Kitchens |

Things I Would Do to My Kitchen (if I could do it all over again)

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Christy

As most of you know, we’re pulling up stakes and moving in just a few months, and so it’s time to look back at what I’ve accomplished around the house in the almost-tw-years that we’ve been in Nashville. All in all, I’m pretty proud of what we’ve done with this house.

The kitchen was by far my biggest job, and all of that hard work definitely paid off:

{all credit and thanks for this photo goes to Alise O’Brien, photographer, and Bonnie Broten, field editor and stylist, from Better Homes & Gardens Kitchens + Bath Makeovers magazine}

BUT, if I had a little bit more time, there are some things I’d add to the mix. And if I could go back again, there are a few things I’d do differently.

Here’s what I’d add:

1) Get rid of the flat ceramic cooktop and put in a gas cooktop. The wall that the stove is on is an exterior wall, and there’s already a gas line to the house for the hot water heater and the heat, so it shouldn’t be too hard to have that done, right? Everyone knows that gas, with its quick ability to raise and lower temperature quickly, is what real chefs want. And I, although by no means a “real” chef, have always loved cooking with gas.

photo credit: Alise O’Brien

2) Get rid of that recirculating exhaust hood (what’s the point of that?!) and vent a big old hood to the outside. Preferable white and custom built, but that’s just me. I know I could build a gorgeous one!

3) Add some open shelving and/or glass-paneled cabinet doors to make pretty displays of all of my white dishes. Like Amy did here:

4) Add under-cabinet lighting. This makes such a big difference, but it’s hard to appreciate until you’ve had it in one of your kitchens. Then it’s hard to ever go back.

5) I’d also find a wine fridge that fits into the island, and pop off one of the cabinet doors to make room for it. Wine deserves its own fridge in our house!

Here’s what I’d do differently:

1) I’d find someone to spray my cabinet doors and drawers, or else I’d probably pay to buy new ones–at least the doors–no need to replace the boxes. The painting was a pain in the rear and it seemed like it took forever. I love how much money I saved, but sometimes money spent is well worth it for time saved.

2) I might even change the color of the cabinets from white to–gasp–pale gray or light blue. Now, that is a change that is best made when one intends to stay in the house for years, because not all buyers want kitchen cabinets that are such a decisive color, but wouldn’t that be fun? Maybe with nice crystal knobs?

3) I would adore marble countertops, like Amy’s, even though I’m not sure she’d do it all over again {more about that HERE}. They are so pretty, though! How about marble on the countertops that go around the wall, and butcher block on the island? LOVE!

The good news is that I’ll have another house to decorate in a few months. I’m always drawn to kitchens that have already been remodeled, but doesn’t that take some of the fun out of it? Maybe I should start looking at horrible oak cabinets, 80′s wallpaper (there is still plenty of that around!), and brass fixtures. I love a challenge, after all!

If you could wave your magic wand and fix your kitchen up, what would you do first?

Believe it or not, this post is sponsored by BlogHer and Home Depot, but the opinions (and the plan for my kitchen) are entirely my own!

Thanks for stopping by!

Posted in Before and After, Kitchens | Tagged cabinets, kitchen, planning | 9 Comments

My Kitchen~~In A Magazine?! Why, Yes, Thank You, It Is!

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Christy

So, yesterday after church, I dragged the kids to Barnes & Noble to see if the Spring 2013 issues of Better Homes & Gardens Kitchen + Bath Makeovers was on the shelves (not that I’ve been checking every day or anything strange like that). Well, yesterday, it was there!! That’s MY kitchen on pages 48-53, the one that took me almost five weeks to paint and redo! And, oh my goodness, it looks WAY better than my kitchen looks in real life. How do they do that?

As I mentioned on our 11 Magnolia Lane Facebook page, at this point I proceeded to embarrass my kids. They’re 12 and 9, and thus at a very embarrassable age (I know that’s not a word, but you know what I mean). Apparently, when your mom makes the cashier admire the magazine with her, that’s embarrassing. Kids, just wait until I whip out the black knee socks with my flip flops in a few short weeks! Just for you!

