A Productive Day, Kitchen Cupboard Re-paint

 Hello everyone and a happy Monday to you all. I feel like I have made a good start to the week although I did decide not to do any paid work today and to concentrate on a few things of my own.  Mainly the kitchen, if you are a regular here you may know that I re-did my kitchen units about a year and a half ago with cupboard paint.  I researched this thoroughly before buying any paint and they did look great for a while.  Well six moths ago I did a touch up job and today I have had to do the same again.

Now I do not regret painting the cupboards, they look really well, it has modernised the kitchen and no doubt saved us thousands of pounds.  I am annoyed that I believed the tin as it said no primer needed and usually I would have primed first so now it will be a case of ongoing management I think.  We did discuss a new kitchen but I feel it is such a waste, everyone is in such a hurry to throw out and buy new and when I think that the layout would be exactly  the same as it is now that seems to me to be an awful lot of wasted money and perfectly good cupboards gone to the tip.  My other thought was well so what if they need painting, if in a few years I want a different colour it is easy enough to do for little cost.  For now they are looking ship shape. 

My tiles were also painted with tile paint when I did the whole kitchen and the shelves were added last year as I wanted some open shelving for display and to make it more welcoming.

I never did do the end boards and skirts as I thought it was a bit of a feature to keep them wood.  Knowing now that the paint is not as hard wearing as I thought I think that is a good thing as they get knocked more with three dogs.

My next project is the jacket I am working on for me. It is a stash busting job using some gifted tweed and leftover bits of denim, topstitching threads and lining fabric. In all apart from one pack of jeans buttons it will have been comepletely cost free.  I have made the burda pattern twice before so I know that I like it and I decided to mix the fabrics to give it a more modern feel.  I am just waiting on that pack of jeans buttons to arrive as I have a few left over in another packet, it is almost there.  The button holes, buttons and cuffs need finishing although after trying it earlier I don't think I will add a denim cuff as I planned as I don't want denim overload. 

I will show the completed jacket in my next post, those button packets above have three useable buttons in one packet and two in the other plus a number of bent tacks, |I have to admit I struggle to get these things in!

There was a lovely long walk with one of my dogs, the older two can't manage a long walk any more.  The light was pretty and the wind had dropped so that was good, I tend to leave my headphones out now when I go for a walk as I do feel there is that issue of being permantly connected and if I am outside then I want to hear the outside.

Well that is all for  today, how  was your start to the week? I hope it went well.  Bye for now.

A Little Kitchen Update

 Hi everyone I thought I would share this DIY project that we did a couple of weeks ago, I have been meaning to share but keep forgetting.  So ever since we moved into this house about thriteen years ago I have had above worktop units all the way around.  If you have seen previous posts you may know that about two years ago I painted the cabinet doors grey to give it a little facelift.

Still not feeling like this kitchen needs replacing as it is a perfectly good kitchen, but there was a little niggle that did bother me.  The main stretch of worktop that I have to work and prepare on is below some of these overhead units, that means that you are working with them directly in front of your face and this has never been the best. For sometime now I have liked the look of open shelving and often save the images from pinterest, however as it is a small kitchen my husband has always maintained that these particualr units can't come out.

Well two weeks ago I decided to get everything out and have a look at the situation, the top shelf I am ashamed to admit had quite a few things out of date as I can't reach it without a chair. So they went straight in the bin, I also had a good tidy and found new homes for the rest of the items, including sorting a lower level cupboard, raising an internal shelf in one of those and putting all sauces etc in little storage baskets so that they can easliy be lifted out to use.

It is amazing how you can fit things into less space when you think about it and also look at what you use regularly or not at all. When all the cupboards were empty and clean I asked my husband to take them down (three over head cupboards) he said you will regret it but took them down anyway thinking it was a bad idea. 

This was on a Sunday, on the Monday morning as soon as I got up I got out my paint and set about painting all of the units again as a touch up, redid the tiles with tile paint, and painted the walls and ceiling  white.  When he came home from work it was all pristine, I arranged the shelves with some of the nicer things I had already in cupboards or else where in the house.   For me it is really just what I had in mind and I am very pleased with it, my husband is getting there he just keeps reaching for the wrong cupboard for the cereal!

The shelves are just loose shelving boards from Wicks and we just chose brackets ourselves, I reused some of the under cupboard trim and painted it grey so it would conceal the lights that are underneath. It is certainly much more light and airy and does not feel closed in anymore when I am preparing food.

 

The items on the shelves I had already, just today I found some pretty china measuring cups for baking my friend bought for me that usually live in a cupboard so I have added those now too.  The one thing I did buy was a print from Whitby at the top of the steps when we were away a few weeks ago, it is not in this image but sits on the top shelf. 

                                                   I still have the under cupboard lighting 

You may think I am crazy to get rid of three perfectly good cupboards but my feeling is the more cupboard space we have the more we pack things in, think about when you move house and have all those lovely empty cupboards.  They soon get packed with nonsense over the years don't they?  I think this is forcing me to be more organised in my kitchen.

Well that is all for today, let me know what you think.   Have a good week. 

Kitchen Make-over

 Well I have achieved my main goal for this week so even if we didn't get to go any where at least my kitchen looks a bit fresher.  I bought this paint a while ago after much searching online for just the right one, it was difficult because people seem to have varied results with all of the cupboard paints.  I have used Wilko furniture in the past for my other projects but a lot of people were not happy with that on actual kitchen units.  I eventually decided on the Johnstone's cupboard paint as it had a lot of good reviews and people had also posted pictures to go with them.

I opted for just painting the doors and leaving all the frames in the wood effect, I thought this would  not only make it look a bit different from all the many grey kitchens that I am sure are out there but also give us options.  The first option being that if the paint does not hold up too well then we can still just change the doors without having to go for a complete new kitchen or even if just our tastes change in a few years we could just redo the doors again in another shade.

That was the first one I took last night when just finished, I changed the handles a little while ago and I have to say they look much better now with the grey.

A daylight shot of the grey, I am wondering whether I should go for a lighter flooring now or is that just a bad idea in winter with three dogs?

I may now make a blind for the window just to finish it off, we don't usually have anything up there as I took the last one down and it was never closed.  It could just finish off the room though.

I did two coats with a good  four hours in between, you wash the cupboards down with sugar soap then paint, no other prep.  So time will tell if that was enough, some people have suggested you can give the whole lot a coat of clear matt varnish over the top for extra protection while others say that slightly alters the shade.  I am very happy with the shade so I think I will leave it alone for now.

We have been optimistic and booked a holiday in the caravan for next summer, we enjoyed Anglesey so much last year we thought we would go there again.  That is when they eventually let us northerners out!  There were quite a few nice sites dotted around that looked interesting so when things are looking up we will have to try a few.

So that's all for now, take care.

Retro Dining Chairs Make-over

Today I finally have my stair carpet and hall flooring down so it feels more like a home again and not a project.  I still need to source a couple of pictures for my walls as my old ones don't go anymore but I have the idea to possibly reuse the frames and just get art posters.  That would entail more painting of the frames as they are gold but it would save them and I hate waste.

My table and chairs are getting used and look brand new, I am so glad I saved mums chairs from being thrown out because although they were worn and faded they are a strong frame.  In the end I went for a dark grey on these, the paint was from wilko and it is cupboard and furniture paint.  You have to use primer first but at £18 pound a tin I didn't think that was bad to transform some furniture.

I gave them all a good clean, sanded them and primed them and waited twenty four hours, then I gave them all two coats of the paint.  You have to wait six hours between coats.   When choosing the fabric for the seats I went for an Orla Kiely print in mustard as I though it would look good with the grey.

