Practical kitchen counter-storage - a work in progress

Find these at any dollar-type store

One of my pet peeves is getting everything off the counters. I am tired of crowded, disorganized counter-storage.

 For a time, I used 2 very large ceramic flower pots, I bought at IKEA.  I placed all my cooking tools in them so when cooking, I  can grab my utensils fast instead of searching for them, in a disorganized drawer. 

We started placing too many cooking utensils in the pot, which resulted in a tangled mess. I wish I could discipline myself and my husband (that's the one!) to put them back neatly in place in a drawer. - Just ain't gonna happen. 

It worked for a while -

I'm now, "into" making my kitchen work for me. I don't care if it looks dumb. I am getting older and set in my ways - I want easy! Easy to find, easy to put away and my counters can be free of clutter.

7 wire racks shown

I found these white wire racks at the 99 Cent Store. I bought 9 of them. Since we haven't done a backsplash, and it's quite bare and boring, I screwed in the racks under my cabinets, so I can hang my cooking utensils, instead of placing them in the pot which sits on the counter.

2 shown here - 

It's not a museum - It has to work for me, it has to be functional. We'll see how long, I am happy with this. I'm still working on it. Trying to get my kitchen cleaned up and organized before Thanksgiving. 

Upcoming Home Projects

Cutting in - earlier in the year 

This year, I proclaimed, that we would finally start getting the house in order. For what?  

For our old age. We're young seniors - I'm retired and my husband has another 6 years. While we finally have a good income, we decided NOW was the time, to get our house, in order. Then we can cruise toward retirement - traveling and doing what we want. 

We replaced the roof - and got a 50-year warranty.  
We replaced every window in our home with energy-efficient windows
We painted the living room, dining room, kitchen, hallway, and office. 
We replaced the linoleum in the hall bath.
We put in a brand new soaker tub in the hall bath.
New tub hardware. 
New Stove and Under the counter Microwave
We are laying down hardwood flooring in the hall. 

Projects we still need to do:

Painting in the hall bath, laundry room, back bedroom, master bedroom, and master bath,
New linoleum in laundry room and master bath.
Paint cabinets in both bathrooms. 
New carpet in the living room and master bedroom. 
New security screen door for the front door. 
Curtains in office, master bedroom, and back bedroom.
New Washer and Dryer
Wood countertops in kitchen
apron front farm since in kitchen

2017 sees us concentrating on the exterior of the house. The yards, patio, fish pond, waterfall, etc.







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Hardwood Flooring

He's getting there 

We ripped up the yucky carpet, we had and my husband is laying a hardwood floor. It takes him a while - we are not in a huge rush, but I do wish to have it done by Thanksgiving.

Old carpet can smell. This house belonged to my Mom and Dad. Mom was a very good housekeeper, but that final year, she lived after my dad passed away, she didn't care. She had 2 little Yorkies - one of them, just wouldn't do her duty outside.

Before we moved in,  I would take baking soda and spill it on the carpet, before we left to go back home, to the bay area. The next weekend, when we came up, it didn't smell. Baking soda is awesome. When we finally moved in, I steam cleaned the carpet and it was fine. I still had the icks...but that is just me.

Mom had fibromyalgia and dad put a very light beige, Berber carpet in the kitchen and dining room.

 Sorry, but carpeting in the kitchen is like carpeting in a bathroom. Just gross.  The first night, we moved in, I made spaghetti. You can guess, what happened. I had to use a throw rug to hide the stain. After about a month, we ripped out the carpet, which was glued on the cement foundation, and that's when we put it in a hardwood floor. (Not laminate.) We should have done the hallway, and for whatever reason, we didn't.

So, 8 1/2 years later, we are finally, laying down hardwood. My husband matched it with the other, well.

Colors, time, and painting project

old oak cabinets

I'm still painting my kitchen cabinets.

I am happy to say I am almost done. Then after that, I will be painting the walls. 

I can't wait. 

My kitchen is already looking cheery and happy. 

I have decided to paint the walls, a mellow yellow. I am usually not a big fan of the color yellow, but I do like it when combined with certain colors. Like retro-yellow and red or green and I like yellow and blue. 

My husband is halfway done with the ceiling.

I know I know, crazy huh? It should have been done already and he is stalling. Good thing, I will be doing the walls. The ceilings were too high. As I paint my way down the hall, the ceilings are normal so I can do that. 

Believe me, I will be happy when he is done with his part. I am a bit disappointed in his lack of caring about the painting. Oh well. 

It's only paint and a little more time. 

