Is It Wrong To Say I Love This Sink?

Okay, I haven't even received it yet (delivery was delayed because of our pesky security gate), but I can't even tell you how excited I am about receiving my new sink today! And yes, I felt a little silly even writing that.

I know how strange it sounds. It's just a sink...a material item. Of COURSE I don't actually LOVE it. And maybe the real issue is that I'm SOOOO excited to get rid of this thing:


I am DONE with two types of sinks: (1) drop in sinks that catch all of the food and grime around the edges, and (2) double-bowl sinks. Oh, that double-bowl thing really gets me. Neither side is actually large enough to wash my largest pot, the right side (the side that's NOT connected to the garbage disposal) always seems to get food and grime caught in the drain, so I have to fish it out with my HAND and put it in the other side, down the disposal. GROSS!!! I've just had it. So I'm very ready to trade it in for this:



Isn't she beautiful!? (Okay, yes, again I realize how silly I sound.) But I really do like my new undermount, single bowl, stainless steel sink.

Overall, it's smaller than my current sink, but since it's just one single bowl, my largest pot will fit in there nicely. At the same time, the overall smaller size will give me a bit more countertop space, and when a kitchen is as small as mine, every single inch counts!! And I love that it's an undermount, so that there won't be any dirt and grime getting caught on the top of my new countertops. But the best part--ONE BOWL!! No more scooping out gross stuff from one drain to put down the other. WOOHOO!!

Well, that's it. That's the hightlight of my day...just sitting here waiting for the FedEx man. (Don't I lead an exciting life?!) :)

Edit: IT'S HERE!


I ripped into the box as soon as the FedEx man left, and then immediately called the sink-hole-cutting man. He'll be here tomorrow morning. Wow! I have so much to do before then!! I have to uninstall my sink (boo...I hate doing anything related to plumbing) remove the countertop (I've never done that before, so we'll see if I can figure out how), and then have the new countertop on there with the template before he arrives. Wow! I guess I better step away from the computer and get busy!

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Progress Report Monday:: My New Countertops!!

I have finally have some progress to share with you!! Okay, they're not ALL installed, but at least I do have SOMETHING to show you!! I am so incredibly excited about these countertops. They're absolutely gorgeous!!

The countertops I used are the Numerar butcherblock countertops in oak from Ikea.

I wrestled and wrestled with deciding what countertops to use, if to stain them, and if so, what product to use, how to seal them, etc. Every website I came upon while researching butcherblock countertops seemed to recommend different methods and products. It all became very confusing. To add to that confusion, the color of the Ikea countertops in the picture on their website was very misleading. This is what the picture looked like:



Those look like a nice, rich, medium-brown color, right? In reality, here's what the oak Numerar butcherblock countertops looked like right out of the box:



QUITE a difference...and not really what I was hoping for.

So...after doing more research, I finally decided that this is the process I'm going to use to stain, seal, and protect my countertops.

First, I used a coat of Minwax stain in English Chestnut. I wanted a medium brown--not too light, not too dark. I'm very pleased with the color.


This is just regular 'ole stain--the kind you buy at Home Depot. There's nothing special about it. It's NOT food safe, which is why this can't be used alone. There are more steps to follow. But first, here's a side-by-side of the before and after staining:


After this cures for 72 hours, I will follow up with a product called Waterlox, which is a blend of tung oil and resin. This is the same product that was used on these countertops:


I decided to use Waterlox because it acts similar to a urethane product, in that it seals the wood and protects, while at the same time, it won't scuff like pure wax/oil products or peel/crack like a urethan product can. Also, once all of the necessary coats are applied, there's really no need for re-application of the product with normal use, whereas oils must be maintained and reapplied even with just normal use of the countertop.

Waterlox comes in different sheens, but the first coat HAS to be the original Waterlox, which is a medium gloss sheen. After that, a satin finish can be used. I would really prefer a satin finish, but since the product isn't quite cheap (especially with shipping added), I'm going to try the original first by itself to see if I like it. If it's just too shiny for my taste, then I'll go ahead and order the satin. I'm REALLY hoping not to have to do that, though.

Now the main question regarding products used on butcherblock countertops in kitchens is usually food safety. According to the website: "Waterlox finishes are non-toxic when dry for at least 7 days, when properly applied (e.g., spread rate and adequate drying conditions), and when overnight dry is allowed between coats... Many customers use Waterlox Original Finishes on items such as butcher-block counter tops and cutting boards, salad bowls and bowl turnings, knife handles and eating utensils, children's toys and furniture, etc."

So, I feel pretty confident that I've made the best choice for me, while at the same time, keeping food safety in mind. I called the company directly and asked if using a stain underneath the product would affect the food-safety quality of Waterlox, and they said that it would NOT. Waterlox will seal in the stain (which has to be fully dry and cured before adding Waterlox), and still keep the surface food safe. Yay!

