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5 KITCHEN SINK IDEAS BEFORE THANKSGIVING

October 6, 2022

Have you looked at the calendar? We are on the backend of summer! Last week, I ran into HomeGoods ( and there were pumpkin-theme pillows and pumpkin scented candles on the shelves.

I like to plan DIY projects for late August, so when my husband and I return to Colorado after dropping our boys off at college, I have a distraction. My kitchen remodel includes new cabinets, appliances and counters. Oh, and an expanded island. My husband looked a little nauseous when we started to talk specifics which he equates to money.

I suggested he focus on sinks. Because you cannot have a kitchen without a sink. I pointed him in the right direction by finding 5 kitchen sink ideas.

5 Kitchen Sinks Ideas

This is the only image of my stainless, double-overmount sink. It is an overmount sink which means it collects gunk around the edges. I think it is called an overmount.

These are the questions that flood my mind at 4:30 in the morning.

5-Kitchen-Sink-Ideas-Before-Thanksgiving-everyday-edits

I shared a post about how to keep the kitchen sink pretty a few weeks ago. I never shared a photo of my kitchen sink. That post got me thinking about what I want in a kitchen sink.

Kitchen Sink Envy on Pinterest

Before I remove the kitchen island I want to share a few kitchen sink ideas to manage my kitchen sink envy.

The first two kitchens below reflect what I want in my new kitchen; white cabinets, clean counters and darker cabinets for the kitchen island.

This stainless steel apron sink would be a definite upgrade to my sink. How do we feel ladies and guys about a dual sink versus one large sink? Please weigh in below in the comments.

Here is a second kitchen with white cabinets. This kitchen includes a stainless, under-mount, dual sink. Can someone explain to me the advantage to a single oversized sink?

My sink habits include dirty dishes in one half of the sink and the other side of the sink is reserved for hand washing. #hashtagsuburbanmomprobs

Moving on, what do you think of the darker sink? i can’t tell if it’s aged copper.

I love the contrast between the white cabinets and the darker sink. Spoiler alert ahead.

However, I am a little distracted by the tschoke surrounding the kitchen sink.

Porcelain Kitchen Sink + Apron

Okay, this kitchen has white counters and dark cabinets. I love the brass lights and cabinet hardware.

Who has a porcelain sink? Be honest, what are the drawbacks? Does it chip? And, that’s not a deal breaker if there is some kind of epoxy strength fix.

I like the idea of an apron on the front. The kitchen cabinet below my kitchen sink is filthy. The cabinet’s crevices are the catch-all for coffee grounds and bacon grease. Eww!

A kitchen sink apron would solve that problem.

Finally, I had to share a copper kitchen sink I found on Wayfair. Personally, I think a copper sink is too fancy for my cooking skills. Where do you weigh in on a copper kitchen sink?

RV kitchen with a copper sink and butcher block counter tops — Source: Joyfully Growing Blog

I saved one of my favorites for last. I think I love this one most of all.

pHOTO BY LAURA MOSS (FOUND ON THIS OLD HOUSE/PINTEREST)

Kitchen Sink Update

We recently renovated our kitchen and I added a farmhouse Kohler apron sink in a dark grey (Basalt). I love it!

And I love the corner sink.

Truthfully, I panicked a little when I saw all of the valuable real estate in the corner behind the ffucet. But I love the airy feel against the windows.

Thanks for stopping by today. What is your favorite sink? Thinking about a new sink? Check out this sink guide on Apartment Therapy.

REVERE PEWTER PAINT IS A GO-TO COLOR

July 5, 2022

Benjamin Moore’s Revere Pewter paint is a team player in paint circles.

Do you know that feeling when you see a photo of yourself and your like, “That is not what I look like?” Well, that’s the same reaction I had when I uploaded house photos.

“My family room doesn’t look like that? Oh yes, it does, Laura. Oh, yes it does. And, I remembered the power of paint.

REVERE PEWTER PAINT

I spent months on Pinterest to narrow down my decision on the paint color for our home’s interior.

Here is our family room before Revere Pewter. It was 2005.

I love the Revere Pewter paint by Benjamin Moore, on the family room walls. Revere Pewter is a neutral paint color that shows off the furniture and decor.

Here is a great resource for Benjamin Moore paints.

