough to do a load of laundry. Now, it’s bright, inviting and absolutely fantastic. Friends that have witnessed the slow transformation of our home still can’t believe it’s the same space.

Do you have any special housekeeping rituals? I don’t know if this is a ritual or a sign of OCD, but I cannot go to bed with a messy kitchen. When we host large gatherings, I am sometimes up for hours afterwards cleaning the kitchen and putting everything back in its place. Win can easily nod off with a mountain of dirty dishes in the sink, but I cannot fathom the idea of relaxing when there is a chaotic mess going on in my favorite room of the house.

What’s your next home project or purchase? Realistically, our next project will probably be tweaking the remaining bedrooms, but our dream project is gutting and renovating a cinderblock workman’s shed in our backyard. It is already equipped with a bathroom and power, but the amount of work required is quite daunting. Ideally, we would like to turn it into a guesthouse, but that’s years away.

What’s your favorite thing to do at home? I would say that it’s a three-way tie between working in my garden, relaxing on my front porch with Win and The Baron, and whipping up meals for the people that I love.

Advice for other homeowners? I would say the best advice to new, first-time homeowners like ourselves is to take your time when it comes to renovations. When we bought our home, we lived in it for a full year before embarking on any interior projects. That decision was partly due to financial constraints, but mostly for the fact that we wanted to get to know our “new” old house first. Living in it for a while allowed us time to develop a plan of attack as well as refine our slightly contemporary style around such an old house. On a lighter note, never underestimate the transformative power of a can of spray paint.

Isn’t that one amazing cottage?! I absolutely adore the cottage aesthetic mixed with industrial touches and pops of happy color. Thank you so much, Heather and Win {and The Baron!} for letting us peek into your happy home.

SOURCES:

Living Room/Dining Room

wall color:  Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee

trim color: Benjamin Moore Decorators White

sofa: Ikea

chandelier: Design Within Reach

Guest Bath

wall color: Benjamin Moore Nightingale (25%)

trim color: Benjamin Moore Decorators White

tub, toilet & sink- Kohler

fixtures: Kohler

tile: Floor and Décor

medicine cabinet: Home Depot

shower curtain: Urban Outfitters

Kitchen

wall color: Benjamin Moore White Dove

trim color: Benjamin Moore Decorators White

cabinet paint: Behr Graceful Gray

countertops: Ikea

lighting: West Elm

ceiling fan: Hunter

refrigerator: Samsung

range: LG

sink: Kohler Vault

Master Bedroom

wall color: Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee

trim color: Benjamin Moore Decorators White

lamps: Target

headboard: Wayfair.com

bedding: Macy’s

Master Bath

wall color: Benjamin Moore Nightingale

trim color: Benjamin Moore Decorators White

sink: Kohler

fixtures: Delta

toilet: American Standard

tile and stone: Floor and Décor

medicine cabinet: Home Depot

armoire: Nadeau

washer and dryer: Samsung

Guest Bedroom

wall color: Martha Stewart Plumage

trim color: Benjamin Moore Decorators White

bedding: TJ Maxx

throw pillows: Bliss Living

Do you have a room makeover, DIY project or house tour that you’d like to submit to House*Tweaking? Great! Please contact me at danarmiller@hotmail.com. I’d love to see what you’ve been up to.

images: Heather Riley

We added open shelving in the kitchen. I love open shelves in any room so deciding to add some in the kitchen was easy. Finding the perfect shelves wasn’t so easy.

Originally, I wanted a chunky wood shelf with black brackets. Similar to this reclaimed wood shelf from West Elm. HH said we could totally DIY wood shelving BUT with all the other projects we have going on {installing & painting the rest of the interior doors, fixing the front door, painting the french doors, maybe some landscaping??, etc.} the shelves would quickly slip to the bottom of the to-do list. He thought white shelves would be the way to go anyway since we already have white upper cabinets in the rest of the kitchen. So, I started searching for readily available white shelves that would need no or little tweaking to work in our kitchen. They had to be at least 10 1/2″ deep to accommodate our dinner plates. Another stipulation was that the shelves had to have a hefty maximum capacity load because our everyday plates are thick and heavy.

It took me a while but I finally found the perfect shelf in the form of IKEA’s 11″ deep EKBY JARPEN/EKBY BJARNUM wall shelf. I bought two of the 46 7/8″ shelves and four sets of brackets for $90. We knew we wanted two smaller shelves on either side of the range, so one long shelf could be cut into two smaller shelves. Two long shelves = four short shelves. Oh! And the max load capacity for these shelves is 33 lbs {once cut in half} – strong enough to hold our heavy plates.

HH was careful not to drill into the gas line that supplies the range. He pulled out the range to double check the gas line placement. During renovation, he was thinking ahead and marked off the gas line with an emphatic ‘NO!’ Gotta love his attention to detail…especially when it comes to not blowing up the house.

We were restricted in the placement of the shelving: 1) We couldn’t drill into the gas line. 2) We wanted to tie into a stud. 3) We wanted the lowest shelf just above the wall outlet. To the left of the range, the shelves tie into a stud around the window.

On the right, the shelves tie into s stud just left of the french doors. The shelves on the right are actually about an inch longer than the shelves on the left but it isn’t noticeable unless I tell you. All shelves sit about an inch and half away from the hood to allow for proper ventilation.

For now, the shelves hold everyday plates, bowls, glasses and a kitchen timer. There’s no rhyme or reason to the styling. I just threw everything up there for function but I actually think it doesn’t look half-bad. It’s so easy to grab a plate off the shelf and fill it for dinnertime. Or to snag the little glasses for water for the boys when they’re thirsty. Everything is right at my fingertips. It works for me. I live for stuff like this. Stuff that looks great and works even better.

At first, I was a little worried about the projection of the shelves over the countertops. Surprisingly, the 11″ deep shelves don’t obstruct the countertops at all. The lower shelves sit 12″ above the countertops and it’s plenty of space to place things on the counter and move around without a shelf knocking me in the face.

As far as cleaning goes, I wipe the shelves down with my dish drying towel when I’m unloading the dishwasher and reloading the shelves. I don’t know if that’s kosher but that’s what I’m doing. And since I don’t buy paper products to eat off of {we use real plates, bowls and glasses for all meals}, I’m reloading those shelves on a daily basis, so they’re getting dusted on a daily basis. It helps that our dishwasher is located just below the shelves {it’s in between the sink and range}. I don’t have to walk to the other side of the kitchen to put the dishes away.

I’m loving the function of these open shelves so much that I bought another one to hang under the cabinets in the microwave nook. I’m planning on moving our glasses to this longer shelf since it’s closer to the fridge where we get our drinking water. I’ll add coffee mugs as well. I don’t drink coffee on a daily basis {just a few times a month} but when I do, it’s nice to have everything in one place ready and waiting. This corner of the kitchen has become somewhat of a catchall and it really needs to be addressed. I’m going to tackle it {and the rest of the kitchen’s organization} after Everett starts preschool in a few weeks. You know, when I have more time.

The best thing about the shelves is that they have allowed me to empty out one huge drawer in the island and an upper cabinet. More room for storage! Yay!

The shelves are the newest additions to our IKEA kitchen. I was leery of using yet another IKEA product in the kitchen for fear of it looking too IKEA but I think they work well. The brackets pick up on the stainless steel appliances and lend an industrial feel. We still need to add a backsplash and accessories; hopefully those things will make the kitchen feel a little more custom and a little less store-bought.

Until then, I’m the most recent open shelf convert. I will always have some sort of open shelving in my kitchen from here on out, no matter where I live. Love it!

Do you have open shelving somewhere in your home that has freed up space or made your home more functional?

images: all except #2, Dana Miller for House*Tweaking 2) IKEA

1 – Benjamin Moore Dark Pewter Call me crazy. Or insane. Cruel. Strange. Trendy. Whatever. I did it. I painted Mabrey’s room a deep, deep charcoal.  It’s definitely not a typical paint color for a girl’s nursery. HH says it’s black. He’s not sure about it but it’s growing on him. I love it. I’ve always wanted to paint a room a dark color but kept tapping out at the last minute because I was scared. Mostly about what other people would think. But this time around, I don’t care. I went for it.

2 – GULLIVER crib The one thing we had leftover from our boys’ baby stages was a crib. I didn’t really want to spend money on a crib because we already had one. But the old crib, with its tall height and curvy legs, was hogging up the entire nursery which is super teeny to begin with {not even 10′x10′}. When I saw IKEA had a simpler design for less than $100, I jumped on it. The white is a crisp contrast to the dark walls.

