Heidi’s Kitchen Reno — Budget Wise Home
March 15, 2012

Grout is in!

Last night my husband and I finally mustered up the courage to do the grout.  I’ve been putting it off for a while because I knew it wouldn’t be a fun process.  I’m not going to lie, it was a MESS!!  It took lots of muscle and patience, but now we are one step closer to finally being done with our kitchen.

After many weeks of agonizing over the color, I ended up going with a medium gray.  Not too light and not too dark.  The color is “Smoke Gray” from Lowes.  I bought this grout tool at Home Depot and we just went to town.

 

It was a work out to get it in and make sure there were no empty spots.  Here it is before we started wiping it off.

This process took a while.  We worked in sections because the grout starts to dry a little bit.  I wiped it down 2 times last night.

Here is the result this morning.  Now that the grout has dried a bit, I still need to do another wipe down and get the remaining grout film off the tile.  But it’s starting to show signs of beauty.

 

 

All that’s left now to do in the kitchen is some touch up painting, caulking, and cleaning.  The end is in sight!

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March 6, 2012

Grout Color?

For days (Ok, weeks) I’ve been agonizing over the grout color.  It’s sad that this is the kind of thing I lose sleep over.  I knew I wanted to do a gray grout, but there are so many shades of gray.  I’m not sure whether to go darker or lighter.  I’m leaning toward the darker and my husband is leaning toward the lighter. He doesn’t love as much contrast as I do.

What do you think?  Lighter:

or darker:

I need to decide soon because we have to get this project done.

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March 5, 2012

Installing a Subway Tile Backsplash-Part 1

Sorry I disappeared last week.  I spent the latter part of the week installing our backsplash with my father-in-law.  It went very well and I’m excited to show you the journey.

We started with this adhesive and some basic tile tools from Home Depot.

 

Basically, you just spread the stuff on and then go over it with a ridged trowel to create grooves.  The grooves help the thinset to get into the back of the tile.

Just scrape back at a 45 degree angle and you’re good to go.  Just try to keep the layer as even as you can and work in small sections.  Not too much and not too little.

Here is where we started.  I had to buy a few rounded (bullnose) edge pieces for the end and along the top edge of the exposed wall.

We used one eighth inch spacers between each tile.  It was a bit of a learning curve, but once we got the hang of it, it was pretty smooth sailing.

 

The trickiest part of the whole process was cutting around the outlets.  We used a tile marking pencil for this.

Just hole the tile up to the outlet and mark where you need to cut.

Then it’s time for the wet saw.  We rented this from Home Depot.  The rental cost was just under $50.00 for 24 hours.  I have to say, this part was fun!  I’ve always wanted to use one of these things and it was surprisingly VERY easy.  Once you get everything hooked up, you just place the tile down, secure it, and slide it in and out of the blade.

 

 Just snap out the small piece after you cut.  The corner won’t be a perfect cut, but the outlet cover will hide any imperfections.

 

You can see the top pieces are cut smaller to fit under the cabinets.  You just work your way around and make the cuts as you go.  It takes some time, but it’s pretty straight forward.  Apply the thinset (glue) directly to the back of the tile when you’re working in small or tight spaces.

 

The tiling part is done and now we need to do the grout.  More fun for me!

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February 14, 2012

A Peek

The cabinet doors are back on and the hardware is in place.  Here is a peek.

 

 

 

The butcher block counters are cleared off and everything is piled onto the island.  So far we’ve got 2 coats of Waterlox on the counters.  Just 2 more coats to go, and then a few more days to let it cure.  So I still have a week to go before I can actually regain my counter space and live fully in my kitchen.

 

After just oiling the counters for about 2 weeks, we realized that we needed a better finish.  Oil keeps the wood from drying out, but it doesn’t protect the wood from water and spills.  That is just not very functional for our family.  I didn’t want to constantly worry about wiping the counters and have to upkeep with sanding water spots and applying the oil every week.  The answer to this problem is “Waterlox.”

 

It’s very smelly and you need to apply 3 to 4 coats (once every 24 hours).  You are also supposed to let it cure for a week after applying the last coat.  It takes some time, but it’s very easy to apply.  When all is said and done, the counters are sealed and have a varnish type finish that is resistant to liquids.  This stuff has also brought out the rich color of the butcher block and it looks amazing.

