Apartment Kitchen DIY – 1 before and 1 after

Posted on August 30, 2012 by Roeshel

Hellooooo, DIY friends! So it’s almost midnight here and even up until about a half hour ago, I had high hopes of editing photos and writing up a painting kitchen cabinets tutorial and Rusteoleum Cabinet Transformations review but my long work days have caught up with me and I can barely keep my eyes open so um, yea…not happening. I sometimes tend to get a little ambitious with trying to squeeze so much into one day. When I say DIY is my passion, I’m not joking. And I love blogging but I discovered some times there isn’t enough time for both. You’ve noticed that too, right? This past week and the next few days will reflect all work, no play, no blogging, no socializing but lots of rewards!

I plan to be up at the crack of dawn (or maybe a few minutes after that) to head back to the rental to work on some more DIY. You all know I love me some DIY projects and it’s a three day DIY weekend, friends! At least in this household it’ll be 3 fun days of DIY (although we may be persuaded to spend an afternoon with family, food and swimming one day because that does sound like a lot more fun than our summer: DIY apartment part 452, doesn’t it?).

So anyway, as I head off to bed for a few hours of sleep before heading back to DIY, DIY and more DIY, in place of sharing a full tutorial and review today, I leave you with this…

This is one area of the apartment that we started with…

{and that’s the cleaned up version…see the scary before here}

and this is what it looks like now (still some more to reveal yet/coming soon to a DIY blog near you. There will be much more to this kitchen than this current state!)…

{Rustoleum Countertop Transformations review & tutorial}

Well, that is what it looks like now minus the clutter of additional tools and materials and MINUS that smooth ceiling to the left because there was a leak in the bathroom upstairs (uh oh!) and after a ~~major freak out~~ minor breakdown where I had to walk away to cry before gathering my strength, wiping my nose and wishing desperately that I could just run away to somewhere tropical and never DIY ever again – to return to clean up wet crumbling drywall and water. I may have ran out the door an wailed. Ask the neighbors. It wasn’t pretty. ::sigh:: The joys of DIY. Not always smooth sailing and according to plan. But, nothing to do but persevere and just clean it up and mentally make up a drywall patch check list because it won’t fix itself and a huge 5 x 2 foot hole in the ceiling to expose floor joints and the wood floor above isn’t going to make for a pretty reveal.

Sooooo…if you don’t see me around for a few days, I will be working on this list:

painting faux tileboard, ceiling, trim
grouting a bathroom floor
patching a ceiling
installing baseboards
fixing a painted accent wall
working on a few other *fun* DIY projects (YAY! Finally!)
installing a bathroom vanity, sink and faucets
installing a bathroom light
installing a toilet
staining/poly’ing hardwood floors

Again, with the ambition! I’m optimistic. I’ll be working my butt off to get as much done as I can. I’m not kidding myself. I know I’m not going to make my deadline of it being ALL done this weekend but we’re getting closer! What are YOU doing THIS weekend? If you’re enjoying one of those Pinterest inspired recipes…I’m so envious! Anyone else notice that busy DIY days = unhealthy eating?

HAVE AN AMAZING LABOR DAY HOLIDAY WEEKEND if you’re celebrating!

If you’d like to see snippets of progress before it’s posted, I share updates on Facebook, Twitter and instagram.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I love company! If you’re not available to patch a ceiling or grout tile this weekend, I invite you to catch up on past posts, links from the DIY party or our home tour, visit links on our project page or to start thinking about inspiration for fall!

Did you know that if you subscribe by email (left side bar)…you can view the full post delivered right to your email? A great alternative to the truncated feed!

Kitchen Remodel ~ It’s Overflowing {OPC Before & After Project Winner}

Posted on August 24, 2012 by Roeshel

I browsed through 158 remodeling projects at

When Ethan from One Project Closer asked if I’d like to participate, I was thrilled. Ethan was one of the very first bloggers I met last year (here) and OPC started their before/after series contest 5 years ago to raise awareness which is something I support too! You can get more details by clicking the button above because there is still time to enter to win!

It’s always so hard to choose just winner from so many amazing DIY projects…I’m just a fan of DIY. Period. And throw in some pretty amazing spaces competing and I want to choose them all. But narrow it down, I did.

And now, {drumroll please}, the winner is…

Kitchen Remodel ~ It’s Overflowing

This is Aimee’s kitchen when they moved in. Outdated, for sure! But look at all of those cabinets and all of that space. Lots of potential!

kitchen before

This is Aimee’s kitchen now:

kitchen after

Wow, right?

The sunny yellow accents with all of the fresh white make this one happy space to prepare meals and gather…

Love how everything looks so clean and bright…

There is so much to see! Even a DIY cabinet housing the microwave and adding additional storage!

I love beautiful materials Aimee chose and her DIY work in this kitchen:

white granite
subway tile backsplash
painting and framing the kitchen cabinets

You can see ALL of the details, more pictures and links to her DIY projects at Aimee’s Kitchen Remodel Steps post.

Congratulations, Aimee!

Now pop over to enter your DIY makeover for a chance to win!

Cottage Bedroom Before and After

Posted on August 14, 2012 by Roeshel

Dani from Seaside Shelter loves DIY and bargains. Our kind of girl! At Seaside Shelter (her blog), her objective is to share small ideas that will make a big impact on your living space. And she’s so good at it too! She recently finished a cottage bedroom makeover with an amazing reveal for only $335! Take a look:

bedroom before – boring, outdated.

