A Kitchen in Progress

We've been hard at work on our house for about three weeks and we're slowly but surely seeing it transform into our home. Remember this photo from this post?

With a little time (2 weeks) and a little paint (1 million gallons) we've gone from the above to the below. We primed and painted the cabinets ( Killz Latex Primer and Valspar Bistro White), we installed new hardware and hinges, we removed the drop down flourescent lighting that used to be in the center of the kitchen and installed recessed lighting, we added the pendant over the sink. We've also painted the walls in the house (not pictured... I'll post an updated photo soon!)

We still have a ways to go, we'd like to pour cement counters in the near future, and change out the white appliances for stainless steel and in the more distant future we'll install hardwood floors throughout. But for now... this kitchen really makes me smile. Btw, how awesome is our fridge?!?!

Blood Sweat and Tears

We have had the keys to our new abode for 10 days and a lot of work (refer to post title above) has already gone into that money pit. I have single handedly been working on giving the kitchen a 'lunch-hour facelift' [A ten-day lunch hour!] (one that doesn't require major surgery or major bucks.) I have done a lot of sanding, a lot of priming and the painting continues. All in all though, it's worth it. We spent our first night in the house on Saturday and it already feels like home. A sneak peak at what I've been working on:

Ok, the inside of the cabinets look green... but they're gray I promise! More to come!

C-Ment

Tons of ideas have been thrown around regarding inexpensive fixes for our new house. Last night we decided that cement countertops in the kitchen will be a cool ( and DIY) way to update our house asap. We're thinking something like this:

Our floors are terracotta tiles but we will paint the cabinets white and install hardware just like the ones in this photo (although we may go with a brushed stainless steel.) Yay? Nay?

*Photo via modern-decors.com

TGIF: Come On In

Since we're certain we will be closing escrow on this house I thought it would be beyond embarissing fun to post the photos from the MLS that depict how it actually looks right now. All of the negatives aside, I am in love and I can't wait to make it my own. We'll be making a few changes to the place before we move just to update it enough to be able to live in it.  New paint throughout and new paint (and hardware) for all of the cabinets. We'll be removing all of the ceiling fans and installing can lights and crown moulding. Slowly, over the course of the next few years we will really tackle large remodeling projects like rehauling the kitchen and expanding the master bath, replacing all of the windows/sliders, building a jacuzzi in the courtyard and terracing the back slope. In the mean time, lets take a minute to peruse our new house.



Front courtyard



Living Room



Kitchen



Kitchen



Master Bedroom

Master Bath

2nd bedroom

3rd Bedroom



Guest Bath

Back Patio



Gratuitous View of the 11th hole!



Happy Weekend!

On the Dotted Line

We put an offer in on the outdated-but has-a-ton-of-potential house that overlooks the 11th hole of a golfcourse in San Clemente. We submitted our offer on Sunday and it has been a grueling two days. It's a property owned by more than one person so both need to agree to our price... The word from our realtor is that one of the persons involved has signed on the dotted line accepting our offer and the other has verbally agreed and has committed to signing today. You know what all of this means!!!! Poor blogging about diy projects and renovations!! Hoorah!

A photo of the view off of the back patio of what could potentially be our new house!