Let’s check a few things off my to-do list:

  • Seal the counters
  • Paint the doors
  • Install the back splash
  • Attach window molding
  • Make the roman shade

 

The only thing left is the back splash!  I’m actually really excited to do this.  I’ve seen tiling done on TV a million times, and I’ve always wanted to try it out myself.

 

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February 13, 2012

Kitchen Cabinets–DONE!

It was a whirlwind of a weekend for me.  My awesome husband took all the boys camping and left me here alone to finish this kitchen.  I did enjoy some nice quiet time, but I worked my tail off to get the cabinet doors painted.  It turns out that the paint sprayer I bought was a total bust.  I spent the whole day on Friday trying to make it work right, but the finish was horrible and the day ended up being a total waste (ugh!!).  But you learn from everything, right?!  I tried so hard to avoid painting each door by hand, but at this point, that was the only option I had.  So I set up shop in my kitchen.  I laid down a few drop cloths and propped the doors up on boxes.

 

I used a nice Purdy bristle brush to cut into the corners and edges, and then used a Whiz foam roller for the rest.  I did two coats each on the back and the front.  I sanded them lightly between each coat with a 100 grit sanding block.  Sanding between coats is KEY for getting a smooth finish.  I’m not gonna lie here.  This was a huge project and took a LONG time.  My paint is oil based, so drying time took at least 5-6 hours between coats.

Here are a few things I’ve learned from this experience:

  1. Wait for a warmer, dryer season to paint kitchen cabinets.
  2. Use oil-based paint for cabinets.  The finish is so much more durable and you need that in a kitchen.
  3. Wear gloves!!  If you don’t, you’ll be scrubbing your hands for hours trying to get this stuff off.
  4. Plan on setbacks, mistakes, and imperfections.
  5. Plan on things taking a lot longer than you thought to complete.

 

Tomorrow I’ll give you a peek at how everything looks so far with the doors back on.  It’s really starting to come together!

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February 9, 2012

How to Make a Roman Shade-Part 2

Ok, I’m finally back with part 2!  Let’s dive right in, shall we?

After the tube tape is sewn, the next step is to attach a board to the top.  This doesn’t come with the kit.  You don’t need anything big or fancy here.  Just get a  1 x 2 board cut to the width of your shade at Home Depot.  I already had this scrap piece in my garage and it worked just fine.

 

Wrap the top of your shade up and around the top of the board and use a staple gun to attach it.

 

Time to string the shade.  Grab the roll of cording that comes with the kit and cut 3 pieces.  The directions will give an estimate of how long each piece needs to be.  It will just depend on the size of your shade.

 

Starting about 1 inch in from the side, pull the cord through the bottom pocket in the tube tape and secure with a double knot.

These pockets are pretty tiny, so using a needle will help you pull the cord through.  I used a yarn darner needle for this because the opening was big enough for the cording to fit through.  After you’ve secured the cord to the bottom, string it through the rest of the pockets working your way up to the top.  Then repeat this step in the middle and other side of the shade.

 

 

Drill 3 pilot holes (in line with your cords) into the board and screw the hooks in.  These hooks also come with the kit.

 

String each cord up through the eye hook and then through the next eye hook to the left until you have all three cords coming out the far hook.

 

 

Then secure the cords together with a  knot.

 

Now it’s time to insert the wooden dowels.  These don’t come with the kit, but they are very cheap.  You can get them at craft stores or any hardware store.  Have them cut slightly less that the width of your shade.  Can you see how awesome this tube tape is?!  It pretty much does all the hard work for you.

 

 

The directions on the kit say to sew your shade lining on at the point to cover the cords and the dowels, but I sewed it on at the very beginning.  I didn’t really care about how it looks from the back.

 

I didn’t take pictures of the next step.  You simply attach the L brackets that come with the kit to the board.  Then attach the board to your window.  Finally, attach the included cord cleat to wrap the cord around when shade is up.

This project was not hard, but it did take some time.  I finished over the course of 3 days, working on it when my kids were at school and napping.  I was nervous to make this by myself, but the kit made it pretty simple.  If you can sew a semi-straight line, you can make your own roman shade.

I love how mine turned out!

