Happy Friday my friends! Things are moving along at the Plain Jane, though we are at that point where it’s a little bit tough to SHOW you the progress.
The Kitchen
I am still working on the kitchen island. I had to step back from it a bit as I got a little overwhelmed with figuring out the best way to trim it out with materials I have at my disposal. I had stripped down the wood, all the doors, drawers, and frames, and it was pretty light, but after applying just Minwax Natural stain (which is practically clear), it darkened right back up. I was feeling discouraged, like all of my hard work over the previous week was for nothing. And a week later, I’m still not convinced otherwise.
Still, I’m working on embracing the oak. The truth is, getting the stain out of the deep grain is tough. I think I would have had to go through a LOT more stripping and sanding, and I’m just not sure it’s worth it. So this means that matching up my existing cabinetry with new, unstained finishes is tougher than I had hoped. I’m still hoping for a decent result, but only time will tell.
Paint
The whole house is being painted this week. I selected the color Site White by Sherwin Williams, but at 25% lighter, so I’m really curious to get in there and see how it looks!
Upstairs, I’ve been trying to pick a fun but somewhat neutral color to paint the vanity in the hall bath. The existing vanity is 36″, but there is quite a bit of space between it and the toilet, so a larger vanity could have easily fit. However, changing out the vanity would have probably required us to move the plumbing and the light fixture, in addition to purchasing a new vanity, of course. So last week I began designing a standalone linen cabinet to add more storage to the room. Here’s a rough concept.
Master Bath
The master bath has also taken a lot of my attention recently. The shower walls will be completely tiled, and picking out tile is tough. Trying to find both the right colors at the right price is one thing. But then adding to that the issue of what I can have at my disposal is a whole other ballgame. The problem is that shipping tile is NOT cheap. And even where something ships for “free”, the truth is the shipping is already included in the price. So then what happens when the color isn’t right or the tile won’t work? Returning isn’t always an option.
So I ordered a few sample pieces (thankfully didn’t have to order entire boxes), and had them shipped to my local Home Depot. Armed with 2 ordered samples, along with another tile they already had in store, I made the trip to the closest Floor & Decor. I was on the lookout for tile for the shower, floor, and potential backsplash options. In other words, there were tons of options and thoughts floating around my already cluttered, dysfunctional mind. Thankfully, I didn’t get too overwhelmed, and I walked out of there with all the tile I needed for the bath. Here’s a peek at some of the pieces I was eyeing. Can you guess which I picked?
Exterior
The front porch columns and railing were rotting out and needed to be replaced. We opted for simple vinyl wrapped columns, and nixing the rail. I’ll grab a pic of it the next time I’m there 🙂 Additionally, I left the choice of shutter color to my sister. And this is her choice: Sherwin Williams Naval.
Hope you enjoyed this little update! Hopefully next week I can share some paint colors and the front porch.
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Happy to hear that things are moving forward.