A Look Back at the Summer Projects of 2014

At the end of the summer I usually post the fun things we did, trips we took and so on. This year however, I decided to take a look at some of the projects completed during the summer of 2014. Oh but first let me update you on my vacuum cleaner situation. 

It has been resolved and I finally picked up my Miele this past Saturday. She is running beautifully and I was charged no more that the quote...sweet! The man I dealt with on Thursday when I ran over to pick up a loaner was very kind and apologetic for the entire situation, so that made me feel somewhat better. But to be honest, if I have any other problems with my Miele I think I am going right out to by a Shark! Many of you suggested the Shark vacuum and I actually had a chance to use one when my gal pal Pegs loaned me hers for a couple days. I loved the power of the suction and boy it really pulled stuff out of my  carpet I would have sworn was not there. So thank you to all who took the time to volunteer your advice...it really made me feel not so alone.

OK now lets get down to my project list. Starting in June I shared with you...

1. My $60 Dresser Makeover

And then in the beginning of July I shared my 

2. Guest Bedroom Reveal

July was a busy busy month. I was down the shore helping my ever so wonderful bestie update her new beach home kitchen on a shoestring budget. The one job I was assigned to was to paint the harvest gold kitchen counter top to look like granite

3. Transformation of a 1970's Formica Counter Top into a Granite Beauty

I also began the project of repainting and redecorating our living room here at home. This 

job is still in progress and I hope to share the reveal with you the beginning of next month. But in the meantime I did go a little stencil crazy with the walls behind our bookcases.

4. Beautiful Stenciled Bookcase Wall

Then the beginning of August it was back down the shore to help finish up the kitchen project at Donna's beach bungalow.

Can you believe this transformation for under $2100???

5. Beach House Kitchen Makeover

(We even painted some of the appliances with liquid aluminium to look like stainless steel.)

I still have this beauty to paint for our living room makeover...

...and new window treatments for the room's bay window. Things are coming along slowly but surely. 

Over the past weekend Mr. Rosemary Lane took on the task of painting the ceiling of our back patio. We still have to paint the studs and replace the screens. This project is kind of taking top priority because we want it to be ready to go for next spring, especially if it turns out to be an early one. (Fingers crossed)

It is going to be a gorgeous last week of summer for the kiddos so we are taking a few days and heading back down to the shore.

Hope your week is going swimmingly!

XO

1970's Kitchen Makeover for Under $2100

Hi Everyone and good morning!

OMGosh...it feels awesome to be back behind my keyboard blogging away after being away for the past week, and boy do I have a doozy of a post to share with you today! Myself and Mr. Rosemary Lane, along with our kiddies and my sister Kim, spent a fabulous week at the Jersey shore soaking up the sun and enjoying family time together. We were so lucky that my dear sweet friend Donna invited us to use her family's newly purchased beach home for a full 10 days. 

However before any visitors could come to the beach bungalow, Donna and her hubby spent the better part of the summer bringing their 1978 charmer into the 21st century. And the biggest challenge was that of updating the kitchen on one incredibly thin dime. I am not kidding you when I tell you that this kitchen could have been the poster child for the entire 1970's with its harvest gold counters, dark brown Formica cabinets, orange painted walls and mismatch appliances. 

Take a look at the photos from the property's MLS lisitng...

Pretty dated right? This room is enough to make anyone run scared at the mere thought of purchasing this home, that is except for my friend Donna. Talk about fearless...when was the last time you saw anything so unbelievably ugly let alone contemplate taking it on as a budget renovation? And the budget was tight one, but with a little ingenuity, a lot of elbow grease and one creative vision, this heart of the home was given stainless steel appliances, new wood flooring, a center island and granite counter tops.

But how could that be...right???

 I mean we all know the price of new appliances especially stainless ones. And granite counter tops demand a pretty nice penny too. 

Well it was done and here are the photos to prove it!!! 

Of course the first thing to do was to paint over the oh so very loud orange walls with a much more soothing gray color using Valspar's Premium paint. This driftwood gray color was also used throughout the main living area and hallway. 

(Tip: Using a uniform color in adjacent rooms helps to make the entire interior of a home seem much larger.)

The refrigerator, dishwasher and range hood are all the same appliances you saw in the listing photos. Yup not kidding you in the least, they've just been painted with liquid steel to look like stainless. Since Donna felt the previous stove posed a safety issue for the house, the decision was made to replace it with a new stove and oven. 

And instead of going through the time and expense of ripping out all the dark brown cabinetry, Donna painted them using a kit she bought specifically made to paint over Formica. She then bought all new cabinet hardware. 