I wrote a post about the whole photo shoot process last May, but I’m going to rerun it below for fun. The biggest thing that’s changed in the months since the shoot is that the Better Homes & Gardens “Special Interest Publication” that I was featured in changed names, from Real-Life Kitchens & Baths to Kitchen + Bath Makeovers. Here’s the cover of the issue I’m in:

And without further ado, here’s the post that talks about the whole process:

Woohoo! It’s done–except for waiting for the issue to come out. The team from Better Homes & Gardens Real-Life Kitchens & Baths Magazine (say that five times, fast!) descended on Nashville last week and, after shooting some fabulous, high-end spaces, they came to my humble abode. So what did I do? Headed to Disney World, of course, with my family!

Real-Life Kitchens & Baths features kitchen redos done on a budget

Seriously. I wasn’t here for what will probably be the one-and-only photo shoot of my entire lifetime. Because as luck would have it, they decided to come to town during the ONLY week in the first half of 2012 when we had plans…plans we’d made last November, and paid for last December. The hubby will be gone for work all summer, and next summer we’ll be moving again, which always means no vacation, so we didn’t have many options but just to go to Florida!

I called in reinforcements–two of my bestest friends, Carolyn and Andrea–and asked them if they could “be me” for the day. Here they are:

Carolyn, Andrea, and me, at one of our military formals

We’re not normally dressed like aging prom queens…here’s a real-life snap:

Carolyn, me, and Andrea

Yes, we’re in a ladies’ rest room in the above picture. Where else do you hang out with your girlfriends?!

So, these two dear friends drove to my house early in the morning to meet Bonnie Broten, the editor who “discovered” my shoestring-redo of a kitchen here at 11 Magnolia Lane (read the redo posts HERE and HERE, or check out our truly magazine-worthy old kitchen HERE). She was accompanied by the photographer and the photographer’s assistant. I had left them a sparkling clean kitchen and cleared the counters of everything that made it look like people actually USED the kitchen!

Prior to the shoot, I sent Bonnie lots of pictures of “props,” also known as “stuff I have collecting dust in my cupboards.”

She and the editors had decided on pink as the accent color to make my beige and white kitchen “pop.”

I left all the props on the dining room table, and left the crew and my girls some snacks and a fridge stocked full of water and soda. Then I snuck out of town!

While the pantry wasn’t included in the shoot, I still feel like a new woman after tackling that dreadful space and making it awesome!

I can’t show any of their photos, of course, because that would spoil the surprise, but the girls did shoot a few behind the scenes snaps for me.

Carolyn and Andrea report that much of the work of a photo shoot involves lighting the shot, checking it again and again on the computer and having it approved via internet before snapping the final pic. They texted me to get the password for our wireless network, but other than that, I didn’t hear a peep.

I love how the area that’s being photographed is *perfect* and there’s a perfect mess everywhere else! That’s exactly what I do when I’m taking pictures!

Those gorgeous peonies were on their last legs when we made it home from Florida, but they sure were pretty in the shoot!

The pink cushions were just for the shoot…this is what I usually have on my chairs:

There were a few minor hitches, of course. The valance over the kitchen sink took about an hour to get draped and folded just the way they wanted, and the seagrass pendant shade over my kitchen table was hanging just a little crooked. Andrea weighed one side with a metal clamp from my husband’s workbench and all was well…

Not everybody was happy with the fact that our kitchen was going to be in Better Homes & Gardens. The cat was most definitely pissed (there’s really no other word for it). He wanted to sleep under my bed and access was DENIED all day long!

Angry Kitty!

In the end, the girls and I decided that it was probably God’s plan that I be out of town for the shoot because they’re not sure I would have handled it well (as if!). I promised them that when their kitchens are photographed for BH&G, I will help out while they go to Florida to relax!

They’re not sure exactly which issue we’ll be in, but chances are that it will be Spring of 2013. That timeline is typical–you always hear about magazines shooting Christmas spreads in May and June–but of course it’s hard to wait.

I can’t thank Bonnie and her team enough (and of course Carolyn and Andrea, too!) for all their efforts.

Thanks for stopping by!

Pin It

Posted in Home Inspiration, Kitchens | Tagged Better Homes & Gardens, kitchen, magazine | 15 Comments

Painted Tile Backsplash in My Kitchen–A Year Later

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Christy

First of all, we have a giveaway winner. Thanks to all who entered the giveaway for the vinyl house numbers, and congratulations to Kathy S., who said, ”Love following you on Pinterest..such a neat idea!!!!! Would love a set of these house numbers!” Well, girl, it’s your lucky day. Check your inbox because I just messaged you. To everyone else, thanks for playing. We’ll do another one soon, okay?

*******

If you’re like me, sometimes you wonder how projects hold up over time. Remember in late 2011, when I decided to paint my ceramic tile kitchen backsplash on a whim? My reasoning was that it was going to be torn down and replaced anyway, so why not try to paint it first? I had nothing to lose, after all. It’s been almost 18 months since then, and I’m happy to report that it still looks great and I still love the look. The photos above and below were taken today, and the backsplash still looks terrific.

If you haven’t read the saga of my kitchen redo, Part 1 is {here} and Part 2 is {here}. If you’ve been following for awhile, then you know that the finished product caught the eye of Bonnie Broten, editor at Better Homes & Gardens Kitchen + Bath Makeovers, and the kitchen was photographed for the Spring 2013 issue. I announced that big news when I showed you my pantry redo {here}. By the way, the magazine is due out on newsstands literally any day now, so keep an eye open for it!

When I finished part 1 of my kitchen redo, the tile backsplash was its original brown/tan color. Here’s how it looked:

It was okay, but not great. Our previous home, in North Carolina {here}, had white subway tile in the kitchen, which I loved. I planned to take this tile down and put that up, but then I decided to paint it first, just in case I liked it and could save myself some time. I’m so glad I decided to give it a try!

Here’s the after, part 2!

I talked about the process in Part 2 of my kitchen post, and here’s the section about painting the tile:

“After I painted the walls, I turned to the backsplash. I read up on painting tile, and decided that I really had nothing to lose, because I was already planning on taking the backsplash down. Why not try to paint it first and see if I could save time and money? The brown of the tile really clashed with my countertops–they have some brown in them but they’re really more gray. The warm and the cool tones right next to each other really bothered me (my husband thought I was nuts about that, although he admits that he likes the result).

First, I scrubbed the tiles really well. TSP works great, and I also used rubbing alcohol to degrease the tiles. Next, I had to wait a day or two before priming to let the grout dry (I HATE to wait to start a project!). I tried to sand the tiles but they were too hard to really get roughed up by the sandpaper, so I was sure to use a primer for glossy surfaces that specifically mentioned ceramic tile (Zinsser Bulls-Eye 123; although sometimes I use their oil based primer in the gold can, too). I primed with one coat, and then applied two coats of oil-based paint. I bought a quart of Behr from Home Depot, tinted to match White Dove at half strength. I used a brush to prime and paint–you really have to work a bit to get the paint into the grout and a roller just wasn’t cutting it. Plus, I have some decorative tiles that needed extra attention. While I think I should add a clear coat at some point, I’m really happy with how it’s turned out, and I’ve been able to wipe splatters off without removing any paint.”

Here are a few more “after” shots, taken today.

I have NOT put a clear coat on top of the oil-based paint, and I haven’t needed to. I chipped a tiny piece of paint away when a silver platter hit it, but I filled that in with some extra paint and it covered it beautifully. To clean it, I just used a damp sponge, although if I have a lot of splatters I use a spray cleaner (I make my own or use Method ones) and the abrasive side of the sponge. Splatters and grease wipe away easily and the oil-based paint is incredible durable.

The bottom line is that if you want to paint your tile, then I think it’s an incredibly fast, easy, and inexpensive way to change things up a bit. Let me know if you have any questions, and thanks for stopping by!

Pin It

Posted in Before and After, DIY, Kitchens | Tagged backsplash, ceramic, durability, kitchen, painted, tile | 7 Comments

Dining Room Tables & Kitchen Tables?

Posted on January 25, 2013 by Amy

One thing we did shortly after moving in our house was switch our dining room table with our kitchen table.

Our switch was more of an experiment, but I liked it so much we’ve kept it that way ever since. Recently I have spoken to several people who have done the same thing so I no longer think it was that strange of a thing to do!

Here is the same table {above it is in our dining room} shortly after we moved in still in our kitchen {below}.

Not only had our family of five outgrown our round, designed-for- four kitchen table, but anytime we had company we had to eat in the dining room. Sometimes that seemed too formal and just too much trouble for a casual meal. Since we have more casual meals then formal meals these days this seemed like a good solution.

Even New Year’s Eve –the best picture I can find of our dining room table actually in the dining room– with six adults here we had to camp out in the dining room rather then hanging out in the kitchen, which was a little strange because at every good party, don’t you always wind up in the kitchen?

By the way, yes that’s Christy and our friend Robyn {we covered her stairs HERE} and they are drinking {THESE} if you are interested!

So, this switch meant saying goodbye for now to formal sit-down dinners. I loved the spacious dining room in our old house, it held a ton of people and while we lived there, we definitely put it to good use.

{This is our former dining room, same table, in our old house, set for a dinner party, the post is HERE}

So far this change has been a good solution. In fact, we haven’t missed having a formal dining room at all. If we weren’t planning on moving, I had envisioned this room becoming more of a library anyway. I even started adding books into my former china cabinet after I moved all my china to my Butler’s Pantry.

So, I am curious. Anyone else feel like they could repurpose their dining room? Anyone else already made the move? Tell us your thoughts…

XO,

Pin It

Posted in Home Inspiration, Kitchens, Real Spaces | Tagged butlers pantry, dining table, dinner party, entertaining, hospitality, kitchen, kitchen table | 6 Comments

{Amy’s} Updated House Tour

Posted on January 21, 2013 by admin

One of the nicest parts of blogging is that I have a permanent record of all the houses I have {recently} lived in. Of course the reason I haven’t shown every room in our current house is because every room hasn’t been whipped into ‘perfect’ blog-worthy shape.

However, I have done some updates and the time has come to pull some photos together in one place. We’ve been in this house over a year now, and while I still have a long list of things I hope to do, we’ve come a long way from our move-in day.

So the first thing you notice about our home is the large front porch and the pretty lake we live on. Here it is decorated for spring–I can’t wait for warmer weather to arrive here so we can enjoy this space again.

In the front door…

To our front hall with the forever in-progress Gallery Wa ll.

On one side of the stairs is our Dining Room with its blue ceiling. {Read more HERE}

Through the hallway to the left is our Butler’s Pantry {Read more HERE}.

Behind the Butler’s Pantry is our little Guest Bathroom and guest room.

Across the hall is my Office. {Read more HERE}

Down the hall into the Family Room, here is a picture since I haven’t posted about the entire room yet.

The family room is across from our kitchen {Read all about our kitchen HERE}.

And our adjoining breakfast room with the $30 hutch I remade, you can also read about how we did our open shelving HERE.

Heading upstairs you will find our daughter’s room {Read more HERE}.

And our laundry room {Read more HERE}.

Here is one of our upstairs bathrooms, this was such a fun project {Read more HERE}.

Here is a shot of our boys’ room. They used to share it, but we recently separated them so their rooms are also still ‘in progress’.

Here is a picture of our Master Bedroom {Read the ‘in progress’ post HERE}

So, thanks for hanging in for all that! Since you did, I am going to share a little secret. A few weeks ago, after much consideration my husband and I have listed this home for sale.

Without boring you with details, we have loved living in it, putting our spin on it, and living both on a lake and near the beach, but this area isn’t our home. And the time is right for us to return to what is home in our hearts, where we have family to lean on and dear friends to enjoy.

{So, if you know anyone looking for a house in Virginia Beach please send ‘em my way! 11magnolialane@gmail.com}

In the meantime, the focus of my home projects has shifted a bit and we’re actively searching for our next {and hopefully forever} house. I am excited at the thought of having a new home to decorate, and expect that will mean I will have plenty to share!

Thank you, as always, for stopping by.

Sharing at~

Pin It

Posted in Bathrooms, Home Inspiration, Home Tours, Kids Rooms, Kitchens, Real Spaces | Tagged bathrooms, bedroom, home for sale, Home Tour, kitchen, lake, moving | 5 Comments

Christmas Shelves

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Amy

I have to be honest, it doesn’t feel exactly right to write about holiday decor and other lighter topics yet. My heart still just hurts from the events of Friday, I expect it will for awhile.

I was reminded in church yesterday that Jesus was born into a dark, dark world. The spirit of the holiday is to find Joy in Him despite the darkness, and not let evil overwhelm the celebration of the miracle that is truly Christmas.

We were already attempting a simpler Christmas even before the recent events in Connecticut. We’ll be traveling for the holiday, and this year I already felt that I needed to focus more on our family and less on striving for perfection in the decorations, the food, the perfectly wrapped gifts, etc. I also wanted to take time to enjoy it and be less overwhelmed then I admittedly have been in years prior when I owned a custom Christmas Card business and it was CRAZY at this time of year. I actually cut things like Christmas cards off my “To-Do” list, I am thinking in this era of Facebook and being a blogger most friends hear enough from me! It’s been easier then I thought to actually do less, and I am finding I am enjoying doing the small things more this season.