Carpet was removed to reveal birch flooring which was refinished. Wow! Painted walls and trim really freshen up the space…

I love the green and navy accented with gold. Dani calls it “preppy cottage”. Perfect! There are a lot of DIY accents in this room. Pendant lights hang above painted nightstands to save on table space (great idea!) and the beautiful DIY upholstered headboard sports some gold nailhead trim…

Old nightstands get a new look with a coat of paint in a fun accent color…

And the stenciled wall adds interest and texture with a pretty pattern…

Amazing budget with gorgeous results! See the cost breakdown, links to DIY details and more pictures at Seaside Shelter Preppy Cottage Bedroom Reveal.

Decorating Ideas Made Easy ~ Beautiful Master Bedroom Makeover

Posted on July 26, 2012 by Roeshel

Hi DIY friends! I’d like to introduce you to Jennifer from

Jennifer’s website is all about teaching others about interior decorating on a budget and she also runs a blog where she highlights different projects. It’s so fun ‘e-meeting’ others who share our love of decorating. Jennifer is also an interior decorator, and runs her own business. I’ve enjoyed browsing the links on her side bar.

Today she is sharing her beautiful master bedroom makeover which started with beige walls and two pieces of faux finished furniture. Jennifer was ready for some soft color and a calm relaxing retreat. She started with choosing a “Gray Shell” by Porter Paints for the walls because of it’s blue undertone.

{the headboard is an old door!}

Then she painted her furniture white to create a clean and fresh look and purchased bamboo blinds and sheer curtains to soften the room.

Her search for quality and affordable bedding resulted in finding pretty blue damask pattern set at 65% off. Lucky girl! It’s so pretty!

Accessorizing the room with a ruffled pillow, bench and lamps were layered into the room. I love her choice of decorative accents.

As her budget began to run low, her DIY creativity kicked in and she created a beautiful unique piece for $7 for above the bed. So sweet!

Didn’t she do an amazing job on a tight budget? I think it’s so peaceful and relaxing. I want to snuggle up in that bed after a long week! I’d have a hard time leaving! See more details on this master bedroom makeover at Decorating Ideas Made Easy.

Apartment Progress ~ floors are sanded!

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Roeshel

It’s been a mega DIY couple of weeks here folks! Where I challenge myself to see just how much DIY I can squeeze into a tight deadline (6 wks.) in the apartment renovation. Sounds like work to most people I know but for me, I say “let the fun begin!”. This rental is my life sized mini-doll house! Here’s an update:

{graphic courtesy of Fox Hollow Cottage}

Apartment Progress!

I rented an orbital sander and I enlisted the help from my 19 year old nephew, Kaleb. {muscles, people – I don’t have them!}

HOW TO SAND HARDWOOD FLOORS

{How we did it.}

Floors were cleaned.
Floors were sanded (24 grit) with the orbital sander. Thank goodness my nephew helped because I seriously doubt I could have carried that thing up the stairs and from the looks of it, once the power was turned on, that thing had a mind of it’s own and took off! I know my limitations. And orbital sander wrangling ain’t one of them. Paying a nephew was a wise choice. Much better for Kaleb to restrain the monster sander than me being spun around in circles and crashing through walls, gouging the floor as I go. (It really wasn’t that bad…I’m just little and wimpy but most people would control the orbital sander without difficulty.)
I swept up the dust.
Then he sanded again (60 grit).
Then swept.
Then sanded again (120 grit).
Then swept again!
I used my Dremel Multi-Max and a palm sander where needed in corners, under radiators and around the edges where floor met baseboards. My little muscles could handle those guys. I did the edging with the 3 levels of sandpaper.

{Please don’t mistake these legs for mine…they’re Kaleb’s!}

I really don’t know anything about the previous renter/owner. Perhaps their situation wasn’t so easy, but they definitely were not clean and did some damage.

So, floors are now sanded!

There’s a method to my out-of-order renovating madness. I sanded the floors first before painting the walls because I didn’t want to have to scrub the walls twice (1 – the grime before and 2 – after sanding due to the fine layer of saw dust after sanding floors). Next up is covering the floors and painting the ceiling, walls then trim because I don’t want to lose the weekend waiting for the floor stain to dry.

As you’re reading this, I’m probably at the rental DIY’ing! More to come!

—

Oh! Hoping for better pictures in the near future. I always have trouble making what I’ve learned ‘stick’ and resort to shooting in auto but I sat in on the Photography session at the Haven Conference and Josh and Kevin really had a way with making it more interesting. I’m all signed up for Photography 101 to learn how to use my DSLR and to finally learn the skills to take better pictures…

I’m also giving their affiliate program a try and invite you to join me in learning!

Supporting Habitat for Humanity {summer contest} – One Project Closer’s The Better Half

Posted on July 18, 2012 by Roeshel

I apologize! I’ve been so busy with working on the demo in the dirty dinky apartment that I’m a little behind in sharing updates on the Before and After Series – Habitat for Humanity going on at One Project Closer’s The Better Half. Forgive me? Awe, c’mon – I’m covered in grime here and so sore! So here are some updates:

If you haven’t already, you’ll want to check out the winner chosen by Traci from Beneath My Heart:

Bathroom Transformation by Tenth Avenue South

The winner chosen by Michelle at Ten June Blog:

Rustic Country Kitchen Makeover from Buckets of Burlap

and finally, be on the look out! This week’s winner will be chosen by Rhoda at Southern Hospitality.

There’s still time! I’ll be judging the week of August 19th and I want to see your before and after projects there!

How can YOU help and win? Submit your pictures and a before/after story from a home improvement project you worked (no contracted jobs) sometime in the past year. Every week of the summer until September 21, a winner is selected and their story is published online. Each winner gets a $50 gift card to either Lowes, Home Depot, or Amazon, and a donation of $100 to Habitat for Humanity in the winner’s honor! There’s more! At the end of the Summer, the best submission, as voted on by readers, wins a bonus $150 gift card to one of the three stores above. You can enter your home improvement project and see who’s hosting each week HERE.

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