Check out the Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore. A neutral interior paint that is a team player!

Before our main floor remodel I painted the nook above the fireplace Hale Navy and loved the contrast against the Revere Pewter paint on the walls.

I shared examples of Hale Navy and Revere Pewter’s color palette.

The Revere Pewter paint is carried throughout most of the house.

Our home is an open main level so you can catch glimpse of the Revere Pewter on most walls.

Revere Pewter works well in an open floor plan. It is the neutral backdrop rather than the show stopper (like Hale Navy).

This paint color literally works like a canvas. You can put anything in front of it and it becomes the showstopper of the room.

To keep the space flowing from room to room I painted the kitchen the same color. Shadows and sunsets do not darken the space. It just softens the room and the lighting works well with Revere Pewter.

Years later, through DIY projects and the main floor remodel Revere Pewter stands the test of time for interior paint. Are there other greys out there? Absolutely, but this is a color that is so close to so many that I have never wanted to repaint the interior walls.

Here is my favorite navy paint color. Over a year, I slowly added Hale Navy to a bedroom, home office and dining room.

Looking for a creamy white for accessories and small paint projects! Start here!

HOW TO UPDATE A KITCHEN ISLAND IN MINUTES

June 1, 2022

My kitchen was on the waitlist for a renovation for years.

Every month she moved her way up the list patiently waiting to get her measurements taken, her drawers evaluated and her cooktop lifted and replaced.

But, until the kitchen moved to the top of the waitlist, I found a simple kitchen island update in an hour.

When my family gets wind of a mom project they get nervous.

I think my husband had visions of me adding under cabinet lighting with Christmas lights.

But I played it safe with a quart of paint and a roller.

That’s it. Do not overthink an island update.

KITCHEN ISLAND UPDATE

In the time it took to watch an episode of Frasier, minus the commercials, the kitchen island was updated. Here is how I did it.

STEPS TO UPDATE A KITCHEN ISLAND

quart of paint and a roller brush and a small pan
kitchen island updates do not require a ladder
choose a shade darker than the paint color you think you want

simple-kitchen-island-update-everyday-edits

WHY NOT PAINT THE ENTIRE KITCHEN?

A kitchen island is less of a commitment. It’s why I prefer to grab coffee with friends and not lunch. It is just as much fun but less time and expense. And it does not interrupt my daily workflow.

If I don’t like the paint color or finished look I can repaint it in the time it takes to get through the Starbucks drive-thru on the first mid-day afternoon of a new school year.

5-Ideas-for-Test-Run-Kitchen- Makeover-EverydayEdits

The kitchen island originally was painted with Revere Pewter. The transformation to Kendall Charcoal was in minutes.

Elliott is sitting in front of the cabinets. They look lighter or darker depending on the time of day.

All of a sudden, my baseboards popped against the new paint color. Even my dulled floors look a little less scuffed.

how-to-update-kitchen-island-everyday-edits

A coat of Benjamin Moore Kendall Charcoal transformed the space.

I love this color because it works seamlessly with colors like Revere Pewter and Hale Navy.

A big part of the kitchen renovation includes the removal and replacement of a larger kitchen island.

So my decision to paint the island was a low risk, low effort to just give her a little tweak.

I love the look!

The unexpected find in this one hour project was it was a great way to “hold me over” until we could update our kitchen.

When we finished our kitchen renovation my lower cabinets and island were almost identical to what I painted them a few years ago.

If you blinked you might have missed the subtle update. The boys in my house missed it… for weeks.

What do you think? Do you have ideas for inexpensive updates that make a huge impact in a space?

HOW TO PAINT CABINET HARDWARE

March 16, 2022

I could paint the front door pumpkin orange and the dogs would notice before the rest of the family. And that is how I ended up painting my brand new cabinet hardware in my laundry room.

But let me back it up for a minute. I purchased and installed 14 cabinet pulls before I realized I did not like the oil-rubbed bronze finish.

I thought the finish would be more oil than bronze. Sadly, it was not. And based on my pumpkin orange front door hypothesis I had no concern if anyone would notice (or care). But I knew I was entering the grey zone and needed to figure out how to paint the cabinet hardware. Until I found a solution it would bug me like a mosquito. #wink

The irony is I replaced the original hardware and could have used this tip and saved myself the money of the oil rubbed bronze cabinet pulls.

