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I do not have a whole lot to say today.

The photos I am sharing, I took during the early evening in the old house. Besides morning,

it is my favorite time of day. The light is different at five in the evening. The old house is happy with a soft, warm glow. It inspires me to straighten up and decorate and listen to my favorite jazz stations.

We will be starting the smallish kitchen tune-up tomorrow. I am excited to share with you our progress,

so please check back in. Our part is slow-going... you know, the kitchen cabinet restoration. Sigh.

- traders joe's daffodils, vintage postcard, vintage flower frogs -

- the light from the dining room windows -

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I can't make myself crawl into bed before midnight. Morning is early and cold.

Blankets of white that give solace and warmth have been absent for much of the season.

Winter is lingering.

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scenes from our kitchen

I spent 15 minutes removing from a kitchen cabinet, one,
painted over too many times, original, made in 1908 nickel hinge. As I was standing there, cursing (in my head of course) the people that slopped the paint over these beautiful hinges, I began to question
my stamina for another big project.

There are 28 hinges, and 15 minutes is actually quick. Hubby spent 30 minutes on one a few weeks ago.
So, that's 28x15=420/60=7. Seven. Seven hours. Seven hours spent removing hinges.

After they have been removed, off they go to the crockpot spa for a 24 hour soak, and then back in our hands for another 15 minutes to pull off the paint, scrub and polish. Another seven hours.

7+7=14 hours of 106-year-old hinge restoration is feeling so much longer than 14 hours.
We started this whole process a few weeks ago, and now we have eight to go. The upper cabinets are complete. The lower cabinets are this weekend's project.

here are some before/during/after photos:

- before - five layers, including green and bright pink -

- after! - amazing, right? -

- lots to see in this photo - new plants, wine, nasty peeling paint -

- contact paper removed, bead board installed, and no more peeling paint -

- lots of sanding -

- glass installed, it's called german new antique -

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Are you curious what the plan is for the rest of the kitchen?
It is not a complete overhaul; perhaps, if this was our forever house, we would consider something
on a larger scale. For now we're just going to freshen up the original cabinetry, and overhaul the right side
of the galley (see photo below).

The right side will get new butcher block countertop, an undermount sink, tile backsplash, open shelving,
new gas range and a few other fun, small touches.

- this is from a few months ago -

- this is from a few minutes ago -

 
You can see above that I've tested out the chosen paint color for the lower cabinets. I'm excited!
More to come as we make progress!

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in the details:

let me know if you have any questions about anything you see!

crockpot spa for stripping old paint- idea seen on rehab addict, love this show