Drab to Fab Part Deux: Kitchen Remodel

Looking in During, pardon the clutter, we just moved!

Have you ever sanded and repainted your kitchen cabinet doors?  Don't...just buy new ones.  When you move into a 70's apartment I promise you that the hinges on the cabinets have been painted over with each new tenant since then.

Now you have to break out crowbars, screw drivers, hammers, paint remover and an occasional kitchen knife to get the things off, then you have to sand the cabinet itself, then sand the doors on every surface when this is all done you have to paint them and make sure you get a nice even coating on all surfaces. Then you have to put new hinges on everything, you think your almost done right? Wrong!


Since sanding the cabinet doors back to some sort of an original state they no longer stay shut!  Now, I have to put some sort of little magnetic closure on them so they stay shut...next is the door nobs and drawer pulls. They make a handy dandy little stencil for these little costly bobbles it's all going along great your drilling the holes and you go to put on your first door nob and what happens?  The screw is too short, I see that they come with a second screw...PERFECT!!!...this screw ends up being to long, Homo Depot is across town...now I know why people buy new construction!

Part of our deal with this apartment, which is rent controlled might I add, so we basically bought it...was that instead of a deposit we would put in new appliances...let me tell you about the old fridge, it had one shelf in it and it was filthy, the old stove, which was quote, unquote, a new stove had the rusted electric coils and couldn't regulate heat to save your life, and the old dish washer, although still working and dried dishes very well also made an occasional screeching noise, they are now replaced with stainless steal energy efficient appliances...I feel like my new fridge has a funny smell though, maybe it's just the new plastic smell, it's probably me though.

After the new appliances we tiled the back splash...this was so much fun, my mother came out and  helped The Husband and I do it.  Now she can do almost anything, as can I, but I had never tiled anything before, and I am sure with enough YouTube videos and Google searches I could have figured it out, how do you think I learned how to make butter!?

I will tell you though, it's very easy to tile and grout, what is hard to getting the grout off of your tile...I don't think I've ever rinsed a sponge that much in my life...end result, pure fabulousness!

If I can pass on a bit of advice though, don't paint your walls if you are going to be putting in a tiled back splash, why?  If you paint before you are going to be doing a ton of touch ups after words, because the trowel scratches the paint...lesson learned!

Watch Your Drink,

The Stepford Husband

Design On a Dime: Redo your Living Room for Under $40,000.00

Room by: Jean-Louis Deniot  www.deniot.com

Well Ladies and Gents it's that time again...our house is far from completed and today we have to somehow manage to redo our Living room for under $40,000.00...last time if you remember correctly we managed to redo our Bedroom for under $30,000.00 and we came in right at $29,462.50, and that was only because we had enough left over to get 12 drinking glasses with which to toast to our success!  I think we can do it again!

This time we are again going to be using the fabulous furniture from our friends at Horchow but we are also going to be throwing in some choice pieces featured in the January issue of our friends Architectural Digest.


LETS GO!!!!

Lana Media Chest, Qty 1, $2,799.00
Rock Crystal Lamp, Qty 2, $3,190.00
*Ellsworth Tufted Sofa, Qty 1, $1,799.00
Claudia Mirrored end table, Qty 2, $1,118.00
Catarina Chair, Qty 2, $6,458.00
Paxton Coffee Table, Qty 1, $1,099.00
Bohemian Pendant, Qty 1, $2,225.00
Carmella Bar Cabinet, Qty 1, $4,799.00
Olantio Bookcase, Qty 1, $3,999.00
Madallion Blues Rug, Qty 1, $3,459.00
2 Norlina Wall mirros, Qty 2, $450.00
Urban Toile Pillow brn/whit, Qty 2, $310.00
Urabn Toile medallion, Qty 2, $350.00
Polar sheepskin pillow, Qty 2, $878.00

Apricot Sun Pillow, Qty 2, $258.00
Ivory Suitcase, Qty 1, $475.00
Aqua Suitcase, Qty 1, $475.00
2 Golden Fl. Panels, Qty 1, $1,425.00
Antique Mirrored Tray, Qty 1, $275.00
Coral in Urn Tapestry, Qty 2, $1,450.00
Stacked Crystals Lamp, Qty 2, $470.00
Amelie Mirroed Console, Qty 1, $999.00
Icicle vase Large, Qty 1, $155.00
Icicle Vase Med., Qty 3, $375.00
Icicle Vase, Sm., Qty 6, $570.00
Fashion Book, Qty 1, $65.00
2 Doves Platforms, Qty 1, $50.00

SUB TOTAL: $39,975.00


Now, I totally wanted to get a fabulous bottle of Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon but they are $140.00 each, so we will have to settle for a bottle of Yellowtail Cabernet Sauvignon instead which for a magnum comes in at about $13.99 at your local grocery store and we can get some plastic cups for $2.00 with which to drink it with. So...that leaves us with a grand total of....drum roll please!

Grand Total: $39,990.99


Whew! Yet another close one, but ladies and gents, just like I promised we have succeeded! We actually came in underbudget $9.01!

Here are some more pictures of the fabulous trinkets for our room.

If you would like to learn more about Jean-Louis Deniot and his fabulous interior designs, please visit his website at www.diot.com, Architectural digest also just featured him in their AD100 their list of the top talents in architecture and interior design you can read his article here.

Again if you are newly or always have been wealthy and would like to blow some of that cash furnishing your home don't forget our friends at Horchow, they have the best stuff and I think you would agree. You can get everything I mentioned above by going here.

What room should we do next?

Watch Your Drink,

The Stepford Husband

* Please note, I thought the Ellisworth Tufted Sofa was cheep, my current couch was several hundred more,  and that was after nagging on the bitch (she's actually very nice) for an hour for a discount, and I got to choose the leather and fabrics...Never pay full price, hold out for a discount ladies and gents, it's not being cheep, it's managing cash flow!

Trends: What to wear for your Christmas Parties

When dressing yourself this holiday season or dressing your table there are fabulous finds in your own neighborhoods and in the stores to help you accomplish your style needs!

When dressing yourself this holiday season refer to gold, bronze and classic evergreens for your accessories their seasonal yet still spot on! You can also always opt for Dark Blue's and Purples with silver accessories.

Complete your look with a statement neckless...I've included a link and below!

When dressing your table, have some fun with it!
Source fabric from your local fabric store look for Red and Green Plaids, Polka dots, or light green paisleys...make sure you get it big enough for your table and roll under and sew the raw edges to finish it off...if you don't have a sewing machine your local dry cleaner could probably do this for you while you wait for about $10.

The best part of these do it yourself tablecloths is that you can reuse them come spring!

For you Glassware mix in the glasses you already have with Champagne and wine glasses from your local antique store. You can pick up a set of Antique Crystal glasses for about $2.00 which is more than half the cost of brand new set...and you get to own a piece of history.

When it comes to your holiday florals, mix in white delicate flowers with, Stargazer lilies, Red Barry's, and Roses for a fragrant, beautiful, and long last arrangement...you can do a large arrangement yourself for about $20 instead of the $80+ that your florist would charge!

Holday Necklace from Etsy

Watch Your Drink,

The Stepford Husband