Here are the original, builder grade cabinet knobs.

But I wanted a different design than the builder grade. I loved the shape of the new hardware knobs. They remind me of petite Easter eggs. They are larger than they appear in the photo. But I wish I had ordered a little larger.

I wanted black cabinet pulls; to pop against my white laundry room cabinets.

Painting over a dozen cabinet pulls without incident (meaning no coverage gaps or drips) sent me on a paint fix search. And, then, with no help from Pinterest or Google, I got an idea on how to paint cabinet pulls with a toothpick.

Yes a toothpick. Never underestimate the power of a toothpick.

Never under underestimate the power of a toothpick.

HOW TO PAINT CABINET HARDWARE IN MINUTES

With an empty Amazon box, 1/2 can of black spray paint + primer and a handful of toothpicks I set up my impromptu paint station outside.
2. I spaced the toothpicks apart making sure to have enough room around each one to spray every crevice.
Once the cabinet pulls were positioned, I poked each toothpick into the box; just enough to hold the cabinet pull.

The toothpick’s sharp point made it easy to press into the cardboard box.

I placed each cabinet pull on top of the toothpicks.
The cabinet pulls were hollow so the toothpicks handled the weight of each cabinet pull.
The cabinet pulls wobbled, but they did not fall down.

RESULTS

A can of black spray paint changed the look of the cabinet hardware in seconds.

The freshly painted cabinet hardware gave a fresh look to a space that is all about lost socks, grass stains and dirty laundry.

After all, the laundry is the most popular room in the house.

how to update the cabinet hardware in minutes — How to paint cabinet pulls in minutes, no mess

After hundreds of loads of laundry, the spray painted cabinet hardware looks brand new.

Love it! And, no one in the family ever knew of my initial disappointment in the finish.

I started and finished and reinstalled the pulls in a matter of a few hours. In fact, NO ONE in the family noticed I had changed the cabinet pulls from the original pulls!

If you are thinking about painting your front door, read this post.

Here is a tip for staining small objects!

A Reclaimed Wood Buffet for the Dining Room

September 8, 2020

I found a reclaimed wood buffet for my dining room. It’s true, sometimes non-essential dreams do come true. And, this wood buffet was not found online or in the dining room window display.

You will never guess where I found my future dining room buffet.

I found my wood buffet next to the bathroom at Pottery Barn. It was in a hallway leading to the women’s bathroom. Big surprise!

There was a hold tag on it for another customer.

So I ripped it off and marched up to the checkout counter.

Gotcha!

Just kidding!

But I ~~may have~~ thought about it. What? It was made of reclaimed wood. It was the perfect match for this dining room table.#ad

But, the story did not end in the Pottery Barn bathroom hallway.

I went home and checked out the details (price) and dimensions. And that’s when, in the final hours of a Sunday evening, in the top right-hand corner of my screen was a 24-hour flash sale with the following announcement in all caps.

**FREE SHIPPING.** It was a free-shipping miracle sent by a little angel.

But with tuition, mortgage payments and the neverending cash flow demands of my husband’s data analytics company, the online shopping cart usually sents empty or the catalog gets recycled.

Reclaimed Wood Buffet

I think this is where the term angel investors originated. #wink, #snarky.

Once the hutch was in my shopping cart I got my sign from the angel investors; the Bowery reclaimed storage hutch was back-ordered.

Backordered status translates to no credit card charge until the hutch ships from Chicago.

I had time to pay it off before it shipped.

I now refer to this as mom’s angel investor club (entirely different meaning in my husband’s vernacular).

So the best part of this new dining room hutch was that it fit perfectly in my little dining room niche AND it was paid in full before it shipped.

The dining room hutch was made from reclaimed wood with rough edges and dark brass hardware. It matched the industrial vibe and this dining room table.

What do you have your eye on that you might find in a store’s hallway?

“As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.”

Garage Entry Door Makeover in an Hour

November 20, 2019

It’s the week of Thanksgiving. I should focus on mashed potatoes, fresh linens and a vacuum to reign in the dog hair. But that’s not what happened yesterday. In between a quick inventory of the Christmas trees and hauling out bags of clothes to drop off at Goodwill, I painted the garage entry door. That’s right in less than an hour I had a garage entry door makeover. Welcome home…

You know when you reach that point where you have to drop everything because something bugs you so much? Like a mosquito bite; that you can’t reach to scratch? Well, my garage entry door was that mosquito; except it was door and days before Thanksgiving.

