Hey there! I'm finally back for an update on the kitchen renovation. A lot of progress has been made since the initial update I gave a few weeks ago, you can check that out here for a refresher.

The flooring is completely installed. We had initially thought we'd keep the tile in the entryway but I'm so glad we decided to put wood there too. We haven't caulked along the baseboards and touched up the paint yet.

All of the cabinets have been installed! We ended up changing our minds on the original cabinet plan and layout. The fridge wall was originally going to have two sets of drawer cabinets but when we put the second set into place it was just too crowded. It had also been the plan to have open shelving in that area. Pretty much as soon as cabinet installation started I knew that open shelving wasn't going to be the right fit for us. So I went back to Lowe's and we ended up ordering an angled 12-inch base cabinet, a glass front upper cabinet, and an upper wine rack.

I love the way the updated cabinet design worked out! It finally gave me that "jumping for joy" feeling. :) I maybe clapped. And then ran to grab a bottle of wine to put in the rack!

We've also added all the appliances back into the room. It's been nice to have the microwave and fridge back in their spots. The old ugly fish eye lights have been replaced with LED can lights. I also finally decided on a countertop. Loren sort of left the counters up to me and I went full on crazy lady trying to make that choice. But! I did it, and the counters should be installed this week.

Still on the to-do list is picking and installing a backsplash and cabinet hardware. Also, picking out a faucet! Haha! :) The trim work still needs to be installed as well. Hopefully we're just a few weeks away from being finished. I joked and said hopefully we'd be done by our birthday (mid-July) but it's actually seeming like a real possibility! Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Have a good week friends!

Love,
K

How to Install LED Recessed Lights

While we've been working on our kitchen it became very obvious that our existing lighting was not going to cut it. We had these fish eye lights which are useful if you want to direct light in a specific direction but a bit unusual in the kitchen. Also...ours were filthy. An electrician was over to do some different work and mentioned that I could replace the fish eye lights with these LED recessed lights. I hadn't heard of such a thing but took a peek next time Loren and I were at Lowe's. Take a look (link here)...

The nice guy at Lowe's gave me a quick run down on how to swap out the lights and then Loren gave me some step by step instructions. BUT! I swapped them all out on my own! I feel pretty accomplished about it, but it truly is super easy.

First things first, turn the breaker off for the area you're working on. Then take out all the existing lightbulbs. Now you're ready to actually switch the light fixtures.

Next step is to remove the old light. For our lights I just had to get a grip on the trim of the existing fixture and then tug on it a bit. It can feel like you're pulling on the lights too hard but they're just held in place by some metal spring type things. Once you're done it should look like this.

Up next, take the portion of the new retrofit lights that looks like the bottom of a light bulb and then screw it into the socket.

Now all you have to do is tuck the socket and wires up into the opening in the ceiling. Once everything is in place, push the light into the housing. Again, there are friction clips that hold the light into place so just push it into place and make sure it's snug and not moving around.

That's it! Once you get all the lights in place, you can turn the breaker back on and admire your handy work.

I love how the lighting looks in the kitchen now. And since the new lights are LED we shouldn't have to change them while we're still living here. :) Being so close to the ceiling did make me realize that it probably needs to be painted sooner rather than later...that's thrilling news. If you're in the market for some updated recessed lights I'd encourage you to check these out, and let me know!

Hope you liked this little tutorial today! Enjoy the rest of the week friends!

Love,
K

The Easiest DIY Pillow

You know how sometimes you see blog posts or ideas on Pinterest that make it seem like the craft/DIY project is so easy? And then you try it, and it's so difficult or needs $100 worth of supplies and in the end it still looks a hot mess. Well, good news. I tried a making a pillow out of placemat and it was the easiest thing ever.

We've been working on getting the computer room organized and not looking like such a disaster zone (update on the room soon), and I wanted some new pillows for the loveseat. Since Loren uses the room the most, I've been trying to make it a room that's his taste. His taste is inexpensive. :) I saw these placemats on clearance at Target for $2.48. They're not on clearance on the website so check your local Target if you're interested.
The back of the placemat is lined with a solid grey fabric so that's what made me think this was a good candidate for turning into a pillow. I got my seam ripper out and split the seam so I could fit my hand inside to allow for pillow stuffing.

I was fortunate to have a huge box of poly-fill from another project so I didn't have to buy any this time around. I just stuffed the pillow until I felt like it was sturdy, then added just a bit more so hopefully it'll maintain the shape well. 

After stuffing all that's left was to stitch the opening back up. I am NOT good at sewing but I can reattach a button or close a seam so if I can do it, you can too. It's not beautiful but no one will see it and if they do, who really cares?! Nice friends won't care. :)

That's it! It took me about 40 minutes to do both pillows and I was on the phone for a portion of the time so you could probably get it done even faster if you really wanted to. 

 

So there you have it, isn't the tassel trim cute?! Proof that sometimes Pinterest projects work and don't cause you to swear or spend a ton of money! Thanks for reading, and good luck with your DIY advenures! 

Love,
K

*First photo from Target.com