Laura's Renovation Adventure

Before
After

We also made her a doll house for her American Girl dolls with an IKEA Pax shelving unit:
Her doll furniture is from a number of sources. The bed was a family project. The pink wardrobe is a Build-a-Bear product that we found at a thrift store. The dresser is a couple of unpainted wood pieces from Hobby Lobby that I stacked. The bench is from Salvation Army, as is the table. The hutch in the "kitchen" began life as a couple of jewelry boxes that I primed and painted white. The horse and the baking set are from Target.

I love American Girl accessories as much as the next mom, but my little darling is not terribly careful about her toys, so I don't want to always spend the kind of money AG requires. So we improvise. :)


Speaking of "improvise" you can see a "during" photo of the jewelry boxs' transformations.

We've hit a bit of a slow spot on the renovation. This summer, I've ended up working, which slows progress. Then there is the dissertation that demands attention.

We are determined, though, to do a few projects before summer is over. All involve a mad desperate trip that we made to IKEA last week. We now how a load of flat-pack shelving sitting around in the way.

Highest priority is painting my daughter's room. Her walls currently have the inexplicable wall treatment that you can see to the right. The lighter green goes about 3/4 of the way up the wall. Part of the wall paper border was gone by the time we bought the house (probably courtesy of the male college-aged renters who occupied the house before we moved in.)

 We'll be painting her room Benjamin Moore's Montgomery White. The color looks pinkish online, but is much more creamy yellow in real life. Miss O is not thrilled about such a plain color, but I am looking for a neutral that I won't need to re-do in a few years as her tastes change. She is, after all, nine years old, which is heading toward that "tween" age, and no matter what she likes now, she won't like it in 3-4 years.

The previous owners were older, and I am sure that contributes to some of the odd color choices. And I remember some of this cottage-y stuff being popular 20 years ago. But I cannot imagine why someone who intended to sell their home in this decade would have such stuff on their walls. Oh, and the border is nasty vinyl wallpaper. I am thinking it was intended for a bathroom originally? It really is awful. The top layer will just peel off, leaving the backing on the wall that has to be carefully scraped off.

After we get her wall painted, we are going to install the Pax wardrobe that we bought at IKEA as a house for her American Girl dolls, similar to this one. When she gets older, if she tires of the doll house, we can buy doors and she can just use it for storage. *IF* we ever finish, I'll post pictures. :)
Edited to add: I found another picture of the color we intend to paint Miss O's room on Apartment Therapy.

Our kitchen is next on my project list. My budget, though, is tight. I need to spend less than $1000.

The floors are in good shape. They are an attractive ceramic tile, which is nice. I don't think I want to do anything to/with those. Also, the appliances are updated. We bought a stainless stove and dishwasher in 2009.

The cabinets, on the other hand, are in need of help. They are decent quality and in good shape for the most part. They are not, however, attractive. They have oddly shaped inset panels. The pulls are in the center of the doors, which I understand is standard for fine cabinetry, but they are hard to use. The kids generally just grab the corner, which is wearing away the paint. (I'll post pictures later, but I have to clean off the cabinets first. Right now, I wouldn't let anyone see my kitchen in the state its in.)

At the moment, my plan is this:

• Paint the cabinets. I think an antique glaze might be a nice finish. 
• New hardware. I've picked out some iron hardware that looks nice. 
• Tear out the soffits and build shelves near the ceiling. 
• Add crown molding.
• Replace the countertops. I would love a granite tile, but ceramic is certainly an option. 
• Tile the backsplash.
• Possibly replace the sink.
• Paint the dining nook, which means that I need to do something with the wall and the wainscot.
• Replace the range hood.
• Build in the microwave, somewhere. 
• Revamp storage for my pans and lids.
• Update the lighting.

I've found some nice examples of painted cabinets:
(The following are from Emily Smith's Faux Painting site)




These are white with antique glaze...

I can't say that I am a fan of the wallpaper, though.



Kraftmaid has a finish that looks a lot like these. The question is whether or not my cabinets would look like this if I were to paint and glaze them.


The picture below is from Apartment Therapy. I love the fact that the cabinets are painted, but are a light colored neutral rather than white. And, of course, I love the green walls.
I'll probably end up posting lots of inspiration. Posting pictures of what other people have done is way easier than actually starting anything.