too exciting not to share

we got cabinets!

and then they got doors...

and in the sunroom too!

On a side note, what will I store in this cabinet? A gorilla? 

I might have gotten a little over zealous with that one. Objects in kitchen are larger than they appear. 

floored

The floors in our house have always been one of my favorite features, despite the charming angles at which they slope and despite the fact that my dogs are determined to add lots of "character" to them. They are old, wide heartpine floors that I love more and more the longer I live in this house.

According to my iPhone, I guess I don't value my floors as much as I thought because I have zero pictures focusing on just the floors. This was the only photo I could find that shows more than one or two boards peeking out from under a rug. Great lighting, I know.

Since we opened the wall in the kitchen, our contractor wanted to level out the floors as much as possible so it would look better not be extremely hazardous for anyone who walks in our house. The flooring at the end of our hallway has the most severe slope because it was once an exterior porch. To accomplish that, he had to rip up the existing flooring. As if that isn't enough, then he had to put in new subfloor and jack it up to match the other flooring. Oh, and replace the old with new flooring. I was hesitant about this, but the flooring in the back hallway never really was a perfect match with the rest of the original heartpine flooring throughout the house.  It now looks like this. Terrifying.

But, our heartpine flooring has arrived and it looks amazing.

I am so excited about these floors. Dork alert. They came from a company near Pittsboro, NC that uses reclaimed boards from mills, train stations, barns, etc. since the heartpine trees are no longer around. The reclaiming process is actually pretty interesting and you can read more about it here.   

They had to put a few boards down so they could put in the cabinets this week (major excitement!) and I am having a hard time envisioning how they are going to match up with the other ancient floor boards. Gotta have faith. 

Once we finish the kitchen and the back bar, we are refinishing all of the hardwoods in the house. This is something we probably should have done when we first moved in, but we didn't quite have the patience to start another project or wait another second before moving. Now all of the hardwood downstairs will be 7/8" and will be more consistent throughout. I am so excited to see how this turns out. 

I may turn into that person who makes everyone take off their shoes when people come over. Please no. But, I promise to at least post more before & after photos when there is actual progress to report. I know, I know. It's a total cliffhanger. Sorry about that boys and girls. 

bling bling

Hardware is like jewelry--it is a cabinet's best way to accessorize, a drawer's best friend. And after all my kitchen has been through in its long, betrodden life, I feel like it could use a real pick-me-up in the form of some new bling. 

My cabinet maker only wanted to work with two particular hardware companies, and of course neither carried the line of hardware I wanted  HAD to have. So, we all know what happens next. In true April fashion, I did what I only know how to do. For the past few years I have been completely obsessed with one particular line of hardware, which is way over budget and is almost always completely out of stock. Story of my life. So I moved on to the brass hardware by Nest Studio, which hasn't helped much in either department. 

via Nest Studio

I did have a torrid love affair with the idea of lucite and brass hardware, and I'm not sure it is officially over. But, for once in my life, I am not being ridiculously stubborn and am actually taking heed to the negative reviews some people have given to the brass/lucite combo in the kitchen. If a lucite pull were to break a month after this reno is over, in reality, I probably would go ape shit. So, perhaps not the best bet for me. Although let me wipe the drool from my mouth while I continue to ogle at it. 

via Sweet Home Charlotte

Moving on. There are so many great options out there, but this hardware spoke to me in a rather loud voice. 

via Smitten Studio

It wasn't so much speaking as much as it was yelling. Hello Gorgeous.

via Smitten Studio

More displays of beauty.

via Elements of Style

via Ryan Saghian

via Blair Harris Interior Design

via Chupik Properties and Design

And, for once in my life, it seems I may have chosen an option that is not a complete budget buster and is functional and practical. What are the odds? I was having a bit of turmoil over polished vs. brushed, but I think it is because I am in a perma-trance these days. Did I mention it is 110 degrees outside and about 95 in my house. Clearly not getting much sleep over here. Samples for the kitchen cabinets came in and brushed brass is the clear winner in my house. 

Top = brushed
Bottom = polished

Polished

Brushed

These are not the actual kitchen cabinets, it was just the only surface in my house not covered in sheet rock mud or dog hair at the moment. 

And lastly, in an attempt to at least show my cabinet guy I did really try to find some options from his hardware sources, I ordered two additional samples from his place. The top two in the first photo and the two to the far left in the second photo are from his source, Top Knobs.

They are perfectly fine, I just feel kind of ambivalent towards them. So, as no surprise to anyone, I am being hard headed and sticking with the option my cabinet maker did not say was an option.


Being the brass monkey that I am, I am also including a few other good men below. I think I may use option numero uno for the back bar in the sun room. 

1.

2. 

3.

4.

5.

6.