I am happy with the new look and the good thing is if the seats begin to look tired then the fabric can be updated again in future as it wasn't hard to do.  I also added an extra layer of wadding to make them extra comfy.

before

after

Here are the chairs with the primer on, they actually looked like a distressed effect so if you like that sort of thing I suppose you could have varnished or waxed over them at that point.  

The table top had three coats of clear varnish after the original had been sanded off, it is matt not shiny and I also bought the varnish from Wilko. ( I ought to mention at this point that I am not affiliated with that shop, I just thought it was good value for the paints.)

Here are the pictures of the finished stairs and hall, I didn't take a before shot as I just  got straight on with it and then thought oops.  So  it was originally beige walls, with a dark red carpet and light wood laminate floor in the hall.  The walls are now an off white called cotton, white walls and ceilings and grey floors.  I think it looks more modern but we have repainted the banister mahogany (which is the same) as I have an upcycled wood cupboard and I wanted some contrast.   So I hope we manage to keep it all looking tidy for a while, it is a hallway after all.  The little cupboard is for shoes but my sons seem to think it is there so you can kick your shoes off underneath it and leave them there!  I am going to have to wrap it up for today as for some reason my text keeps vanishing every time I start a new line and I can't seem to type anything below these images Argh!! Bye for now. 

A Quick Dress Between Painting

I have been painting all day, well I had to have a brief period before I could add another coat to the first items so I decided to run up a quick dress to have a change of activity.  I started painting my table this morning, then moved on to the chairs while that was drying then a cupboard in the bathroom that needed touching up.  I have to say by this point I was ready for a change, so I thought I would use this paisley print I bought in  a sale a while ago.  Nothing too fancy I just cut around a t shirt shape I like with cap sleeves and made the back longer than the front, I cut it out long enough to make a dress and also a long strip for a belt.

I think I will add elastic at the waist as I feel when it is just a belt I am constantly arranging the pleats that gather at the waist, an elastic keeps them nice and even for you and doesn't take long.

This is comfortable as the fabric is nice and soft, it is a woven fabric no stretch so I cut a bit bigger to allow for ease of getting it on and off without the need for fastenings.  It was a good easy make and a nice break from decorating.

Having only just finished the second coat on everything, three coats of varnish on the table, I am ready for a rest!  I have a copy of Sense and Sensibility by Joanna Trollope to get on with my next instalment of the Austin Project, I have seen a few poor reviews for this so I will see what I think.  Sometimes it is best to find out for yourself as I have read books with rave reviews that have been terrible so you never know.

Tomorrow I will choose some fabric for the chair seats so I look forward to sharing the finished items with you and early next week my hall and stair carpets should be fitted so hopefully things will be looking more presentable.

A Sew Day

Today I have had something of a sewing frenzy, a friend of mine dropped off a bag of alterations she needed sorting yesterday and I thought I would get them all done in one swoop.  Sometimes I think it is better that way as if these things  hang around in the background they are sort of there on your mind niggling at you.  There were hems, sleeves, turn-ups, buttons to be changed and curtains to be shortened with tie backs made.   To be honest there was only a thin strip left for the tie backs from the bit I chopped off the bottom but she had brought pom pom trim, can't everything be improved with pom pom trim?  Well here they are and I suddenly have an urge for tie backs decorated in this fashion.

So now that is off my mind I can move onto my next upcycle job and that is to restore some life to  a set of dining chairs that have been given to us by my mum.  She has been saying for quite a while that wanted a new set and I have to say that we have had four sets of chairs yet she has had her set nearly all my life. My current set have two splits underneath, we are not a clumsy family they just don't seem to last, my mothers set on the other hand are very 70's well worn but solid.  I think with some attention they could be great and maybe be a set that will last us too. Here they are at the moment and they are not pretty right now...

