makin' a wreath...

After the remodel, I had an empty spot on top of my hutch.

We can't have that, now, can we?

See what I mean?  I have this empty wreath holder.  Its embarrassing  really, I mean how could I entertain or let the kids have friends over with an empty wreath holder above the hutch?








Enough was enough.  The remodel had been done since May, so I took the bull by the horns and bought a grapevine wreath.  (It is near the wine bar area, after all.)

 Simple and understated but just full enough with out being too full of leaves.  I know, I know, you're thinking, "Its a freakin' wreath already!"  True, true, but this is important world changing stuff here.

Here's what I did next:  I hot glue gunned down some of the stray vines.  I know, I'm so crazy that way.

Next up, the plastic grapes.  I thought these were actually pretty real looking.  And being from the Central Valley originally  I know my grapes.  Well, not really.  I just eat them.  Never planted 'em, grew 'em or picked 'em.  But I like them and I like wine, so maybe I am some sort of an expert.

 Attaching them wasn't as hard as you might think.  I know you're thinking 'hot glue gun' but NO!!!  Not this time. The grapes were actually a little heavy and had a plasticy finish that made them a bit...slimey. Sort of.  Anyways, I got out the floral wire and tied those bad boys on.  You can't see the wire because its hidden between the grapes.  They are nice and secure and I'm not worried about the glue failing.  It they fell off, it would be a problem because this is going on the top of my hutch and I really don't want to climb up there very often.

See, kinda high up there.  I have to step on a chair, then on the counter above the wine fridge.  Don't tell my husband I did that.  Please.  Thanks.

Now the empty spot is no longer empty and all is right in the world.  Well...almost.

I rearranged my wine bottles around it too:  The One on the far left is Fleetwood wine signed by Mick Fleetwood!  The next bottle is the wine we drank the night we got engaged.  Then there is the novelty box of Carnaroli Rice.  Everyone has one of those, right?

chair: before & after

I have this chair from Ikea that's been in my son's room for a few years.  Its main purpose was to hold clothes or books.  Now I'm going to use it for its intended purpose...to sit on!

You can see, its just a basic wooden chair.  Nothing fancy.

I painted it in my garage.  Its the same color as the walls in my kitchen, which also happens to match the marble on the desk area where the chair will be spending most of its time.

And voila!  Still not fancy, but not bad once I added a cushion.  If I didn't already have this chair, I would have headed to Goodwill or Salvation Army for an old one to repaint.  As long as its sturdy, it can be repainted and reused.

open space

Love this entryway with the pole and banister gone!  It really opened up the room.  Add new floors and new lighting and I think it turned out pretty good!

From wet bar to wine bar

So much more storage now.  The wine fridge is bigger than our last one, and that's really important in life.

You've seen the befores...

Now for the AFTERS!!!

Here is the computer nook before and after. Hopefully we'll move the computer in next week.

The finished hutch

Its done!  And back in place!  And almost filled to the gills again!

Here is the original 'before:

After I got a hold of it, it looks like this:

Yes, you can love it as much as me!!  I changed out the knobs and hinges, too.

Laundry room

Are you ready for the laundry room 'before' and 'after'?!

I know.  Terrible.  The cabinet was too small and mis-placed.  The door fell off the left side.  It was drab and the flooring was ugly. 

Here is what it looks like now:

New floors!  The contractor will install a bar under the short cabinet (there is a longer cabinet to the right of it).  Love it!  Can't wait to move stuff in. SO much storage in here!

picture updates

The sofa & all the furniture is out, windows taped off.

Here is a picture of taken from the same place in the kitchen.

And some more random shots: