Renovations

I thought for a long time about what I wanted my second post to be about. I decided on one of my passions. That is decorating. My mother is a self taught interior designer.

She has helped me acquire a good eye for design. I also studied a lot of art growing up so I have a strong grasp on color and composition. What I decided to share today is my own home makeover. The pictures I'm including are a little old, but they will help get my point across.

I think people are scared to tackle large projects. My husband and I bought a fixer upper townhouse in 2009. Everything needed work. As you can see from the pictures it was stuck in the 70s and 80s.

We didn't have enough money to fix and replace everything at once. So we made things fresh. Here is a brief description of what I did and the helpful tips I learned.

First to strip wallpaper there are devices you can buy at any hardware store to score the surface. You roll them over the paper in a circular motion. Then I sprayed them down with a mixture of 1 part liquid fabric softener to 2 parts warm water. After I let it dry it peeled off relatively easy, but in some spots I did have to go back over the backing paper with spray and scrape a little with a plastic spackle applicator. Then I just wiped the walls down with a little water and a small amount of Dawn and then repeated with just a damp rag.

The cabinets were another story. They got scrubbed with a solution called TSP that removes grease and wax build up. Then they were scrubbed again with Dawn and water and then just water. All the hardware was removed and soaked in TSP and water over night. Then they were scrubbed with a toothbrush. This included the hinges. We took all the doors off and drawers out. I sprayed all the wood down with Killz oil based primer.

I did inside and out and it took quiet a bit of time and cans, but it was quicker than hand rolling. The second coat was Benjamin Moore oil based white paint that had to be applied with a sponge roller so there were no brush marks. The hardware got sprayed three times with Rustoleum in one of their metal tones. I wanted them to look stainless. A helpful tip is to stick the screw in some foam to spray.

The walls were painted in a soft neutral tone. In fact all the colors on this floor were from the same color strip because I read that in small spaces they feel larger if you use a similar tone through out. I used Benjamin Moore's line called Ben in a flat. Some people like semi gloss in kitchens because you can wipe it down easier, but I don't like the way it looks.

My final money saving tip is if you have a small space and you need flooring look for remnants. This kitchen floor with installation only cost us $50! You can't beat that.

Our kitchen is actually due to be completely renovated this summer. This however made it feel clean and beautiful for the last 4 years. We obviously replaced the stove and lighting, and since this the fridge, but it probably only cost $700 even with those changes.

I like to call the design French Countryside.