Nexus Brown Cabinets with Walnut Countertops from IKEA

I just happened to check out the new link IKEA sent me this week for their kitchen planner at planyourkitchen.com and I stumbled upon a pleasant little surprise!

FINALLY, they have the cabinets we bought for our new kitchen PAIRED up with the countertops we ended up making a quick decision on. I have been googling all kinds of stuff to give me a visual on how they are going to look together. We put the samples together at the store back in November upon making a decision, but I haven't been able to visualize it sense...hence the excitement to see this picture:

Whoo-hoo-hoo! I like it.

Our handles are different than pictured and our flooring will actually be just about the same as the countertops. I haven't finalized a backsplash yet...originally I was going to go with something "whiteish" as pictured...but I wasn't sure if it would be too big of a contrast. I kind of like it now that I see it in the picture. Decisions, decisions!

Suddenly I'm no longer tempted to rip open the boxes of countertop we're storing here behind our couch (it's too cold to store them at the church house).

IKEA or bust!

We've planned, planned, and planned some more for our trip to IKEA in Twin Cities, Minnesota!  Twice a year, IKEA offers up to 20% off kitchen cabinets, appliances, and some accessories.  Hoping to be moved in by May of next year, time was of the essence to get in on the deal that ended at the end of November.



The trip took just about every ounce of energy, creativity, enthusiasm, and too many other things to think of out of me to even blog (and barely facebook) about. Almost caught up and a series of unfortunate events followed...so sorry for the delay.



Don't get me wrong. I loved, loved, loved living at IKEA for 12 hours straight. My feet didn't love it and neither did my Type-A husband. And, I have to be honest, I was in creative overload when I left...to the point I didn't want to decorate or plan a single other thing in our house. But, that soon passed.

The kids started out at IKEA with us and my parents, seeing the stress mounting, grabbed them and headed to the Mall of America next door. After visiting the showrooms, we STILL had not made it to the Kitchen Department to meet with our planner, Eva Davis. Now the kids were back and time to eat lunch at the IKEA cafe
where Lingonberries and Elder Flower Beverages are a must!


The afternoon continued and continued and continued. With our kitchen plans finalized and payed for we ended up basically getting 3 appliances for free with the savings (or so Eva Davis told us....she's smooth). Making the trip with a moving van ready to take everything home, we weren't about to NOT make the most of the trip and shop around other departments. We found some super sweet deals in the damaged section, and found the the bathroom cabinet and sink I wanted were on sale. And wouldn't you know, IKEA just started a super sweet deal on 15% back on sofa purchase that I had to take advantage of.

Kitchen Planner - Eva Davis

With the trip behind us, I can't really remember everything we ended up getting. I just know we starting loading the truck at 7:30 pm and were eating supper back at the motel by 9pm in complete delirious exhaustion. No wonder I lost my phone that night at the restaurant!



Can't wait to put this IKEA stuff in our new home...

Kitchen Plans from IKEA

I've been dreaming and planning our future kitchen since we visited IKEA Twin Cities a few months ago. IKEA has a great 3-D Kitchen Planner on their website that I've been using but can't seem to save my plans as a jpeg, so I can't share that, but what I can show you is something that I've found to be even more enjoyable and useful for me.

Tucked in the back of the "Kitchen & Appliances" Brochure I brought back from IKEA, I found the cutest little "Paper Doll" type tool to plan out my kitchen.

I can't believe I never noticed this before the 50 other times I thumbed through this catalog-sized brochure. I like it even more than the 3-D program! Who knew?



So here it is! I took a picture to show all of you. My kitchen plans:



This is looking at it while standing on the east side of the house facing west. Below it will be a living room, bedroom, and stairway to the upper level. To the right of the kitchen is the bathroom, laundry, and entry. (Shown below)



For the cabinets, I'm hooked on the Nexus Black-Brown finish.



I think it's yummy.

For the countertops, we purchased some marble that was in the former High School locker rooms. I don't have pictures but it looks a little like this:



I'm undecided on wall colors, but a nice blue or green will probably win.

As for flooring, I'm in love with this:


Cheaper version:


Put it all together, and you get a little something like this:


Now, just to get to that point. Here's a little picture that proves we are doing SOMETHING other than planning:

Okay, sort of proof.  That is my babe driving the Bobcat to town so we can haul some junk.  Just know, we've hauled A LOT of junk lately and a couple of peeps have even showed up to help. And now, the basement is almost COMPLETELY DE-constructed!!

Victorian Family Heirlooms

So, I grew up with a Secretary in our house. It was so confusing when I applied for a job as a Secretary and found out it involved more than just standing in a corner, holding stationary and office supplies while displaying antique glass pieces. I had never seen our Secretary answer phones and make coffee!!!

Ok, ok. I eventually figured out that the Secretary in our house growing up wasn't the same as the Secretaries I met in business offices. And yes, I now know the politically correct term is "Administrative Assistant." Had that term been around as a child, I could have avoided a lot of confusion!

So, back to the Secretary in my parent's home. Apparently our Secretary has been part of our family way before I came into the picture. In fact, our family Secretary served my grandparents and their grandparents. I will refer to the Secretary as a she as men were most likely not Secretaries during the time she began her occupation.


