Flip Project - Kitchen & Bonus Room Update

Hey there!   It's been awhile (like three months)... but I'm back to give you an update on our flip project (#belmontflip).  If you missed it, you can see the before pics here.  Things are really starting to take shape & it's fun to see design decisions that I made months ago, all come together.

Thought I'd start with the little bonus room at the back which is just off the kitchen & leads into the backyard.  This room had something I'd never really seen before on the walls...I'm calling it plastic panelling because I really don't know what it was but that's what it looked like.  Let's just take a little peek at the before.

I wanted to visually elevate this room a little & also visually expand it, so went with shiplap on the walls.  What a difference a little bit of shiplap makes.   This room will be an eating area on one side (across from the fireplace) & a mudroom on the other side.  I wanted it to feel like a living space and not at all like  a mudroom so the texture on the walls really helps with this.  You can see that we moved the window & put french doors leading to the backyard.  We also installed a electric fireplace as this room has no heat source.  This is the first time I've ever used an electric fireplace... they really give off a lot of heat... who knew?  And this industrial light is from Lowes.   I'm really impressed with the lighting selections that Lowes has right now... great price point & style.  Most of the lighting in this house is from Lowes.   

We went with a longer click tile but I did it in a check... because of the threshold, I had to choose one that was very thin. 

Through the barn door you enter the kitchen... you can see the other side of it below.

This tiny kitchen has been quite a design challenge as it has one wall with two entrances & another wall with a large window...  I believe it's 10' x 7' so not a lot of room to work with.  I'm using a few tricks to make this tiny kitchen seem larger which I'll share a little later.  This week the farmhouse sink from IKEA was installed & the insdustrial 
light from Lowes.

All the work on this house has been done by master carpenter & partner on this flip, Mike VanHemert from MVH Custom Carpentry.  
He also made the custom cabinets in the kitchen & the barn door.

Next up is the bathroom on the main floor, which has just been gutted.

In the meantime you can follow me on Instagram @styletomoveblog if you want to see updates as they happen.  I'll be back soon to show you the progress in the loft & master ensuite.

Have a good week!

  

Christmas 2016 Home Tour

Nothing like a foot of snow to get me in the Christmas spirit.  Usually I have my tree up by the first week of December but I just couldn't do it this year.  And then we had a snow storm, & I was ready...just like that.  

So here's my little home tour...simplicity is my game!  This year I've embraced black in my Christmas decor (actually all over my house)...including black wreaths!  Although I'm not a green fan, I absolutely love the forest green & black combo.  Enjoy the tour!

And here's the cutest little tree in the world!  I loved this tree just on its own without any decor but decided to decorate it with white lights, burlap garland (Dollarama)  & pompoms (Michaels) .  Keeping with my kitchen & that modern farmhouse style...a little different from last year's decor.

Like I said, simplicity!  I took some very small wreaths & wrapped them in black scarves (all from the Dollarama).  I also used a lot of pinecones & placed them in urns & candle holders that I already had.

Just want to thank you all for following me & supporting me in this blogging journey.  A couple of weeks ago a few Canadian bloggers got together for a parade of Christmas home tours.   If you want to check it out it starts here.

Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas with your family & loved ones!

Moving the Outside In

With temps getting quite a bit cooler at night, I've had to start bringing all my ferns & tropical plants inside.   My garden didn't do that well this year as we had extreme heat for a long period of time. I totally forgot what green grass looked like! But at least the potted plants were very happy.   It's always quite a challenge trying to keep the ferns alive over winter, but I love the look of them inside a home. 

This little purple Aster was meant for outside but I loved it inside, so it stayed.  Also, in case you're wondering about the kitchen, (confession) I still haven't painted the lower cabinets or bought handles (gasp).  Finding the time (& energy) with 2 teens & a puppy... the thought of taking down the doors & painting is a little overwhelming...but it's on the list for this fall.

I'm sure this tropical plant won't last in the family room but it looks good.  This room has had some changes over the summer...you may notice the hanging light & rug from here.  Also, I did the quickest & cheapest slipcover ever...I used a dropcloth.  I'll do a little post on it later.   

Modern Farmhouse Kitchen Reno Update

A lot has happened to my kitchen since this post. 

I CANNOT believe what a difference 3 days, 2 guys & just changing out the uppers & backsplash made to this space.  What a big change!!!!  Within the first few hours they had all the uppers down & that was a big enough change.  I felt like I could breathe...

I'm trying to take this very basic, builder kitchen & make it look more current & custom on a very low budget.  I didn't change the countertops (they're quartz put in by the previous owners) or the lowers (I'll be painting them black) or any of the appliances...again, a very inexpensive reno.

Let's just look at the befores...

This is how it looked when we moved in...your very basic kitchen.

And this is what it looked like after the cabinets were painted & new hardware was put on about 6 years ago.

And this was about an hour after the carpenters arrived.

DAY 1

DAY 2

DAY 3

I kept the rangehood design simple...shaker like the cabinets.  

So this is what I had them do:   take down upper cabinets, build bulkhead, put up new Ikea cabinets, build rangehood, put up subway tile & put up crown moulding.

After grout and a couple of coats of white paint (Ben moore Soothing Mist OR-483) later...this was the result.

Can we just talk about the subway tile for a minute...

I.  Love.  It.

And it's from Home Depot...a box of 100 for about $40.00...inexpensive & beautiful...my favourite combo!

I also went with this dark grout called Truffle for a more graphic look.

This was a complete waste of space next to the fridge.  We had a box where the microwave used to go, two uppers, a very narrow cabinet & then a glassed corner cabinet.  We purchased these from Ikea in an off-white shaker style & then purchased these in 18" to go above them.   

You can see that there are two outlets on this side of the kitchen so I was able to get the carpenters to cut out the backs of the cabinets so I can put my microwave in the enclosed cabinet.  I also opted to leave one whole cabinet without doors & drawers. This houses my glass jars & coffeemaker & gives it a more custom look.

So here's what I have left to do:  put another coat of paint on the bulkhead & rangehood (hence the tape), paint the lowers black, get some new hardware (probably gold), & add some wood elements.

Even though it's only halfway there, we are absolutely loving it...the kids are loving it too!

Giving the Kitchen a Little Love

The other side of this room (which happens to be our only eating area), our kitchen, is getting a little (much needed) update this week.  I've never really liked anything about this kitchen and just had it painted when we first moved in, over six years ago.   I absolutely love the modern farmhouse look (check out my Pinterest board...hint, hint.) and I'm also loving everything industrial right now.  The look I'm going for is off-black cabinets, wood tones, range hood and white subway tile.  I've decided to keep the bottom cabinets and paint them out in an off black and then only take down the uppers and put up ikea shaker cabinets in an off white.  This is a very cheap reno, and I received a little cash for Christmas, so this is what I'm doing with it.  

We'll see how it goes...so far just a couple of hiccups...

Here's some of my inspo...

via 

via

via House and Home

 via House and Home

  via Nate Berkus