This was the door a few years ago before it got a quick update with a coat of black paint and new hardware. But over the years the door got banged up with tennis bags and a 93 pound Bernese Mountain dog covered in mud.

She may also be the reason the updated door hardware tilts.

I switched things up with a couple quick coats of Chelsea Gray. The same paint I used to paint our living room hutch. There is an Instagram account just for Benjamin Moore’s Chelsea Gray.

In our house, the entry door from the garage is the most popular door. The only one who visits the front door is the UPS or Fed Ex guy. So it only made sense that my family members have a door with fresh paint.

In less than an hour, I had a garage entry door makeover. And I added a little something to welcome my family home.

It turns out the crazy, packed schedule is the deadline I needed to haul out a paint tarp. The time spent painted rolled by quickly with thoughts of all three of my children home for a few days. #fullhouse

I plan to make these as these breakfast rolls in the days before Thanksgiving.

Hello there!

HOW TO PAINT A STAINED FRONT DOOR

October 9, 2019

There was no turning back once I started to paint the backside of our front door. The decision to paint the stained front door was a long, agonizing one. Translation? I spent too much time (and coffee) searching Pinterest. Of course, I am obsessed with these doors, but I am pinching pennies as we get ready to demo our kitchen. The difficult decision was based on the fact that once the white paint was in play it was not easily undone.

HOW TO PAINT A STAINED FRONT DOOR

Here is the stained front door from inside the entryway. And, yes, the white trim around the stained door was an existing eyesore.

STEPS

I made the decision not to remove the door from the door’s hinges. With my REALTOR® life schedule, I wanted to be able to lock up the house if needed.
Lightly sand the stained door and remove dust and debris on the front door’s surface.
Paint the sidelights first. If I hated the paint it would be easier to restain one sidelight than the entire front door.

At this point, I could see the transformation from the oak stain to a bright white. It matched the adjacent entry closet door and it was a mutual attraction.

You know that moment when you love the decision you agonized over for weeks?

This was that kind of moment for a DIY girl!

New hardware to match the closet door hardware finished the look. If you zoom in you can see we missed a few hinges when we updated the door hardware around the house.

Painting the interior side of the stained front door made the entry so much brighter.

Look at the before and after side-by-side photo. Painting the stained doors made a huge difference in a matter of hours and a 1/2 gallon of paint. If you want to do a deep dive on the prep details, check out my go-to handyman,

Want a few one hour projects and seasonal decorating tips? I won’t overwhelm you with emails!

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HOW OUR DINING ROOM TABLE IS OUR GIVING TREE

September 5, 2019

Do you know the book, The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein? The classic children’s book was described as one of the “most divisive books in children’s literature.” I sided with the tree. You? And, I bet our dining room table would too.

Did you see what I just did? Our dining room table is our giving tree.

Here is her story.

We found our dining room table at a furniture store in Denver. We purchased it when we moved from Westerville, Ohio to Colorado. My traditional, cherry stain furniture did not work in our brownstone in the suburbs home.

My husband and I equally loved this dining room table and like proud parents we were happy to show it off to friends and family.

Like most dining rooms, the dining room table was located in the most unpopular room in the house. But over the years, our dining room table carried the load for our family.

Our dining room table turned into the catchall for tennis racquets, shopping bags, sweaty uniforms, and mail. It was our giving table.

DINING ROOM TABLE

During the holidays, we cleared the table’s clutter and dust and topped it off with a layer of furniture oil. Seasonal tablescapes were created over her rough edges. Friends shared their interest in our table if we decided to sell our possessions and move into

… a tiny house.

But, it turns out there is a twist in The Giving Tree analogy. Maybe, we gave a little bit of love back to the dining room table.

Let me explain.

During our first Thanksgiving, with a dozen relatives squeezed around our table, we discovered that the rough edges and bumps on the surface were a bit of a challenge for the dining experience.

It turns out the glasses wobbled.. like Weebles.