 

 

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February 7, 2012

How to Make a Roman Shade-Part 1

Ok, this one is kind of long so I split it into two parts.  It took some time to make, but it was fairly straight forward.  I just followed the directions that came with the roman shade kit.

 

I measured my window and cut the fabric 6 inches longer and 1 inch wider than the window dimensions.  I also added a lining fabric for the back.  Then I pinned and hemmed the sides in a half inch.  The key to easy hemming is pressing first.  I pinned, then pressed, pinned in place again, and sewed.

 

 

 

I did the same thing for the bottom.  I hemmed it up 2 inches.  I probably should have folded the hem over a second time for a cleaner edge, but I was feeling lazy.

 

 

The next step is to attach the tube tape.  Tube tape is the trick to making this a doable project for anyone.  It comes with the kit.  It has little pocket openings for the wooden dowels and for the cording.  I’ll show you these steps in full tomorrow.

 

 

You need to measure your shade and mark lines where the tube tape will be sewn.  The first line should be 4 inches up from the bottom and each line after should be spaced 6 inches apart.

 

 

I used a fabric marker and my ruler to draw a straight line.  This step took the longest.  There is a lot of measuring to make sure you get your lines perfectly straight.

 

 

Now it’s time to pin on the tube tape.  Just follow the lines and pin, making sure the pockets of the tube tape are facing up.

 

Time for more sewing.  Sew along the top edge of the tube tape, making sure not to sew over any of the tiny pockets.

Come back tomorrow for Part 2!

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February 6, 2012

Window Trim is Up

This past weekend was very productive in the kitchen.  We got the window trim up and the roman shade completed and hung.  The goal for this week is to finish everything else!

Installing window molding is such an easy diy project.  You can do this to any window in your home and it will instantly look better. Here is a look at our kitchen window before.

 

 

Normally, I would place the molding on all 4 sides of the window, but in the kitchen, I want there to be more subway tile showing underneath the window.  So I came up with another solution.  I bought an MDF board to sit as the base of the window sill.  We cut it down to fit snugly inside and cut a piece out so it wrapped around to the wall.

 

 

Then we cut measured and cut the trim molding at a 45 degree angle for the remaining 3 sides.

 

You can see how the bottom of the trim sits right on top of the MDF board.  There are a few little gaps (our windows weren’t built perfectly straight–gotta love that, right!), but a little wood filler and caulk will fill those in just fine.

 

We installed everything with a nail gun.  It was so fast and easy.

I still need to fill in the nail holes and the corners, but here is the almost finished window now.

The pictures don’t really do it justice.  It looks so much better!  The trim does go slightly higher than the cabinets, but if I would have gotten a smaller width, there would have been a small gap on both sides between the cabinets.  So this was the better option, I think.  Once the doors are back on, I don’t think it will be a big deal.

Come back tomorrow for a full tutorial on the roman shade.

 

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February 2, 2012

White Subway Tile

Sorry about not posting yesterday.  I have some sick kiddos and things were super crazy here.  Anyway, I’m happy to report that I’ve ordered my kitchen back splash tile and it will be here on Monday.  Yeah!!  I’m going with classic white subway tile–but with dark grout.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE this look and have been dreaming of having it in my home for years.  The best part is that this tile is SO cheap!  Here are a few inspiration images from my file.

 

I was planning to do the install by myself (I’m feeling very confident) because my husband doesn’t love these projects like I do.  But he actually said he wants to help me (instead of me roping him into it).  He’s such a trooper and happily puts up with all the “surprise” projects I bring home.

Today I’m finishing up the roman shade, so I’ll hopefully have an update on that tomorrow.

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January 31, 2012

My Latest Gadget

I had big plans to rent a paint sprayer from Sherwin Williams to spray my kitchen cabinet doors.  But they don’t allow you to use oil based paint because it’s too hard to clean.  So after doing a little researching, I finally purchased my own little paint sprayer that is compatible with oil based paint.

 

It was so inexpensive, but all the reviews were great.  You hook it up to an air compressor which gives you a high volume, low pressure paint application.  It’s supposed to reduce over spray as well.  I am so excited to bust this baby out in the next couple days.

 

I finally started my roman shade yesterday and got about half way done.  I’m hoping to finish it up today and get it installed.  So far so good!  Things are rolling right along.

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