How to Create a Beautiful and Functional Kitchen

If you are thinking about renovating your kitchen, you will want to read this post. It could save you a lot of money and frustration in the long run. As an interior designer, I've seen a lot of badly designed kitchens.



Kitchen design takes careful planning. Did you know there are recommended linear feet of shelving that depend on the size of your home and household?

Our Flagstone Floors

It's been a while since I talked about the floors at our beach house.  Some of you may remember that we bought a beach house about three years ago that was full of rot and mold and rat poo.  Because, everybody wants those things, right? I know you're going to be feeling jealous when you see this picture, but don't hate me, okay?  Not everybody can have all this....

It had been a foreclosure that sat empty, then someone had tried to renovate and flip it, but had only gotten as far as taking a sledge hammer to much of the drywall.  Rats had moved in. Moisture was taking it's toll. This house was a big mess. At the time, I thought the floors were kind of terrible, too.

What to Expect from a Home Energy Audit

I recently shared why we decided to get an energy audit for our beach house.   We LOVE our beach house, and being able to share it with our family and our friends, but the west side of the house was cold, not energy efficient, and cost a fortune to heat.  We knew we needed to do something, but we wanted to make sure we made the best use of resources to make improvements.  Sooooo, we had an energy audit done.

This is what you can expect if you are planning to have an energy audit done for your house.

The Three Best Reasons to Have an Energy Audit Done on Your Home

Earlier this year we had an energy audit done on our beach house.  This was pretty much the coolest thing ever!

If you have never had this done, I would encourage you to look into it!   We had three reasons for doing the audit:

What You Should Know Before You Start Your Kitchen Remodel

This is a re-visit of a popular House Revivals post, with a few updates. Enjoy! 

A popular topic in on-line forums and on blogs is kitchen design.  All the amazing new cooking shows have contributed to the interest, as have many of the real estate and decorating programs on cable TV.  And, I have to tell you, there is a lot of great stuff out there!

Before Pictures of our New Project

Are you ready to see some interior shots of our newest project?  I can't promise you your eyes won't burn.  This condo has some truly ugly spaces.  Did I mention that there is pretty much not one finish in this condo that I like? 

Here is the fireplace wall.  Somewhere along the line, someone gave it a make-over by tacking on a tiny little mantle that is totally out of scale and out of place.  But, it is a real fireplace, and that cosmetic stuff can easily be addressed.

 This is the bank of windows adjacent to the fireplace wall.  A great view can make up for a lot.

Our Newest Make-Over Project

We signed our closing documents today for our newest project!    It's another condo in our building -- right in the middle of a big city, but right on the edge of a lake and wetlands.  The seller signs tomorrow, and hopefully the rest of the closing will go smoothly. (closings are different here -- sellers and buyers don't sit down together, and you usually sign a day or so before the actual closing)

I was waiting to share more on this project till the closing was completely finished, but I was too excited, so here is a peak of the views from the new condo.

Fixer-Upper City Condo Gets a Toilet

Well, we did it.  We really bought the condo.  The fixer-upper in the city.  The one with NO WORKING bathroom.  Are you detecting a pattern here?   We were at least able to put in a toilet last weekend....

Of course, nothing is ever easy, is it?  This is our condo bathroom.   The previous owner bought the condo to renovate and flip.  Unfortunately, his only experience consisted of watching people fix houses on TV.

He decided to remove the tub and put in a huge custom shower. 

Clearly, he had no idea what he was doing.  When he enlarged the shower, he needed to move the rough-in for the toilet.   I am a huge fan of DIY, but if you don't know what you're doing, SEEK INFORMATION, do some research, go to the library, search the internet, ask for advice at the hardware store.  The information you need is out there. 

This poor man did none of those things.  He moved the rough-in for the toilet too close to the wall, too close to the lavatory plumbing, and too far from the water line for the toilet (which is now on the wrong side for most American toilets).  Basically, he made a big mess.  We were able to find a small toilet that just squeaked into place, and we cobbled together a longer water line, but....

... first we had to remove this, rotate it slightly, and replace it.  Bless his heart, the previous owner didn't quite understand that the toilet would sit at an odd angle to the wall, the way he had it rotated.

There is still a ton of stuff to do to make the condo even remotely livable, so having a working toilet will be nice.  And there's a sink in the kitchen.... 

On a really off-beat note, we found out the story behind the boat that was parked in our boat slip.

As you may know, there is a marina under our building, and our condo comes with a boat slip. 

Since the unit was a foreclosure, and sat empty for several months, an enterprising boater who owns a different slip in the same marina decided to lease our slip out.  We honestly don't know whether to laugh or be shocked.  Of course, the other boat slip owner is in a bit of a pickle, now that we own the slip that he is leasing out.  We have suggested that he "honor" his agreement to allow the boater to rent the slip through October, and donate all of his proceeds from renting out the slip to the Boat Owner's Association.  Do you think he'll take our suggestion?

Cottage Kitchen Transformation

Are you ready for the bad MLS kitchen's third act?   We went from hopelessly wonky and off balance to serene and functional on a crazy tight budget in the last post.  Now we've stepped it up a notch to create a sweet cottage kitchen.   Here's a peak!

Last week we addressed the layout of the space, trying to make it more functional and more balanced.  Remember what we started with?  The space had that wonky sink, window, cabinet setup, and there was not adequate storage, and that giant fridge crowded  anyone using the sink, and overlapped a window!

The other half of the room had no cabinets at all -- just open shelving that added to the cluttered appearance of the space.

We tried to keep the imaginary budget around $1000, and ended up with a space that looked like this.

The new space is very balanced, and the layout and storage issues have been addressed.  This kitchen is attractive and functional.  For an explanation of what we moved, where we moved it, what we added, and why we did it, go here.   For about $1000 the difference is remarkable!

This week, we've taken the same kitchen and stepped it up a couple of notches.  Do you remember that this house is a cozy little bungalow in a historic neighborhood?

Well, we've taken our cue from the age and style of the home to create the second option.  The second option involves some additional sheet goods, hardware, and paint.  Oh, and more labor!  Not a problem for a veteran DIYer, right?

It's the same layout as before, except we've bumped out the new base cabinet from the wall a few inches and added a butcher block top, some bun feet, and a curtain.  It makes it feel like a built in hutch! Simple corbel brackets were added underneath the wall cabinets, and open cabinets were added above. 

We've also added an end panel to the window seat to create a little entry area off the back porch, with a place to hang a jacket or a dog leash.  This makes the window seat a cozier spot to curl up in, too!  We added beaded board paneling to the entry area and the cabinet sides for a touch of hominess.

The second option even provides a built-in solution to the microwave!

So, what do you think? Can you see yourself in this kitchen?

Do you want to see the before and afters again?

And the other view of the space...

I think I might be tempted to read the afternoon away in this old-fashioned version!

The cottage kitchen version of the make-over should run a DIYer around $1500, while the other version would run around $1000, with careful shopping.  Not too shabby, when typical kitchen renovations cost in the tens of thousands!

Let me know what you think about this type of "make-over".  Do you want to see more?  Would you be interested in seeing a series of "bad MLS kitchen make-overs"?  I love your input.  Also, be sure to check out our new facebook page!  The link is in the sidebar.

This post is being linked to the following lovely blogs:
How To's Day at The Lettered Cottage
Between Naps on the Porch Met Monday
Just Something I Whipped Up at the Girl Creative
I Heart Naptime with Chocolate Sundaes
Under the Table and Dreaming Sunday Showcase
Funky Junk Interiors Saturday Nite SpecialFingerprints on the Fridge Feature Yourself Friday
Somewhat Simple Strut Your Stuff
Transformation Thursday at Shabby Chic Cottage
Transformations and Treasures at Pink Postcard
Vintage Thingie Thursday
Paisley Passions Thrilling Thursday
A Little Birdie Told Me at Rook No. 17
A Glimpse Inside
Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts

Before and After Party at Thrifty Decor Chick
Whassup Wednesday at Elements Interiors

Good Intentions, Bad Additions

Well, we're still house-hunting. We even drove by some condos and townhouses last weekend. It's a little disheartening. Real estate in our new city is much more expensive than the Boulder area was. I'm actually thinking about this house that I wrote about on my other blog, here. Not because I love it, but because maybe I can afford it. Maybe. It's definitely preferable to a condo under a noisy bridge. But, seriously???!! Why would someone think this addition was a good idea?