After I paint the kitchen and dining area, I will paint the living room and entry. I'll probably take a little breather, but not too long, or else I will get out of the swing of painting. I will then work my way down the hall and I will do the hall bathroom - cabinets and all. 

Bedrooms can be done after the holidays if I can stand it. 

So I have a huge painting project ahead of me. When I take that breather, after the living room and before the hall and bathroom - I will work on, redoing the lighting. My husband wants to go out and just buy our fixtures and I want to redo them. He even mentioned buying a new stove and microwave before thanksgiving.

 That would be nice. It's me. I manage the money and I think I can manage for another year with that old stove and counter-top microwave. 

My old stove - a new stove would be nice.

Painting Kitchen Cabinets and Hinges

Pantry doors are done

We're plugging away with our painting - My husband hasn't moved forward at all with the ceiling due to his dad being in the hospital. 

He promises me, it will get done. We are hoping Pop is out of the hospital sometime today or tomorrow. 

Although, tomorrow we were hoping to go to the Shasta County Inter-mountain Fair. Saturday is "Kids Day" and while I love children, I would rather go on Friday.

While removing the kitchen cabinet doors to paint, one of the hinges broke.

 GREAT! 

Last night I went to Home Depot and they had no hinges that even remotely looked like they would fit. I'd have to replace all the hinges and that amounts to quite a bit of green that I would rather put into something else. 

When you pay cash and are trying to "embrace frugality" you have to make do or move your decorating priorities around. 

Some people detest having to do this - Me? I excel and do my best when I have to find other ways. I decided that I would use a hinge, from our master bathroom cabinet. Same hinge and since I haven't worked my way toward that area yet. I'll use a "make-due" hinge in the bathroom, one closest to the wall - no one sees, except for the cat and a few spiders.

Part 2: As the paint dries...

The last house in San Francisco, I lived in was in the Haight Ashbury. 

 That was a cool flat.  It had once been a Hotel and actually survived the 1906 earthquake and fire.

 It still had a horse stable in the backyard. I recently did a google search for it and this is how it looked a couple of years ago.

 I also hit the jackpot with even more photos - it had been up for sale.  3 bedrooms and 1 bath. 1450 sq ft. Sold for 1.9 million dollars for just the flat. I bet my folks still wished they owned it. Above us, were 2 apartments - Now being sold as individual condo apartments.

We moved because, we couldn't leave for work or school, without stepping over hippies laying on our porch. They would urinate and leave their feces for us to clean up. It was gross. 

Back then, most of the homeowners who had lived there for years were leaving.

Now it is an upscale neighborhood - totally unaffordable for regular people. 

Living room

my mom and dad's bedroom

My sister and I shared this bedroom.
There used to be a radiator where the pipe is. 

the rear bedroom - we used as our playroom

The back stairs went up to the apartment above us.

Dad moved us 30 minutes south of San Francisco, 

to a small beach town, where I lived till I moved out.

As the paint dries...

I'm wondering when was it, that I knew I liked a certain type of home decor? 

I believe looking back through my baby pictures is when I started loving that Retro look or as I refer to it, "The I LOVE LUCY" type of kitchen. 

Who wouldn't want a kitchen like this? Notice the mirror over the sink...

See how I am loving this kitchen. 

When I was older I was allowed to pick the colors and carpet for my bedroom. Pink walls, red carpet and I had one wall of pink and red roses. My furniture was painted white. I had a chenille bedspread that I loved.

In fact, I still have it - it packed away with all the other material I have, just waiting for their next life.

Just starting to phase out the white - I put wood contact paper on my furniture

I wanted to paint my furniture black and paste Jimi Hendrix posters all over my walls. Instead, of black, I covered my furniture with contact paper. My dad would not allow me to put posters on the wallpaper. 

When I was a newlywed, we rented a 4 plex-in trendy Burlingame Ca. on the El Camino. I fell in love with this apartment. It had a front courtyard you entered with a little gate and a small porch and the kitchen was what I always wanted. 

I had an I LOVE LUCY type of kitchen.

 A Wedgewood stove and painted white cabinets - 

an old retro-refrigerator, the kind that if you broke off the handle, you could not open it up. (That actually happened) 

and a beautiful picture window, looking out to the courtyard, framed in white Priscilla curtains! I'll have to dig through photographs to find a picture of that kitchen. I loved it.

To be continued...

Argh, Stubborn Screws

I'm all ready and excited to get started on my project and I come across a wood screw that is STUCK. 

What a pain, that is. I'm pretty stubborn myself and try to do all that I can without asking the male gender for help. 

