installing_herringbone_cork_floor

One of the best decisions I made in our kitchen renovation was adding cork tile flooring. I was exuberant when Globus Cork agreed to work with me on my kitchen renovation! Now that they are installed, I am in total love with the cork flooring. It is warm, water resistant, cushy under foot, attractive, and best of all the two tone tiles help tie the different wood floors in our home together.

chevron_matching_wood_tones

The light pine flooring in the living room matches nicely with the lighter natural floor tiles. And the darker golden oak color tiles match our darker heart pine floors in the rest of our home. It’s as if the differing wood floors in our home are woven together in the kitchen.

weave_two_wood_tones

The installation of the cork tiles was fairly easy (if you are precise). The prep work was a bit tedious, but worth the effort. Read more

drywall_up

I’d rather not say that I’m seeing the light at the end of this long renovation tunnel (for fear of jinxing myself.) But, I definitely have caught a glimpse of the finish line. Last week my kitchen designer emailed me to let me know that my cabinets will be arriving soon and could she schedule us for installation on March 25th? I seriously might have let a four letter word escape my lips as I read her email. I mean, yes I’m happy, but there is no way I feel ready! There’s still so much to get done before the cabinet installation.

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how_to_survive_without_kitchen

I’ve been asked many times how we’re surviving without a kitchen. I have to admit, there were a few weeks of adjustment for us, but now things are humming along relatively easily. We have a makeshift kitchen and a dishwashing set up that works for us. But, living without a kitchen is a bit like being on SURVIVOR. Come on in and I’ll show you the behind the scenes peek into our lives and share some tips to help make your kitchen remodel a little easier should you choose to take on the challenge! Read more

seriously_what_else_can_go_wrong

That’s what I was thinking today. Ever have one of those days, where you feel like life sucker punched you in the gut. And then when you started to stand up it pulled the rug right out from underneath you? Well, sometimes that’s how my past few months have felt. But, in the grand scheme of things, it could be MUCH worse (as my plumber said after telling me a horrendous story about a couple that hired a house sitter who proceeded to burn the house to burn to the ground.)

But, let’s back up a bit to recap some happenings with our kitchen saga. And we’ll focus on some positive kitchen progress (so I can ignore the negative for a brief moment.)

First, can I get a little applause for my success in getting a building permit for our renovation? I was so nervous, but it was really no big deal and it only took about 20 minutes of palm wringing and nervous leg shaking (as I wondered if they’d kick me out of the office because I’m not a “professional” contractor.)  Plus, I was also able to interview the director of Building and Planning of Wake County and asked him a ton of questions about permits. I’ll be sharing his answers to my inquiries soon. Read more

Can I get a huge cheer and a big raise the roof sign on this project! This was the project that took FOREVER because of a few speed bumps: pneumonia, mono, water leak, mold growth, asbestos discovery, and finally being evacuated from our own house. Slowly but surely I was able to transform our bonus room into an amazingly creative art and craft studio for us to enjoy. I gave you the low down on how easy the Flow Wall was to install yesterday. But, I’ve been teasing you and I know you definitely want to see the after pictures.

Before you get the 10 cent tour, let’s take a look back in time at what the room used to look like: Read more