Well, the Dreams  I had of making that L-Shaped kitchen layout into a functional galley layout were starting to finally come true as I began measuring and figuring out how I would go about it. Unfortunately, I didn’t take too many pictures leading up to it.

Before I started messing with the layout I did live with the kitchen as it was for a while; however, I did add some new hardware to the cabinets. I purchased more modern, stainless steel looking cabinet handles and hinges. I also painted the old dingy cabinets a fresh coat of white, semi-gloss paint. The walls were also painted too. I even put in a new light fixture overhead and replaced the old fluorescent unit.

Another big change was the microhood over the range. I took that out and put in a chimney style range hood. I’ve always wanted one and I found it for a great price on Clearance at Sears. It looks so sleek and sexy, just as I wanted the rest of the kitchen to look.

The pass-through to the living room and the one to the dining area had been completed at this point as well.

I wanted to do a slow kitchen reveal leading up to how I got to where I’m at, but I’m gonna give you a sneak peak. Do you watch the Nate Berkus Show? Well I do. He did interior design for Oprah years ago and now has his own design show. I submitted a before and after picture of my kitchen on his webiste under Share with Nate: Kitchen Proud. Check it Out Here. I’ve got a still shot from the site here too.

Merry Christmas to all! It’s been a while since I’ve posted. I’ve been busy working on a lot of projects and completing few. I must address the holiday season though. So here’s my Christmas tree. It’s silver and has a vintage feel to it. It’s supper snazzy and feels pretty retro. I’ve seen pictures of trees like this in vintage Christmas ads and pictures and thought they were really Nifty and Neat-O, so I checked on eBay and the prices were way up there, like $200 or more plus shipping on a lot of them. I couldn’t find any on good ole’ Craigslist either, so I thought I’d keep an eye out for one at an estate sale, but I didn’t have any luck. So one day in my travels I stopped at the local Salvation Army and they had all kinds of fake Xmas trees for sale. They were all green except for the one silver one that caught my eye. There was some sale or some percentage off and it ended up only being $20 so I was super stoked. It was my lucky day!

See how Pricey eBay trees can be:

Here’s a vintage ad…

I put it all together at home, but I was disappointed to see that it was missing one branch. I went back to the thrift store to see if they had it in their back room or something. No one could find it, but I knew everything would be alright. I knew what I had to do, I had to make a replacement branch, so I made one with wire and silver garland to look like one of the others in the same row. It worked and it looks great (I just faced that branch towards the back). Don’t tell!

I did however find a vintage white, felt tree skirt with sequined poinsettias on it at an estate sale. It was perfect! The tree topper I made years ago from a vintage Barbie that was missing her legs, lol. My mom had collected Barbies and had some that spare ones. Here she is all lit up

More progress ensues in the backyard as we go forward with the sidewalks that I incorporated from my design. The planter was now completed. You can tell it’s a little later in the season. Winter is here and the leaves had fallen off the trees, one of my favorite seasons because you get to see that bit of graffiti just above the fence on the back of the small apartment complex directly behind us; who doesn’t love a little urban art.

The citrus trees were planted now somewhat symmetrically along the planter wall in the protruding sections. I wanted to put those in right away so they could start producing fruit sooner. I was ready to have fresh limes to add a kick to all of my meals and enhance my Coronas and garnish my margaritas! The tangerines would be a tasty treat and add a pop of color to the yard!

I had help from my garden hose with the sidewalk! I designed the sidewalk in CAD first with the rest of the plans but I got got the undulating form by laying out an old hose, then I went around it with a screw driver and traced the outline as my guide to dig! A tip for you!

Also see that shed, it was Free! We picked it up at a yard sale. I forgot to take pictures of when we reassembled it, but there it is. It just needed a little touch-up paint.