My husband panicked and had plans to order a glass table top. Over my grey roots (see what I did there)? On that Thanksgiving night, I fell more in love with our table; it wasn’t perfect.

The design to create a table for a Colorado home could not keep a wine glass level. The glasses wobbled. Kind of like grandma after her second glass of Chardonnay. Grandma blamed the table.

Maybe it was the table. Our table.

While my husband suggested a glass top, I suggested bubble wrap placemats. If you are new here I love to repurpose everyday objects.

It turned out, the table’s imperfections became the best conversation starters with a table full of guests (and drinking glasses).

And, just like the book, written by Shel Silverstein, our dining room table gave us a little bit more.

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HOW TO REMOVE A HALF WALL

August 22, 2019

The good news is my husband and I are still married after we built a kitchen half wall between the dining room and kitchen. One of the best DIY decisions we made was when we decided to take out half the wall between our dining room and kitchen. You know the dining room? The room that either is dressed for a party or looks like the lost and found in a high school locker room.

But over the course of a weekend, we made the decision to build a half wall. Heads up! We love it!

how to remove a half wall, how to take out a half wall between two rooms

BEFORE WE REMOVED A HALF WALL

Our original plan was to remove the wall behind our refrigerator in the kitchen. But a consult with an architect brought up the light from the bank of windows in our dining room.

Sidenote: We hired the architect for a different project (that led to this project).

But since she charged by the hour we asked her about the wall between the kitchen and dining room.

HOW TO RECREATE AHALF WALL IN THE KITCHEN

This project to take out half a wall was much much easier than we anticipated. It was the biggest project my husband and I tackled.

It was bigger than this project.

OPENING 1/2 A WALL SOLVED A FEW PROBLEMS

it created a social hub between the dining room and kitchen
it added more light from the dining room windows
it opened up a narrow entry between the dining room and kitchen

Removing half the wall with the upper cabinets and microwave did two things.

Added much-needed light from the north-facing windows in the dining room.

2. Created a little breakfast nook or workstation that was out of the way of the kitchen.

WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU OPEN UP HALF A WALL

This project required trust, grit, patience and an electrician to run interference and move an outlet. To appreciate the after here is a quick view of the dining room a few years ago.

And, yes I picked that color.

The dining room was the gateway to the kitchen. And, with a narrow entry arch into the kitchen. Here is the wall from the dining room. To the left is the door size entry into the kitchen.

Here’s the view from the dining room. By removing this wall we could take advantage of the light from the large dining room windows.

THE BEFORE

Here’s the view from the kitchen.

Tip: Before we removed the upper cabinets (and the half wall) we relocated the contents of the cabinets. Before we removed the wall we wanted to make sure we would not miss those cabinets.

At the same time, we relocated the microwave to an adjoining counter.

ELECTRICAL + PLUMBING DETAILS

We hired a plumber and electrician to move the mechanics to the left inside the frame. We had to add an additional outlet on the dining room wall side per electrical code. Total costs for the mechanical was just under $300.00.

PAIN IN THE ARCH

The arch was the trickiest part of this wall removal. We had the small arch where the original entry into the kitchen existed. The main level of our house has arches in and out of every room so we wanted to keep the design. But, we had to remove the original arch before we recreated a wider arch to accommodate the extended length of the newly opened half wall.

Arch Solution

My husband found Archways & Ceilings, a US-based company, that specializes in creating arches. With simple instructions on their website, my husband measured the expanded wall opening. Within a week we had an MDF template ready to install.

We framed the top of the wall with 2×4’s and attached the MDF arch to the frame. It required a drill and screws. It was a great, affordable solution. The total cost of the MDF arch was around $100.00.

The time saved: priceless.

We love the space between the kitchen and dining room and it looks like the way we envisioned it.

how to remove a half wall between two rooms

And, the best part of this half-wall removal project was how quickly we finished it.

From start to finish it was a total commitment of two-ish weekends.

It took almost a week to receive the solution for the extended arch.

The contractor quotes we received for the half-wall tear-down project was north of $6,000.00. We completed this project for less than $1500. This included the cost for the plumbing and electrical.

The Before:

It also included the temporary countertop we made until we were ready to remodel the kitchen.

Here is the half-wall area today a few years later. We love the openness into the dining room. We used the counter as a breakfast bar or additional seating for entertaining.