It's a PRIDE thing, I know. Foodie couldn't do it. It would not even budge. A few minutes later, the husband walks in through the door - I had to cave and get his help. At the time, even he is having a hard time. 

I have come across a few links on how to remove a stubborn screw for your information. Hope it never happens to you, but you know it eventually will. 

How Can I remove a really stuck screw? 

Remove a Stuck Screw 

The stubborn screw is out. My husband said he talked to it. Yeah right! 

Thrown off schedule

 

I got this done on Friday!

We took Saturday off from painting. It was our dog's 1 year birthday. Laydee is a black lab and we just wanted to spend a nice day with her. We had every intention of starting back up this morning, but we got a call, that they were sending my husband's father to the hospital. He was in emergency last week, and they sent him home - after they could no longer find anything except for his low blood pressure that is normal for him. All week, however, he did not feel well. So back he went this morning at 3:30 am. He went in for surgery on his intestine and came out of it just as expected. He is 89. 

That took up all of the morning and part of the early afternoon. He is fine now, resting in ICU and he can have visitors sometime tomorrow. My husband went on to work his swing shift till midnight. 

You have to ride with these unexpected interruptions. All of it will get done. I might paint a little tonight. I'm just happy his surgery came out a success and he will be getting better. He is quite the hoot! 

 

Stroke by stroke

Yesterday I went out to Home Depot and bought some green paint for my kitchen cabinets. Never mind the wall paint, I am on a mission. Anyway, the husband is still grumbling that he has to do the ceilings.  


I did some cutting in last night, just because I wanted to see how it was going to look. I have to say, it looked a bit scary. Foodie, my middle son walked in and said it reminded him of the kitchen in the Ghostbuster Movie. Now, what the heck is that supposed to mean?  

I know my dad would roll over in his grave if he saw me painting over his oak cabinets. 

I have a lot to PROVE. 

I painted all night, in my dreams, so I was ready at the crack of dawn to paint. I held off enough to relax and have my coffee with the husband who in case you are wondering, works a swing shift Sunday through Thursday from 4pm to midnight. I can get so much more done when he is at work.

By 8am I was stirring my paint and pouring it into a smaller container. I also had taken 3 cabinet doors off. I encouraged the husband to take the dog, to the dog park while I painted. I know how much he dreads, his part of the painting, but as for me, I am having a blast. I cranked up some Robert Palmer and went at it. 

 The vision is there and it is revealing itself, stroke by stroke.

This is THE PLAN

 

Source

I am not a designer kitchen kinda gal. No being the funky old hippie chick, I go for more for an eclectic look along with some shabby chic or whatever strikes me as ME. 

Cheap and Shabby. That's my style. I love re-doing things the way I want them and doing it without spending a lot of money. I just can't see it. I love the thrill of decorating as cheaply as I possibly can. I mean after it is all said and done, it's all superficial. 

Source

About a month ago, I started staining my oak kitchen cabinets with a darker stain. I made some boo-boos. So I decided to do what I wanted to do in the first place but was talked out of it by men who love wood - and who think it is a crime, to paint over them. 

Source

I bought some Martha Stewart bead-board paint-able wallpaper. 

I will paint over it using green paint. Yes, my cabinets will be funky green! I have dark wood hardwood floors and eventually, I want wood countertops. Right now I have white Formica countertops. I'll get to those later. 

Source

 

Source

 Bead-board wallpaper on side of the cabinet.

Major Paint Project

 

patched the cracks

 We moved into this house 7 years ago - and now it's time to start painting.

When we moved into my parent's home - my dad being a Painting contractor had painted it a few years earlier so it was quality - I just wanted more color and a different look from what my parents had. 

We never got around to it. Just lazy I guess. 

more patching

Today my husband started to paint the ceiling. 

He is not a very good painter. I just wanted him to do the high ceilings and I will do everything else. 

I watched my dad many times and have painted a lot in my years. We have vaulted ceilings and at some points, it is 14 feet. 

I am not confident standing on ladders anymore. So he cut in halfway - and he'll do the other half tomorrow. 

We're not in any BIG hurry to bust this out. It will get done. Then he'll use a roller. We have a lot of my dad's equipment - a compressor-type commercial paint sprayer but we don't know how to use it. We also have a smaller type paint sprayer we have never used.  Now is not the time if it will derail us from getting this done.

 We knew the living room, dining, and kitchen ceiling would be a BIG JOB for us. Once we get that done, I'll paint the walls. I still haven't picked out colors yet. 

Cutting In