3 – Tripod floor lamp I’ve been searching for a tripod floor lamp for our family room. I’ve found a million that I love but can’t afford. Think 100′s of dollars. Just the other day I was at Target buying *only* wipes and dishwasher detergent when I came across this version for a mere $50. {Somehow my quest for wipes and dishwasher soap led me to the lighting section???} I snatched up the last one. I’ve yet to put it together. I figure it it’s too flimsy or too wobbly {which I’m guessing it might be because of the inexpensive price}, I can return it. We’ll see. Oh, and the shade is actually white not blue like the image portrays.

4 – Cradle chair Up until now I’ve been using a thrift store wing chair in Mabrey’s room for late night feedings. It’s a comfortable chair for sitting but it doesn’t rock and the curvy, tall design takes up a lot of space literally and visually – much like the old crib did. And since Mabrey shows no signs of sleeping through the night anytime soon {seriously?! What am I doing wrong this time around? Both my boys were sleeping through the night by four months of age.}, I decided I deserved a more baby-friendly chair at midnight…and 3:00 a.m….and 5:00 a.m. Everything I’ve read about cradle chairs indicates that they’re a hit with small children, so this chair will easily carry Mabrey through her preschool years too. I like that it has a small footprint so hopefully it will allow more room for traffic flow and floor play.

5 – Alpaca throw I purchased this throw through Novica for a product review. I’ve never owned anything made from alpaca wool before. It’s much softer than the usual sheep wool. The handmade quality of the blanket is top notch. No unraveling or tears to speak of. And I adore the pattern. The throw is a modest size which makes it great for kids. I keep it folded on the couch. HH doesn’t understand mine and Everett’s love of blankets even in the heat of summer. The throw does shed a bit which is typical of anything constructed from wool.

6 - Vilas nightstand I bought a pair of these nightstands for our master bedroom. I have been looking for years {not just since we moved} for affordable, design-worthy nightstands for our bedroom. HH and I have never had legit nightstands. In the past, we used mismatched end tables that had once resided in our living room. I wanted something with a midcentury modern vibe and an open shelf for books. {We both like to read in bed.} This is a purchase that I’ve just ordered and haven’t received yet. I’ll let you know how they turn out.

7 – Jute chenille herringbone rug This 5′x8′ rug is for the nursery. {Are you noticing a theme here? Yep. I’m working on the nursery this week and next!} With all the deep, dark charcoal going on the walls, I needed something light in color and heavy in texture on the floor to soften things up. Normally, this rug would be out of my price range but I had $125 in West Elm gift cards lying around waiting to be used. I only ended up spending $140 of my own money. Sadly, the rug is on backorder until the end of next week but I went ahead and placed my order so that it will ship as soon as it’s back in stock. Can hardly wait!

Like I said, I’m working on the nursery. I was asked to participate in Kirkland’s ‘Ace Your Space’ campaign and it was just the fire I needed under me to finally start decorating Mabrey’s room. Mabrey was only two months old when we moved and we didn’t find out her gender until she was born, so this nursery has been a long time coming! I understand why some people choose to learn their baby’s sex before birth {preparation!} but I don’t regret the surprise at all. So while other ‘Ace Your Space’ bloggers might be focusing on entryway organization or a mommy command center for back to school, I’m focusing on the nursery.

I’ll be back later today to take you on a virtual window shopping Kirkland’s trip. I was surprised by the great pieces and prices I found. I hadn’t been to a Kirkland’s in probably 15+ years but remember it being a little too country for my taste. I was happy to discover they’ve modernized their inventory since.

Click here to see who this week’s giveaway!

Ever wondered what’s on my phone home screen? Well, I’m sharing it all over on Myers Maison today! Check it out.

images: polyvore collage by Dana Miller, images linked within

After designing and purchasing our IKEA kitchen, the mound of boxes and appliances sat in the garage for about 6 months.

Of course, storing the unassembled cabinetry in an environment where the climate isn’t controlled {for example, a garage} is not recommended as the wood and MDF pieces could absorb moisture. That being said, once we got around to installation, we had no problem with any of the pieces being warped, bent or buckled. Whew.

Why did it take us so long to get around to installation? Well, we first had to remove interior walls, vault the ceiling, install skylights and French doors, upgrade the electrical {which included running electricity to the island for two outlets required by code}, run a new gas line {since we were changing the location of the range}, run a water line for the new fridge, improve insulation, hang drywall and paint. Handy Hubby started installing the kitchen cabinets in the midst of our DIY flooring install.

Typically, upper cabinetry is hung first then base cabinets are installed. This makes it easier to hold upper cabinets in place while they’re being installed. However, we chose to assemble and install the base cabinets first because we wanted to finish the flooring install around the base cabinets and under the appliances {i.e. refrigerator, dishwasher, range}. Plus, HH predicted the upper cabinets wouldn’t be that difficult to install over set base cabinets because IKEA uses a rail system to hang upper cabinetry.

