Browsing Category: The Mother Cabinet Project

One Room Challenge – Week 1

October 2, 2013 venicepup

Hi Friends!

I’m so excited that the One Room Challenge (ORC) has been opened up!

It’s like Festivus for the Rest of Us!

Interested in linking up? Just visit Calling It Home and follow the instructions. We get 6 weeks to transform a space, any space and anyone’s space – doesn’t have to be yours. Although given the tight 6 week timeframe, it’s probably easier to live in it.

After much (MUCH!) deliberating, I’ve decided to work over the dining room. Gotta tell you, that was difficult to put out there – there is a holy grail lot of work to be done and I’m more than a little nervous that I can bust it out.

Use the Pressure, Be the Pressure – My new mantra, by the way.

So, here’s the room when we moved in 7 years ago and sadly not too much has changed.

Poor little dumping ground for old, improperly sized furniture. That table came with me from two houses ago, the “bachelorette pad,” the screen and cabinet, though beautiful, just don’t go and the rug, too traditional for my taste.

I knew I wanted red, red, red! So I had grasscloth installed on the bottom with a chair rail on the top. Then, I tried my best to match the red wallpaper with a flat paint on the top. Such a no-no. The rail cuts off the room and the flat paint is so blah. It needs to go high gloss, BABY!

Here’s where I’m going…

And some Inspiration Photos, of course…

Yes, I realize they’re not all pictures of dining rooms, but that’s cool, man. Inspiration can come from anywhere. You’re creating something new, so there’s not going to be one picture that tells the whole story. Si?

Now for the mighty to-do list. Me fave!

1. Gloss up the Red

2. Install The Mother (click to catch up) on the funky blank wall with the zillion vents

3. Paint The Mother the perfect color -tbd

4. Switch out the dining table with Grandma’s heirloom piece and mix up the seating. A settee would be amaze balls.

5. Chandelier. Hello?!?!!

6. Brass Sconces for The Mother

7. Window treatment; pagoda inspired, perhaps.

8. New rug or maybe no rug or maybe multiple rugs… hmmmm

9. And last, but not least, organize The Mother with all my fun Chinese porcelain, get some new plants, table cloth, art… you know finishing touches =)

Can I do it??? I will remain doggedly positive until Week 5!! Stay tuned!

And as always, Happy Creating!

2 Comments Inspiration, Projects, The Mother Cabinet Project

Whatever Happened to The Mother?!?

August 21, 2013 venicepup

Hi Everyone!

A few peeps have kindly asked me about The Mother. Cue the Darth Vader music.

I know. I’m so Dramatic.

Actually, after a few resuscitations she and I are moving along again… slowly, but in a forward direction. It’s just taking forever. (And yes, you must take forever to say the word ffffooooorrrreeeevvvveeerrr ala Sandlot.)

Can I just take a moment here to say that the kids in the movie are old now?! OMG, what does that make me?? Soon my own children will be calling me The Mother, complete with Darth Vader music. Actually that sounds quite awesome. Go Me!

And go me, for TEARIN’ it up over here! Well, tearing up cabinetry, at least… I haven’t torn it up on the dance floor in quite some time, sadly. Unless you count the gummy bear song. But that goes without saying, right?

Here’s Exhibit A. A perfectly normal cabinet that is too long for my space.

Which now looks like this

Rambo Chic! Power tools make me feel tough.

Then, (when I thought I had one whole cabinet), I noticed to my horror that the depth was off. Why world???

I had dumbly assumed that the depths were the same and had only been measuring the widths. Luckily, there was plenty of room to hack this one up too.

Don’t just stare at her bare backside!

And I took the original backing off carefully to replace it. I even used the same nails. Now the world makes sense again and I can sleep at night.

So what’s next? Fixing more such issues, sanding (UGH!) and then I can (Toes Crossed!) start bringing in pieces to reclaim the garage.

Here’s on the agenda tomorrow, if I get the chance…See the gap between the two pieces?? I need to do some more trimming to get them to fit together. And you can see one of my paint color options… light-bluish-grey, yes? Me like so far. Me like very much.

I realize this post didn’t have too much “fun” stuff in it and I don’t want to inundate you with the crazy details of how this got done… unless of course, you’d like to know. Let’s chat it up if you’re doing something similar and need a few tips. We can trade ideas!!

Tootles!

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Stripping The Mother Doors

July 8, 2013 venicepup

Well, Hello there!

Sigh. After a long weekend of fun, isn’t Monday just… sooooo Monday-ish?? It’s hot up in this mug, too!! It’s over a 100 in my neck of the woods and it’s just adding to the joy of working on The Mother. Another long sigh… I’m getting my intake of the AC before heading out again. Mantra in my head, You can do THIS. Pause, while I get some H2O… can you feel my motivation at the moment?!? Ha!

Well, some progress has been made. First off, I’ve picked which cabinets will have the honor of a makeover and I’ve already started the fun process of getting the shiny off.

Since there is quite a bit of detail in the doors and trim, I invested in a paint stripper. I was recommended this brand at the store and it worked pretty well, so I’ll pass on the recommendation to you.

Here are the doors, removed, with the original treatment.

You will need special chemical gloves to do this and time, of course. I used a cheapy paint brush to get the goop in all the crevices and let it sit for 25 mins. The directions say 10-15, but I found that it was better to leave it on longer… it definitely came off easier, which is the point, right?!

And I would recommend safety glasses and throw-away clothes. I did try to scrap it off in shorts and flip-flops, but I swear I could feel my skin burning in areas from the debris flying off. You will also need a scrapper tool and metal brushes to get it all off. A wood cleaner is the final step to really clean the chemical off. But look at that rope detail?!? So perfect… it’s going to be a shame to paint it up.

Here are the newly stripped doors! Whoo-hoo!! All purdy and naked! These 8 doors took me about a week in all, maybe 30 minutes a day (not including the wait time, which was used for ~~internet surfing~~ work).

Next step, I’m dreading… Oh, The Mother. Why did you enter my life in the middle of summer?!?

Any projects you’re fighting through the heat with??

Tootles!

Comment Projects, The Mother Cabinet Project