They are scuffed and some of the seats have small areas of wear but that is ok as the frames are solid, I need to rub them down to prime and then change the colour.  We have also removed the seat so I can add extra padding and new fabric to the tops.  I will take more pics once this is all complete, my dining table is still in its rubbed down state too so I will be painting the legs on that to match the chairs.

I don't know how I will be able to go back to school in September there is just too much to do ;)  well best not think about that just yet and enjoy the remaining time left.  My oldest son and my mum both have holidays to Spain booked as we all go back in September, the nice bargain kind of holiday that School staff can never have.  I know it is the same for families with School age children but that said there are a lot of people that choose to take them in term time and I can see it may be the only way to afford a family holiday.

This week I need to get back into doing my pilates, I did months where I never missed a day and marked it off my checklist each time then we went away and I just stopped.  I think I have done two half hour sessions since we got back.  It is very strange do I need a list that badly? Maybe, so I will start a new one immediately I don't want it to turn into months of not doing it.

Right I am off to start the dinner as that is one thing I can't forget to do as there are people asking what we are having.

This and That

Argh! I am a day late with this post after promising myself I would stick to Tuesday and Friday posts oh well it is done now.  Last night we went out for tea with family to a place we haven't tried before and it was fabulous.  They offer small servings as well as full meals so you can have tapas style dishes instead of choosing one big meal. We don't go out often but try to meet up with my mother in law and her partner every few months and go out. We will definitely be going there again as they had a choice for vegetarians and vegans which is rare.  If you are from the Sheffield area it is called The Pheasant and well worth a visit the website is here if you want a peak.

I got this image from the website as it was pouring with rain when we went out, I am sure it is good to sit out front in finer weather. There was also live music on and they were good, acoustic guitar and singing a variety of music.

Today was supposed to be when my tiles went down on the hall floor, unfortunately after another layer of old tiles were pulled up an large crack has been found underneath.  So not wanting to lay expensive tiles on this even if it was filled we made the decision to take them back and choose a floor that would withstand possible future movement.  We chose a grey herringbone effect vinyl and a grey stair carpet, I am a bit sad  about returning the tiles but it would have been worse if they were down and then later cracked.  It is a bit worrying about how much movement is going on with the house but I suppose any house of a certain age will have some of these problems.. My husband has put down insulating material and now says he will board it over before they come to lay the vinyl, I have to wait until the 27th for that.  I think one of the reasons I like painting and wallpapering is that I can do that myself,  so if it needs doing I can just think right I will do it on these days and then it will be done.  Waiting for people to come out and sort things I am not great at!

I have just finished reading Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid, I really enjoyed it but I must say this was in the general category of new books but I would class it as YA due to the central characters and the teen speak used throughout.  Set around the Edinburgh fringe festival rather than Bath I thought it was cleverly done and also quite amusing that Cat the main character keeps mentioning the Twilight series throughout.    It is part of the Austin project and this has made me want to try some of the other adaptations, I had a look around and a few people are being quite negative about some of these works including the one I have just read.  It is full of the language of young adults (I don't mean bad language) and if this bothers you I can see how that would put you off.  However it is also witty, engaging and mostly good fun, so if people are horrified by the differences they need to consider how much times have moved on.  If you have read any of the other works in the Austin project let me know what you thought, they are Sense and Sensibility by Joanna Trollope, Emma by Alexander McCall Smith, Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld ( Pride and Prejudice  updated) and the one above I have just mentioned. There is to be a Mansfield Park but that has not come about yet and possibly one other I think.  I think it is an interesting idea to do this but I am sure there will be purist fans who are just appalled.

What are you all reading this week?

Practical Stuff

I have had a busy few days decorating so no new makes to show at the moment. The hall, stairs and landing have been painted and today I did the ceilings. It all needed a good few coats as I changed the colour. The next job is doing all the doors cupboards and frames tomorrow, then I will need to choose a new stair carpet.  We have pulled up the laminate in the hall downstairs and bought tiles, my husband is going to lay those.  I am glad I got this started as I have always kept on top of the decorating of all the other rooms but the hallway has been left because I always feel we just pass through it. That said is also the first thing you see as you enter the house so a makeover was well over due.  This is a peak of the floor tiles...

I like the busyness of them as the rest of the décor is  plain, I will post some update photographs when it is all finished.  When I was working on the stairs my husband made me a platform that stretched between the ladder and the decorating bench at the top, it even had notches so that it fit into the rungs on the ladder and wouldn't move.  He was not thrilled about me working on it while he was at work but I really didn't want to get anyone in to do painting that I an do myself.  I also feel that it is a good use of my time when I have the summer off school so I always fit decorating jobs into school holidays.

Our water pump to the shower has decided to pack up, we have only had that one three years and now we are having to put up with slow trickle showers until a new one is sourced and fitted.  It turns out it may have been the wrong sort originally so that is why it didn't last, we replaced like for like with the original from when we moved in.  So who ever did the job in the first place must have installed the wrong pump.   There is always something around the house that needs replacing and that makes me think what hard work it must be for the people who own the holiday rentals like the one we just stayed in.  To keep things looking good with a constant stream of families passing through surely must mean a never ending list of repairs  and replacement items.

To keep me entertained while I have been busy I have been listening to more podcasts, the time just passes so easily. Maybe that makes decorating a flow activity though I am not sure I would want to do it five days a week,  just a thought.

My latest book is Other Words for Smoke by Sarah Maria Griffin, it was on the new books shelf at the library.  It is a YA book but I'll give it a go, I was drawn in by the bright cover.

Bye for now.

Growing

Well after a slow start the chilli plant is in full swing, I did wonder at first if it had been a wrong choice but now it is full of little chillies starting to grow and a couple of bigger ones.  I'm not sure how long they take to go red but there seems to be plenty on there for such a little plant.

My husband announced that he is not even bothered about chillies, well it looks like we better get finding lots of recipes for them where it is in there but not too obvious then.

Here is the regular pepper, also quite big already I think.  Maybe next time I will grow more peppers a these will get used in lots of things.  The strawberries seem to be getting picked a couple at a time and then we eat them as we go, I don't think there will ever be a bowl full ready at once as we don't want to leave them on to go mushy.  I heard someone else sat the same thing today so it's not just me.

On a different theme my fabric arrived today but as I wasn't home it's gone to the collection place which is closed of course by the time we get home.  Obviously most people who work are out during the day and the post always arrives late when people have left! It will be Friday now before I can collect it, they never seem to leave with a neighbour or in the safe place anymore.  The package isn't signed for so it's a bit annoying. My son once had a card saying they had taken his parcel to the collection place at the next town, after being driven there he was then told it was at the one near our home, ridiculous, really there ought to be a better system.

That's it for today after a very bad nights sleep last night I am starting to feel it now, hopefully I will feel more energetic tomorrow. 

Another Man's Junk

Well as I said the other day when my husband cleared out the shed for his mother, some of the stuff would come in handy and it has already.  In amongst the various bits he sorted were some pieces of wood and huge selection of screws and nails.  He was very happy with these and most of them were still in the boxes.

 So when I was at a loss as to what to do with all the peas that are growing, having exhausted our pot collection (for now), he quickly put together this little frame using the wood, screws and string.  The trough at the bottom was also damaged and split so he repaired that as well.  To think I was worried at first that nothing would come up and now I'm wondering where to put things.

I let the cook know at school today that I will be needing more of those tins, she said ok so more planters to come there then. I have seen some ideas where there is a frame built on the floor that just boxes in the soil but it is not high, then there are frame sides with just chicken wire over them.  This may be an option for keeping the pets off so I can plant straight into the ground. However the good thing so far about having everything raised is that it seems to be keeping the slugs away, for now at least.

