Farmhouse Renovation - Kitchen Project...

Brynwood Needleworks - Farmhouse Kitchen Shelf Idea

 

I'm working on a project this weekend. Handsome and I got all the supplies before we went to Florida, so only I have a few things to do in preparation. 

I've been saving lots of pictures of farmhouse kitchens (remember this post?), and I study every detail of the images I've saved. I keep going back to this kitchen picture. Read on while I explain.

Brynwood Needleworks - Sherwin Williams Paint Color - Repose Gray

 

This is the paint we've used throughout the farmhouse, along with Ibis White for the woodwork. So, this weekend, I'm going to start this project by painting another coat of paint on the range wall (Uncle only painted one coat because we weren't sure what we were going to do in the space when he was working here).

The kitchen in the photo has high ceilings - like our farmhouse - and we've been contemplating just how we would install an exhaust fan for our gas range. Building practices were different in the early 1900s, and it's quite possible that, in order to install the exterior duct work, it would be necessary to cut into a vertical stud that supports the house from ground level all the way to the ceiling in the second or third floor. Not really something we want to do. We've discussed most options.

Then, the obvious occurred to us. This house has never had an exhaust fan in the kitchen, so how necessary is it, really? (I almost never burn anything, and if I have a smoke issue, I have multiple windows I can open to clear the room out.) You can see in this photo that there's no exhaust above this range either. So you know what that means? We could do the same thing here, and install shelves!

In December, Handsome and I went to the same millwork company that supplied all the custom woodwork we installed when we built our last Wisconsin home. We purchased beautiful oak shelving, and I found some really wonderful brackets for them.

Next weekend, my sister will be here to help me install the shelves. It's really a "four-hand" task if I want them level! Then I can show you what I have in store for them.

I'll take before and after pictures so you get to see what we're doing. I'm now settled on the rest of the room, but it's going to be in stages because I think we still need to do the floors first, and truthfully, it's a project that could end up being much more involved than one might think. I'll tell you about that in a future post.

For now, I'll be getting out the paint, brushes and ladder. Once that's done, I'll share photos and tell you more about the project.

Decision Made...

Brynwood Needleworks - Sherwin Williams Repose Gray and Ibis White - Pinterest Image

While visiting with our younger son and his family over the weekend, I mentioned to our daughter-in-law that we were mulling over paint colors for the farm. I told her that I'd already tried out a few grays on the wall, but I wasn't sold on the colors yet. I told her that I wanted to get a can of Sherwin Williams "Repose Gray" to try.

She told me that they just painted the interior of one of their flip houses with that color! (What a coincidence!) Well, you know we made arrangements with them to see the house before the weekend was over, right? We had wanted to see their progress anyway, and seeing the paint job was a bonus.

Brynwood Needleworks - Sherwin Williams Paint Chips

 

Long story short, we saw the house on Friday and loved the paint choices! So, the decision has been made. We'll be painting "Repose Gray" on the walls and ceilings and "Ibis White" on the woodwork. Trust me. You're going to love it in the farmhouse as much as we will.

 

As soon as our plaster walls are repaired and the new ceilings are up, painting will commence. Of course, you can count on photos as soon as we get some on the walls.

 

Farmhouse Renovation - We're Starting Here...

Brynwood Needleworks - Dining Room Renovation

This is going to be the first room for our farmhouse renovation. I'm standing in the living room side of the arch to take this picture.

The doorways in our farmhouse are 7' tall, and in all the other rooms of the downstairs, the ceilings are 9' high. This room and the living room have dropped ceilings, likely because the lathe and plaster were damaged or cracked. We'll know for sure early next week when these ceilings are torn out.

We have a trio of beautiful casement windows along the southern wall, a built-in china cabinet on the west wall and a large picture window that will welcome every sunrise. The carpeting is hiding maple plank floors, and will go away. The harwood floors will be refinished and sealed. We're choosing not to stain them so their natural beauty will show through.

Brynwood Needleworks - Dining Room Renovation - Radiator Cover

You'll notice that there's a radiator, covered like this one, in the dining room. This one is in the living room. We're going to leave the covers (and the radiators), with a few changes.

Brynwood Needleworks - Dining Room Renovation - Jeanne d'Arc Living Image

I'm inspired by this image I found in a 2010 issue of Jeanne d'Arc Living magazine. The legs on this cover are beautiful, however, their radiator is wall mounted, whereas ours stand directly on the floor. Some of our radiators are painted brown, so they'll all be painted white.

What we'll do is remove the punched metal inserts on ours, add a center support and one across the top (right below the removable top), and then make frames just like these with fly screen over the openings, so the radiators show through. The ends of ours are solid wood, so we'll likely do the same treatment on the ends to allow more heat to escape through the screens.

Brynwood Needleworks - Dining Room Renovation - Choosing Paint

I've been putting paint samples on the wall, too. It's the only way to tell what the color looks like. These are the colors I'm leaning toward at this time. (I think I still have one or two other colors to try before I'm sure.) All the woodwork would be painted in Sherwin Williams - Fundamental White. At least in the downstairs, all the walls would be the very palest grey of Sherwin Williams - First Star. I tried "Passive"(on the left), but I think it's too dark for these rooms. The ceilings will be bright white.

The only other options I'm considering right now are Sherwin Williams - SW 7008 Alabaster for the woodwork and SW 7015 - Repose Gray for the walls. I still love SW 7057 Silver Strand, which we used in our Florida Master Bedroom (See THIS post), but I'm not sure it would work in the farmhouse here. Decisions! Decisions!

Brynwood Needleworks - Dining Room Renovation - Dining Room Chandelier

The UPS driver brought this fixture today. I ordered it through Overstock.com. The copy said that it requires some assembly, so I guess I'd better do that soon to make sure the quality is up to snuff. If it is, it's going to be a beautiful chandelier to hang over our dining room table.

  

Dreamy Master Bedroom...

It's finished! The master bedroom is repainted and staged for our Saturday open house.

I love the new color. It's soft, bright and perfect for a master suite retreat.

Although Handsome and I loved the sunny yellow that was there before, we

agreed that the new color will appeal to more prospective buyers for our property.

Sherwin Williams Web image

In case you're wondering, this is the color we chose for our master bedroom. It

happens to be one of Joanna Gaines go-to colors on her HGTV program, Fixer Upper.

Web image

Here's another image that I found by doing a web search of the color.

It's interesting how it shifts a little between blue-tint and green-tint.

What do you think? Improvement?

I'm not finished yet. I have a few boxes to pack and take to storage, along with a few

that have to go to Suncoast Resale Shop (benefiting the Suncoast Humane Society).

I'd better get back to it. (Don't worry. I stop for a little "me" time along the way, too.)