I have decorated a few “statement” parts of the house rather then trying for perfection everywhere. The first thing I did was decorate the open shelving in my kitchen, we built them in January so this was my first chance to inflict some holiday spirit on them!

The advantage of having a white kitchen is I can swap out my seasonal decor. The pops of red in honor of this time of year definitely stand out in the otherwise mostly plain white room.

On the lower desk area {which I don’t really use as a desk for whatever reason} I added the hot chocolate fixings per Terry’s inspiration HERE. The kids had a great time making their “To Go” hot drinks Saturday night before we surprised them with a trek to see the Holiday Light festival at our local oceanfront.

Note: we apparently picked the busiest night of the year and after an hour and a half of waiting in line in our car the kids voted on a Christmas movie at home in favor of returning on a less busy night, Oh well!

So, no fancy holiday mantels or Christmas trees here this year, my kids decorated both spaces and I am just leaving them just as they are {OK, maybe I have tweaked an ornament here or there }. In the meantime, its been just a blessing to be home, be with family and know that the best part of the season is still to come.

We’ll be joining in the Blogger Day of Silence tomorrow in honor of the events at Sandy Hook Elementary.

XO,

Pin It

Posted in Christmas, Holidays, Kitchens, Winter | Tagged holidays, hot chocolate, kitchen, open shelving, Red | 1 Comment

Pantry Makeover {Organizing Life}

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Amy

I don’t know if this happens to you all, but sometimes I start a project get to a point with it, and then it stalls for awhile. Then, suddenly something falls into place and suddenly, I get crazy motivated and just can knock it out. Such is the case with my pantry.

Since we moved last year, our pantry is a little on the small side.

I don’t mean to sound ungrateful–I have a pantry after all–but this was our former pantry {funny, I used to think this was “organized” but compared to the beautiful ones out there now, it just looks a mess} it was large, a walk-in space, and it held a ton.

I really am trying not to grocery shop every day or two, which I tend to have to do when I am not organized and don’t plan our meals. But without a lot of storage space for food, its hard to really stock up. So trying to deal with this issue, I got motivated last spring and spent many hours on The Container Store and other websites looking for ways to make this small pantry more functional for us.

I got to this point {above} with it, I added some organizers and put corkboard on the door and added a nice recycling bin, but then couldn’t decide what to do to make it “pretty”. After all when one of your best friend’s pantry looked like this….

and currently looks like this…

Yes, in my world the bar is HIGH! {which I mean in a good way, the best part of blogging with inspirational friends is the positive motivation }

So, I thought about painting the back wall but the shelves don’t come out and that would require much taping–just too much work for a small space. So, I also thought briefly about stenciling but again, that would have been a lot of work for a place where the door is closed 99% of the time.

So I just did other things in my home for the time being.

Then last Saturday morning I stopped in my local TJ Maxx looking for something–don’t even remember what–and saw this shelf paper.

At this point, I whip out my phone and text Christy and Terry “Look at this great shelf paper! What color do you want?” because I can’t keep a good find to myself. And, I tweeted this find for you all, too. {Make sure to follow us @11magnolialane on Twitter so you don’t miss out on any of these goodies}. I bought several rolls not even knowing which one I wanted to use but knowing that shelf paper was going be the perfect way to jazz up my pantry.

Within an hour my kitchen looked like this.

But it took very little time until my formerly white, plain-jane pantry looked like this.

It was so easy to stick up on the walls and made it so much more interesting inside.

So, I did do a small bit of purging then put everything back in neatly and in a more organized fashion. Ta da!

I did add another shelf way up high, something I had also been meaning to do. Its ugly and wire, but I had it laying around and I wanted to use all the wasted but hidden vertical space above the top shelf.

It holds things I need to get to very rarely, like extra plastic bags, wax paper, plastic utensils etc. and it’s out of sight.

Here is a shot of my counters after–just to prove I didn’t have an extra stash of food still to put back in the pantry after I photographed it. I actually can’t believe that I didn’t.

And, if anyone is wondering, here are the tricks that got me to this nice, neat space.

The best advice came from one of our favorite girls, Ashley, from Mini Manor. In her kitchen organizing post she brought up the brilliant concept of “not moving the baking [insert baking supply here} I use rarely to get to the {insert word here} I use daily”. Since I read that, I keep all my baking necessities in another cabinet, in a basket that I just pull out when I actually bake, which isn’t very often. Only what we regularly is stored in my kitchen pantry.

I used as much vertical space as I could. You can find the can rack HERE and the canisters came from IKEA. The risers are available at Bed, Bath & Beyond, The chalkboard labels HERE.

I made use of the door space as best I could. I added a rack to hold plastic cups and water bottles for the kids. Their lunch boxes are in what is actually a rack for plastic wrap from The Container Store, I flipped around and used to hold lunchboxes which freed up a ton of space on the shelves.

I also covered the door panel with adhesive cork board with shelf paper. Its so much prettier now and it holds my shopping list and lunch menus.

If you are someone who likes before/afters…here is our transformation.

So in celebration, I have decided to gather up some of my favorite organizational supplies and give them away! I will announce what they are and begin the giveaway on Saturday, so be sure to stop by then.

In the meantime, thanks for visiting.

sharing this makeover at~

Pin It

Posted in Before and After, Closets, Organization, Pantry, Real Spaces | Tagged chevron, organization, organizing life, pantry, shelf paper, storage | 13 Comments

The Real Story On {or Pros & Cons of} Marble Countertops

Posted on September 12, 2012 by Amy

I apologize to those of you who have emailed and asked when I would follow-up on my first post on my kitchen about the “pros” and “cons” of having white carrara marble counters in the kitchen. We have actually had them for almost a year in our {not so} new house now, so I thought it was a good time to give an assessment for those of you who are considering installing them.

Before I get into what having them has been like, let me say that the countertop fabricators will scare the life out of you if you want to install them. As I was told, they will not warranty them, so you will get what you get as far as damage, stains and scratches.

Let me also mention, for those who might be wondering, we paid a minimal upgrade for these over granite. I was told they are a natural stone and despite information to the contrary are not “that much more expensive” then other stone surfaces. Every area may be different, but that was a nice suprise. We also would have preferred “honed” {as honed doesn’t show scratches as much} vs. the shinier polished look we wound up with but had to go with what was in stock.

After much thought on what to say, the best way I can put it is that I still LOVE them and there is nothing out there like them. I can’t imagine any other type of stone would give my kitchen this same look and feel.

But are they a bit of a pain?

Yes.

Absolutely.

In my next house {or my forever house} if I have the chance to have even more control over the kitchen {we had a very short time frame to build, read more HERE}, I would probably use a different material at least on the sink/island area.

I really like to cook, so my counters get a lot of use. I have three kids, and frequent guests, so something that can handle spilled grape juice, spaghetti sauce and the worst culprits of all acids like lemon juice, orange juice and lemonade in the sink area might have made more sense.

I knew what I was getting into, don’t get me wrong.

But, here is a bit of what I have learned over the last year…

Water may leave a small mark but its not really that noticeable once they are sealed.

Don’t ever, not even for a second, put a lemon martini on the counter without a coaster on New Year’s Eve, even the tiny bit of acid around the bottom will etch a lovely ring in your brand new counter.

Guests do not really care that their red wine glass will leave a mark on your counter. I have also learned that since I don’t want my guests having to worry in my house, I am going to get stains on my counters.

Most people who come in your house will remark that your kitchen is really pretty, different, nice, etc. They may not care, or even know what marble counters are but the counters do add something “special” and still kind of unique and that’s kind of nice.

Don’t wear a belt and lean over your counter. Ever.

Unless you want a chip in your counter.

Marble has quite a bit of veining, so some of the spills and marks mix in with the natural colors in the marble and you won’t notice them. Our marble has this large white vein which I knew about before it was installed. I like it, I think it adds character.

Pay a professional to seal your counters. We did not, and its not really a fun job and not something I am looking forward to doing again. The better they are sealed, the less staining you will have.

Use sheets of glass (or something) to help protect the counters. We used some glass we had on hand to the right of our sink {the area shown above where I do most of my cooking prep} and in the desk area and they give us a “worry-free” zone.

Marble counters will get scratched, stained and marked up but they are still –in my opinion– really beautiful. After the first few scratches, stains and marks, its not such a big deal and you learn to let go.

To summarize, this is my take…if you are the kind of girl {do we have guy readers? If so, sorry} who doesn’t mind the pain of high heels and the extra time it takes to put on jewelry, these counters are for you. If you don’t like the hassle, I might suggest going a different direction.

As I remind my husband often, nobody ever said I wasn’t high-maintenance.

Like my counters

XO,

stay in touch via…

Pin It

Posted in Home Inspiration, Kitchens, Reviews | Tagged carrara marble, kitchen, marble counters, new kitchen, white kitchen | 5 Comments

Organizing and Projects Recap

Posted on August 15, 2012 by admin

Hello, and welcome to everyone who has jumped over from I {Heart} Organizing today. We couldn’t be more honored to be featured there today!

We are three friends who started blogging together almost two years ago, just for fun, and since then it has grown into a great way to stay motivated, creative and productive. Christy and Amy both moved to new homes this year and have been working hard to make them feel like home. Today we thought we’d recap some of our favorite 11 Magnolia Lane projects.

{You can view a shared tour of our homes HERE}.

Before we jump into our home projects, if you have never seen our In the Kitchen with 11 Magnolia Lane series, take a look while you are here. Its probably our best organizing tool–because it answers the “what’s for dinner?” daily dilemma with menus, recipes and shopping lists designed to keep you from feeling crazed every evening. Terry comes up with a healthy, delicious menu each season, so the new Fall menu will be coming soon.

Back to some inspirational eye candy… since this pantry seems to be a Pinterest favorite, we’ll start here. Christy tackled her small pantry in her historic NC home, not only organizing it but jazzing it up with ribbon, chalkboard decals for shopping lists and mason jars to contain her staples.

Another great idea from Christy’s old kitchen was this week-at-a-glance wall calendar, made from peel and stick chalkboard panels. What a great way to keep the week’s events front and center!

Week at a Glance Wall Calendar

Then, after relocating to Tennessee, she didn’t let wire shelves get in the way of making her New Pantry just as pretty as the rest of her newly redone kitchen. {Her complete kitchen makeover is here, Part 1 and Part 2}. And, we all agree every pantry needs a chandelier! Right?

Shortly after moving in and overhauling her kitchen, Christy tackled her new laundry room, you can see that post HERE.

Terry also undertook a major project earlier this year, turning unused space in her basement into her Kids’ Learning Center. It’s tucked right next to her desk/workspace so the kids have a dedicated area to work on homework and art projects away from the rest of the house.

As Jen mentioned, Amy just finished a huge project. Her Mom’s recent birthday gift was a makeover of her basement work/craft/sewing room. The complete post on that project is HERE.

Thank you for visiting with us today, and thanks again, Jen, for featuring us. We hope you will stop by 11 Magnolia Lane and visit with us again soon!

Amy, Christy & Terry

S T A Y I N T O U C H!

{click to connect with us}

Posted in Before and After, General & About Us, Home Inspiration, Home Tours, Organization, Pantry, Real Spaces | Tagged about us, Home Tour, kitchen, laundry room, learning center, organization | 5 Comments

Kitchen Hutch Makeover {Craig’s List Find}

Posted on July 27, 2012 by Amy

I am jumping right to the “After’ for this, but after months of searching, I finally found the perfect piece for my kitchen on Craig’s List. It was perfect in size, look and best of all–price, it was only $30!!! It had been donated to a church, and it was even relatively close by, I couldn’t get there fast enough to pick it up.

I have been looking for something like this since before Christmas, so #1 Craig’s List lesson learned– have patience and the perfect piece will eventually appear-and maybe even for a bargain price of $30!

Once I got it home, I unfortunately discovered that it had an unappealing odor (perhaps even from smoke) as well as the lovely, typical, thrift store/mildew smell. After some google research, I tried every tactic I found that would supposedly eliminate the smell–leaving it in the sun for a few days, cleaning it well, wiping it out with vinegar, using odor blocking primer and sanding it very, very well.

It smells perfectly fine now, so something worked.

I chose the paint color Benjamin Moore’s Silver Bells, a nice pale gray. I wanted to coordinate the hutch with my white cabinets but have it still feel like a furniture piece. Ideally, I would have used chalk paint, but there aren’t any retailers here at the Beach, and unfortunately I completed the project just before my visit to Janet’s store. Chalk paint would have certainly saved quite a bit of work.

I also wanted to use chicken wire to add interest, which was one of the reasons I was happy to find a cabinet that already had glass doors (and easy-to-remove glass at that). I wasn’t sure where exactly the chicken wire would go, until my son accidently broke one of the glass inserts for the side. I may even eventually replace all the glass with the wire because I love how it looks.

The hardware on it was already perfect, and its even has a light in the top section if I ever want to use the fixture. It adds some nice (and needed) storage to our kitchen, and for $30 plus some paint, I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.