As far as I can figure, this elegant lady was born sometime in the early 1900's. Her birthplace is unknown, but she served someone by the name of "Grandma Wright" until...

"Grandma Wright" passed her on to her son Nelson in 1936.

From there, she served Nelson until passed on to his son, Orville.

Orville then sent her on to live with his daughter, Opal (my grandma).

After Opal's passing, she went to live with my dad, Keith in 1973...a short time before I was born.

It's all recorded right here on her passport (last names blurred for security purposes):


Where will she go next you ask? Well, I think she might go to stay with my sister. Somehow she has staked a claim on her. Which is ok. Neither one of us get too bent out of shape over material things.

But for now, look at how she so diligently serves my parents.





Pieces she displays include:

1. Hand-Painted plate owned in 1913 by an ancestor on my mom's side.
2. Glass pieces from my Great-Grandma
3. Bowl from another Great-Grandma
4. Blue bottle, spoon, and ink well were found on the property of my parent's Victorian Home.
5. Other gifted collectible items including Cranberry Glass (some Fenton) and Hull Pottery.





Doesn't she serve their home well?

10 Steps to a Thrift Store Footstool Ottomon Makeover

I told you I'd be back with another made-over item for my bathroom!

I found this not-so-cute little footstool under a pile of items that didn't quite make the cut for our the thrift store floor. I almost missed it!

I've only done a couple of small re-upholstering projects, but this one looked simple enough, so I nabbed it up.

Here's how I turned this "Out-dated Ottomon" into a "Fresh Fleur De Lis Footstool" in ONLY 10 Steps!!















Footstool / Ottomon: FREE. (I made a small donation to the New Image Thrift Store regardless).
Fleur De Lis Upholstery Fabric. $5.82 (33% off at Hobby Lobby)
Pom-Pom Trim: $2.00 ($1/yd at Hobby Lobby)
Spray Paint: Leftover from another project

Total Project Cost: $6.82

See how nicely this goes with THIS:



What project are you working on in your home?

This week's project is linked up at:

Victorian Home Renovation Before. During, After

This week I'm featuring the "Sitting Room" or what is now known as "the Fireplace Room" in my parent's renovated Victorian Home.

To accompany my post, I have pulled out some before pictures for your complete appreciation for the work put into "this old house."


I think there's even an ex-boyfriend in these pictures somewhere. I was informed he is in quite a few renovation pictures, great.

Yes, my high school years involved coming home to seeing the latest renovation project in progress.



We moved into the home when I was a freshman in high school on the contingency I would get the room with the balcony and get to decorate it any way I wanted.


Between stripping wood floors, tearing down walls, putting up wallpaper, etc. and ALL of my school activities (athletics and speech & drama kept me very busy), my parents managed to make EVERY event, have supper on the table (or sawhorse propped plywood) as a family most of the time, and still take time to tuck me into bed (yes, I still enjoyed late night chats with my mom laying next to me when I was in high school). They are pretty super.

Well, that was way off track, I got a little caught up in the memories.


Anyway, hope you enjoyed the BEFORE pictures of the Sitting Room. Here's what it looked like the first time they renovated (and still in process):




Here's what it looks like now, a little less Victorian, a little more Cottage:


An electric fireplace added this year. More on this some other day.


Another Eastlake Piece, a Game Table:


The window is complete and lets in the sunshine from the back porch that was once upon a time enclosed. The curtains are from Dollar General, by the way. And the beautiful Secretary (the wood piece with mirror) is a family heirloom.


I would love to hear your comments! Which home do you like, Before, During, or After? Did anyone spot the ex? Blogger Sarah, "How Should we Love?" is in there, too! Look around, make yourself at HOME.

Ugly Thrift Store Mirror Makeover

When i saw this ugly mirror sitting in the "Dirty Room" at the New Image Thrift Store where donations come in to be sorted, cleaned up and placed in the "Clean Room" until ready to put in the store, I saw a new life being revived for this old 70's (?) plastic, brown-framed reflector. Whoo, that was a mouth-full.

In short, I saw an ugly mirror and I thought I could make it pretty with a little spray-paint. (Even the "Before" picture is ugly...sorry about that)



Do I need step-by-step or is it self-explanatory through pictures?


The basics:

1. Cover mirror part with something to keep spray paint from coating.
2. Coat with Rustoleum Plastic Primer Spray, follow directions.
3. Spray frame with your color choice of Spray Paint. I used Rustoleum Multi-Purpose Gloss Black Spray.
4. Remove mirror protector (I used cardstock) and razor blade any paint that made its way onto the mirror.
5. Clean the mirror, Hang it, and look at your beautiful self reflecting back at ya!

Price of this Make-Over:
Mirror: Free, it was going to be passed on to Goodwill.
Paint Primer: $4.99 (enough leftover to use for several other projects)
Spray Paint: $4.99 (enough to use for the next 2 projects)

Heads up...this mirror has served as inspiration for me to make-over two more items and add them all to my bathroom. When they're all complete, I'll post pictures of my bathroom!

Linking up with Funky Junk (because I used to have a store with the same name):