HH started with the island. He built a wood base from treated 2×4′s for the three base cabinets that make up the island. The base is secured to the concrete slab. We decided to run the flooring right up to  - but not underneath – the island and base cabinets since the floating engineered hardwoods could shift over time due to temperature and moisture changes. Shifting of the floor under cabinets could cause the cabinets to shift as well and we didn’t want that.

Once the three base cabinets of the island were assembled and installed, HH set to work on the rest of the base cabinets. He set up shop in the adjacent living room assembling cabinet-by-cabinet. Here would be a good place to note that HH said the frames were simple enough for one person to assemble alone. Once he made a few, the process was quite self-explanatory although he would flip through the IKEA instructions for each cabinet to check for any different steps. HH glued the joints and used clamps to hold them which he later admitted was probably overkill. But, he’s an engineer, so overkill is a normal part of any project.

To make the task of leveling the perimeter base cabinets as easy as possible, HH secured level 1×3′s near the bottom of the kitchen walls for the backs of the cabinets to rest on. That way, once a cabinet was in place, all HH had to do was tweak the front two legs of the cabinet to get it level since the back would already be level. {IKEA base cabinets come standard with legs that twist up and down.}

With the base cabinets in place, HH finished the flooring install then turned his attention to the upper cabinetry. Using the coordinating suspension rail, he was able to assemble {in the same way as the base cabinets} and hang the wall cabinets single-handedly.

HH LOVED the rail system. Usually, the task of installing wall cabinetry requires two people but, with the rails, HH alone could hang an assembled wall cabinet, slide it into place, then attach it to the wall and/or neighboring cabinet. The rails were also why he had no problem hanging the upper cabinetry above already installed base cabinets. There was no need for someone to stand directly below the wall cabinet.

After all of the cabinets were installed, HH built the drawers and added them along with the door fronts. Of note: We were shorted one drawer in our order but since we had signed off on the delivery and it had been nearly six months since we bought our kitchen, we just spent the $40 to buy another drawer instead of messing with customer service. He was especially happy with the hinge hardware for the upper cabinets. They have a snap-on function that allows you to add/remove the doors without screws. Again, this was a great feature that allowed HH to hang the cabinets single-handedly. The snap-on hinges also allow you to easily remove the doors for cleaning – or for showing off your fancy hinges which is the only thing we’ve used them for so far.

The only thing left to do was add black-brown plinth to the naked sides of some base cabinets {the cabinet frames are white even if installing the black-brown fronts} and around the base legs. Installing plinth around the legs isn’t essential. In fact, forgoing this step would lend a freestanding look. The only ‘legs’ showing in our kitchen are the range legs and bottom of the refrigerator. The plinth around the legs pops on and off for easy access under the base cabinets.

Several readers have asked about reinforcing the base cabinets for granite countertop installation. {HH installed the island’s walnut countertop and we had a professional stone company install the granite.} The only additional support we added were: 1) custom cut plinth between the dishwasher and range {above} since neither of these appliances actually support countertop material 2) 1×3 support along the wall where the open desk is 3) corbels for the island countertop overhang.

Your IKEA kitchen specialist can help you determine if/what additional support is necessary for heavier countertop materials. After all, many of the display kitchens use solid surface countertops including granite. So, it is possible.

If you’ll be installing an IKEA kitchen yourself, here are a few things to keep in mind:

*Double, heck, triple check your order before you take it home/upon delivery.

*A level wood support near the bottom of the walls makes leveling base cabinets a cinch.

*The suspension rail system and snap-on hinges make one-person wall cabinet installation possible.

*Check with an IKEA kitchen specialist to see if additional countertop support is needed.

IKEA also offers professional installation services if DIY isn’t your thing.

We’ve been living with our IKEA kitchen for about two months now and even with all the unforeseen issues {IKEA server being down during the design phase, items on backorder, missing drawer, etc.}, we would do it over again. I’ll be writing up a review of our kitchen cabinets next week that will hit on the pros and cons of living with them. All in all, we love them.

Click here to see who won the Jilly Bean Craft giveaway! Even if you didn’t win, Jill is offering an exclusive 25% off discount to H*T readers now through Sunday, July 22nd. Use the code HTB25 at checkout.

images: 1-5 & 8-9) Dana Miller for House*Tweaking 6 & 7) IKEA