I'm so anxious to get it finished. I only have the three short pieces installed right now. The long, main piece can't be installed until I get my new sink (which should be delivered today), and then the countertop man has to come out and cut the hole for me. That's a job I WON'T be doing myself.

So how about you? How are your projects coming along? If you have pictures/updates to show, don't forget to leave a link in the comment section!!

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Anjolette's Virtual Room (re)Design:: Modern Living Room

Hello all! Well, I guess it goes without saying, but I decided to step away from my computer for a few days and get some work done. Actually, I had just planned on shutting down the computer for Monday. Then Tuesday, I went to Round Rock with my mom to get my kitchen countertops (yay!), and then before I knew it, my one-day computer break had turned into FOUR...and it was FRIDAY! Wow! This week has absolutely flown by!

My countertops are still sitting in the boxes, leaning up against the sofa. Hopefully they'll be installed soon and I'll be able to share them with you, but for now, I'm still waiting on my new undermount sink that I ordered from Ebay, as well as the butcherblock sealer that I decided to use, which should be delivered today. I'll share more on that later, but suffice it to say that I was about ready to pull my hair out trying to decide what product(s) to use on my butcherblock to seal/protect it. But I FINALLY made my decision, and I'll share what and why with you next week.

In the meantime, I realized last night that I never shared with you the results of Anjolette's Virtual Room (re)Design. Remember...Anjolette was the winner of the (re)Design giveaway a few weeks back.

First, here are the pictures of her room that she sent me:



Here is the Virtual Room (re)Design that I created for her:



















Click here to see the full-sized drawings and mood boards, as well as the source list for Anjolette's living room design.

And if you'd like to have your own Virtual Room (re)Design, you can get all of the details here.

Hope you have a very blessed weekend!! See you back here on Monday.

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I'm Finally Getting Kitchen Countertops!!

Oh my goodness, I'm so excited about this. Countertops! Finally! Beautiful, warm, wood countertops.

When I was trying to decide on what material I wanted for my countertops, I went through the list: Granite? Absolutely not...too overused. Marble? Gorgeous, but probably not in the budget. Man-made solid surface? They're nice and practical, but just seem to lack that "something" I'm looking for. Tile? I really like tile for a vintage look, but it's just not what I had in mind. Wood? Hmmmm...wood. Now THAT sounds interesting. If I buy it at Ikea, it's certainly priced reasonably, it's gorgeous, and it's not something I see in every house I go into. That's IT! That's what I want.

So I went online too see if I could find some inspirational pictures where homeowners have actually used the Numerar butcherblock countertops from Ikea. Here's what I found:

I absolutely love this bathroom from Modern in MN.

GOR-geous. Absolutely gorgeous! Found here.

Another beauty, and this one with some pretty
fancy router work, which was done professionally.
Spotted here.


This gorgeous kichen was found on the wonderfully
charming blog A Country Farmhouse.


This one is probably the most inspirational for me,
found on Design Sponge. The lower cabinet color is
the same as mine, the backsplash is similar to
what mine will look like (I'll be using subway tile),
and the countertops are the same.

So there you have it. Gorgeous, warm, natural wood countertops. I'm so excited to say goodbye to my worn, stained, 30-year-old formica! And I'm so ready to make the new cabinets usable. Until now, they've just been really expensive kitty beds.


So now if I can just finish up my cabinet doors, I'm on my way to having a real, usable, functional kitchen again! We'll actually be able to eat more than just cereal and sandwiches at home!! I'll be able to store my silverware in a drawer, instead of just using it directly from the dishwasher! Oh my...I'm getting all giddy just thinking about it.

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I Made My Own Artwork!

My fascination with Picnik continues. On Tuesday, I told you how you could make your own artwork using this great website. Well, I got to thinking...instead of just talking about it, I would actually DO it! And I did!

So let's revisit my living room. Of course, it's still in the beginning stages, and I still have NO finished furniture for the room, and none of the projects are really finished...so of course, it's the PERFECT time to think about artwork, right!? :) Yep, that's about how I do things. I have the hardest time staying focused. I want to get to the fun stuff!!

I've known for a while that I wanted to do a series of pictures on this long wall in the living room, to the right of the built-in cabinets.



I wanted a series of six or eight pictures, and I needed them to be as cheap as possible. While I would love to buy some really nice artwork, or even support a great Etsy artist, it's simply not in the budget right now.

So instead, I went online, did a simple Google search for things like "blue flowers" and "pink flowers" and "yellow flowers", and looked through the images. Within minutes, I had found the ones I wanted to use. I then headed over to Picnik to "posterize" the pictures. Here's an example of one of the pictures I found. This is the original:


And then after using the Posterize feature, and also editing the photo by increasing the sharpness, I arrived at this:


Pretty great, huh? Here's another one before:


And the after:



So I continued the process with six more photos, and this is the whole set of eight that will go on my wall. With them so little, the detail is lost, but having seen the ones above, you can imagine what they look like:


And here's an idea of what they'll look like on my wall:



I love it! Now I just need to find the perfect frames.

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