The center island was fashioned using the microwave cart left by the previous owners, along with particle board covered with a granite looking Formica. Feet were added to the island to raise it up a little and for style. and the entire base and legs were painted black. A finished edge still needs to be added to the island top, but with that said the entire project was done for just $100.  

A new flooring laminate with an interlocking system was laid right over the old 1970's floor...no glue or nails needed. The kitchen is actually a pretty good size and the floor extends into the adjacent laundry room, so given the fact that there was a lot of floor space to be covered the price of the flooring was really pretty reasonable...it came in at about $900. 

Some cute open shelving was also added to the space along with new window treatments.

Donna and her hubby built the kitchen's farmhouse style table and then last week yours truly painted the skirt and legs and stained the top. The tabletop was cut from a larger piece of pine Donna purchased at Home Depot along with 3/4 round strips to bull-nosed the edges. Mr. Rosemary Lane cut and attached the 3/4 round to the table with an air gun and compressor. The six chairs were another thrift store find for only $50. They are slated to be painted white with a new fun and funky colored fabric for the seat cushions.

And finally the last big ticket item added to the kitchen was the new counter top finish. This again was painted on right over the old Formica top using a faux granite paint kit by Giaini. This was my project for the kitchen and I am still in shock over how fabulous the counters turned out...they really do look like granite! To see this transformation up-close and personal, just click here. 

Donna also painted the tile back splash with a special tile paint in which she added a little sand to for texture.

The breakdown...

The total cost of Giani liquid steel paint to transform the mismatched appliances...$79.95. 
The new stove came in around $500.
Kit to paint Formica...$79.95 by Giani
New cabinet hardware...$52
The Center Island total project cost...$100
The leather-topped stools were picked up at a thrift shop for $10 each.
The total cost for the new laminate floor came in at $900.
Farmhouse table project...$130
Six chairs for the kitchen table...$50
Open shelving and dishware...$25
New window treatments...$30
Faux Granite paint by Giaini...$69.95
Back splash paint...$25

Total cost for kitchen makeover...$2071.85 not including tax and shipping for those items bought on the internet.

Here's a side by side look...

 The kitchen came out looking fabulous and my oh my what a charming space. 21 Rosemary Lane was thrilled to be part of this transformation and we want to thank Donna and her family for allowing us to share the experience. 

Hope you all are enjoying these last few weeks of summer before the kiddos go back to school!

Have a great day!!!

XO 

Sharing this post at link parties hosted by these wonderful blogs...

Elizabeth & CO.
A Stroll Thru Life

Painted Bathroom Counter Top

Ever since we moved into our 1973 expanded cape cod I have been wanting to replace the bathroom counter top...well to be honest...what I have truly been wanting to do is gut both of our full baths! But as you would have it that is not in the budget, at least not until I can go back to work when the kids are little older.

Anyhow I had seen this counter top paint in good old Wal-Mart for only $20.00 a quart, and I decided why not give it a whirl. My old bathroom counter top couldn't possibly look any worse than it already did!

So here are the before photos of the counter top in our upstairs bath.

Gotta love the speckled laminate.

 Pretty ugly right? And there is no denying that the base cabinet definitely needed to be repainted.

Here are the supplies I used...

...first you need to lightly sand down the top with 120 grit sandpaper. Wipe up the residual dust and tape off the area around the top with regular painter's tape.

 

Then you open up the paint and give it a REAL good stirring. Just be warned that this stuff has a very strong odor...make sure windows are opened and the area is as well ventilated as possible. (I opened up several of the upstairs windows to create a cross draft.)

Apply using a dense 6 inch foam roller and then you will need a two inch brush to get the areas which can't be reached by the roller. The first pass did not cover the old counter top completely, so I had to do another pass. One problem I ran into was that my first coat was not completely dry before applying the second coat, and my foam roller did start to stick and break up while rolling on the second coat. To fix this I used a little Goof-Off to remove the pieces of foam that stuck to the counter.

This stuff needs 3 days to cure and nothing can be put on top of it during that time. Try to select days to do this when you know you have a string of very dry weather. Finally the old caulking was replaced.

And here is the end result...

 

 

 

I even went so far as to paint the frame of the mirror above the sink.

I purchased a applique and sprayed it silver for the center panel of the base cabinet to add a little style to it.

 

I am super pleased with the final look here. The black adds great contrast and really grounds the whole space. Definitely a less expensive way to give a new feel to a dated counter top!!!

Have a great week!!!

If you like this post please vote for me by clicking on the picket fence below...

Thank you!!!

Sharing at these parties...