And since you clearly haven't gotten your daily fix of brass yet, here's one more last pop. Our contractor has been working so hard he literally knocked the door off the hinges. I'm not kidding. He was carrying in load after load of sheet rock and accidentally knocked the door to the point the hinge broke. But being the thoughtful person that he is, and also likely hearing my crazy voice in the back of his mind, he went and picked out these replacement hinges all on his own. Without my input. That took some major panache, but I couldn't have done it better myself. They even have cute little acorn finials which are so fitting given the 8 million acorns I pick up from our giant oak tree every fall. They came from Briggs Hardware, which is also kind of nostalgic, since one of the owners of Briggs used to live at one of my favorite houses at the corner of our street and, sadly, Briggs Hardware is closing in July. Lucky for you, everything is 50% off!

Total Gem

The kitchen project may have convinced me that I need to stop being so lazy and actually use a real camera. The quality of my pictures is embarrassing. I can't even tell if some of the counter top pictures are of marble or laminate. Sadly, I don't have the time to keep running back and forth to the slab yards for the 39th time, so I actually have to rely on these shoddy pictures. Note to self: find and use that camera you thought you had to have. 

Am I really going to be that person that totes around a camera?  The bag, the gear. Hello, it is 2015, where a selfie stick is a necessity, not a tripod or telescoping lens. Maybe I should just make the effort to actually clean my grubby little iPhone 5.

In the meantime, feast your eyes on these (blurry) beauts.

Azul Macaubas Quartzite

I know, I know. Blue counter tops. I can hear most of you now. "April, you'll regret that." "Do something more neutral. Something more mainstream." "Think about resell if you were to move." "Think about pretty much anything other than yourself because you are crazy and impulsive. Oh no, don't do something drastic. Jesus, you cut bangs on your lunch break last year because you were bored. You bought a bulldog without even thinking about it when you were hungover." The list goes on. 

I can see where this is going. These really are stunning though. You cannot deny that.

Tropical Blue Marble

And if they have the potential to make a kitchen look like this, sign me up.

image via Design Manifest

That counter top kills me. Acquias Blue Quartzite. Of course I haven't been able to find it anywhere in NC, but that is probably a good thing. I imagine it is not cheap. But it wouldn't hurt to just look. 

image via Design Manifest

Hot jambalaya

So this happened today...

I should have quit while I was ahead. 80 degrees sounds amazing right about now. I would take 80 until Christmas over this. Ok maybe not until Christmas, but I am so sorry I ever complained about that. I promise you, 80 degrees, if you just come back to me I will never say a mean word about you (to your face) again. Please!!! I am begging you!!!

It is bed time and I don't even need my electric blanket. Lucky! We are down to 84 crisp degrees. 

It's really not a big deal. For now, I am just pretending to be at summer camp and I'm pretty sure I'm about to write a letter to my mom to tell it's hot here and I hate it and I want her to pick me up. Pronto.  

This guy is also over it. 

the little things

Do you know what it is like to come home from a long day and feel like the hands down best thing that happened to you all week is that you got some sheet rock? Well I do. And it is amazing. And I also think that may be what is called rock bottom and it can only go up from here.

Not sure if any of you have been following the weather, so if not, let me fill you in.
It. Is. Hot. H. O. T. HOT. Chaud. Caliente. HOT.

We are currently plugging through week 5 of the renovation, so our kitchen has looked like a bomb shelter for a full 5 weeks. And the rest of our house has felt like what I imagine the inside of a bomb shelter that is on fire would feel like. I kid you not, it has to be 95+ degrees upstairs. Downstairs was a balmy 80 degrees every night this week. Perfect flannel pajama pants kind of nights. 

Back to why I am so excited about sheet rock...Since the kitchen was taken down to the studs (almost 5 weeks ago), it has been like bringing the outside in. I can honestly see, hear, feel, and smell the outside from inside my shell of a house. When a bird chirps outside, it sounds like it is on my shoulder. When a fire truck goes by, it sounds like it is in my brain. Which also means I can without question directly feel the lovely effects of this tsunami of a heat wave we have had the past few weeks. The clapboard siding on our little Queen Anne isn't quite as flush as it probably once was. There are legitimate gaps in the siding where I can see the outside. Pardon the embarrassing quality of this next photo, but if you look at the bottom right near the mass of wire, you can see directly to the great outdoors. Old houses are charming like that. 

I failed to take a lot of pictures, which is weird because I can't imagine why I didn't want to remember this phenomenal stage forever. But all of the insulation in the kitchen was taken out a few weeks ago so we have been just straight up baking in here like an oven for the past few weeks.

And this week all of that changed. There is light. We have insulation. We have sheet rock.  Look at it in all its beauty. I kind of want to go roll around in the massive pile of junk in the middle of the floor I am so excited. 

Maybe now our HVAC won't explode. I don't think it has shut off in 13 days and cannot get below 80 degrees. Now, finally, it won't be pumping cold air directly into our neighbor's back yard. What what! 

The way the light is shining in that window is just short of heavenly. The angels are singing. 

Clearly it is all about the little things at this point in my life.