We have a few strawberries turning red, I'm not entirely sure how long to leave them until trying them.  I will have to research that, there are some odd shapes though and a few resemble boxing gloves.  Not that I mind as long as they taste ok, just wondering why they are so misshapen?

 Ok the one above on the right is the perfect strawberry shape so my husband said that one is his.

I have removed the runners now after realising they are taking energy from the fruit and we shall see if they take in the compost, then we may get more plants.  I should have done this sooner I now know but you learn as you go.

One lone tomato has appeared I hope it isn't going to remain lonely, there has to be a first I suppose.

Also looking forward to trying these, you never see yellow courgettes in the shops, or at least not where I shop.  Maybe in Waitrose? More variety perhaps in the posh shops.

Anyway whatever the outcome I am enjoying watching things grow and that is the main thing, it's quite exciting when the seeds pop up and I waited weeks and weeks for the lettuce thinking the seeds were duff and now I have loads of those too.  They just seemed to grow all at once, just as well because we get through lots of salad, and on that theme I'm off to cook the dinner.

Another Recycled Pallet Planter

Well the veg are growing so nicely that I am now wondering where to put them, things need to be transferred outside but up out of the dogs reach.  So currently I have large Kale plants on a sort of make shift shelf that my husband made, the chard is up on the hanging planter and now there is lots more purple kale and lettuce.

So we had another pallet and I asked if this one could be free standing and have legs, because if my dogs can reach they will eat anything.  I also had these large tins that the cook from work had been saving so they have hole drilled in the bottom and the front panels on the pallets were moved to fit these.

The whole thing has had a lick of varnish here as well, purple kale in the bottom and some lettuce in the top.  I had to stop at this point as I has ran out of compost, there are still eight kale and ten lettuce to repot as well as peas but I have been and got the canes and some pots for those today.  I am very happy with this to think is just made from items that would have been discarded and it has solved a problem.   I am not expecting to last forever but how many things do, maybe some upkeep on the frame.

These kale grow quite big so there will be another move at some point for these, with the younger plants going in here but they will be good for a while.

 The lettuces looked a bit sad after being moved but have perked up again now.

 How about this gorgeous flower on the courgettes, one opened the other morning and then it closed up and now this one today,  A lovely surprise when walking into the greenhouse.

We had intended a day at Bakewell today but as it was overcast and gloomy we stayed home and just had a walk and some lunch.  Also a long wait in the post office to post two dresses that were sold on ebay for a couple of pounds each, hardly worth it really but at least someone will get some use out of them.  I will stick with taking them to the charity shop I think,

Handmade Greenhouse Reveal

My husband starting building me a greenhouse late last Autumn using the hand made base he constructed for what used to be our raised fish pond, he has made me wait until it is completely finished before I show the pictures so here it is and I think he has done an amazing job.  Everything was made from scratch, using wood we had, sale wood and new wood at full price from  builders merchants.  He just made the frame as he went along tweaking things where necessary.

I thought I'd start with the finished item then work back.

It has two opening windows, one on the end and one at the side and the benches for planting are all built in.  We left the back wall without benched as grow bags will go there, we also opted to panel that wall as it just backs onto the garden fence anyway.

This was how it began, my husband drained the pond and cleared it out.

He cut a doorway at the side.

The beginning of the frame.

The bit of mesh you can see just inside the opening was to block the doorway when he wasn't working on it as the dogs wanted to go in there and use it like a toilet.

This next part took a bit of time, he was very thorough.

Starting the roof.

Making the benches.

Gravel on the floor.

A lick of paint.

Panelling on the back wall.

So on the roof he used dual wall polycarbonate and for the windows clear acrylic as it was supposed to be more efficient and safer than glass.   He has also added a mini guttering and a small water butt. In total for everything he had to buy it has cost roughly £400, I think this is amazing given the quality of what he has built and the price of flimsy greenhouses in the shops, I would say this is more of a garden building. Of course there were many man hours put into this project but he has enjoyed the process.