My Waterloo....

... otherwise known as the entryway into our little split level cottage. What does one do with these small, "neither upstairs nor downstairs" landings that constantly need a stick vac dragged up & down to keep them dirt & dust-bunny free?


I can try to dress it up by throwing a cute vintage tablecloth over the shoe cubbies... and even make everyone put away their shoes from time to time!


I can try to brighten up the area up by painting over the old dark, scuffed woodwork...


..with creamy white paint...


I can remove the old threadbare, stained carpeting from the stairs, but that leaves me with construction grade plywood floors, the perfect recipe for splinters...


...so I can cover them with inexpensive peel & stick floor tiles until I hit the lottery and am able to renovate them with hardwoods... (Silly me thought we could just replace the treads with nice hardwood ones.... Turns out the entire staircase, risers and all, would need to be dismantled and reassembled in order to do so!)

So yes, I can try to do some spiffing and sprucing to the entryway, but I still want to keep the lights off if at all possible, because the one thing that can't be hidden or disguised or made aesthetically pleasing is....


...the pile of coats and hats hanging across the coat rack...


I just hate this area... my Waterloo for sure... the battle I can never win. From September through April everybody seems to wear coats or jackets of some sort, and they all end up here. (how I wish split-level homes had a closet right in the entryway!) I think this fall or winter I'm going to do a major closet reorgnization and see if I can get everyone to bring their coats upstairs to the hallway closet instead of hanging them on the hooks down by the front door... And if that doesn't work, I may suggest everyone start wearing pretty cottage colored coats of pinks and greens and blues, maybe with stripes or florals! (just kidding, hubby.... kind of :)

And speaking of the entryway...


The weather has been so beautiful lately! Not too hot, not too cold... Perfect for leaving doors and windows open. A couple of weeks ago I heard a big CLUNK and looked down to see that Spotty had leaped into the front door, and was now on his hind haunches, peering out...

In the next instant, this handsome boy came calling and Spotty was beside himself. I think Mr. Neighbor Kitty was enjoying taunting poor Spotty (strictly an indoor kitty), whose tail was getting puffier by the minute! Mr. NK finally realized Spotty would not be able to come out to play and went on his way, which made Spotty very happy.

And regarding these last 2 photos - please ignore the scatter rug which was about a week overdue for its trip through the washer... and please ignore the box just laying there in the entryway (containing the floor lamp that went into Amanda's new apartment)... and please ignore the poor bannister that desperately needs to be re-sanded, re-sealed and re-painted... ha ha.. there's a lot to be ignored in this little entryway!!!

Comment Update: Sharon, I have no idea why we were told the stairs needed to be completely reconstructed. When we had the hardwood floors put down 2 years ago we tried to get the contractors to cover the stairs with the matching hardwood at that point, but they said they were not allowed to cover stairs for 'liability' reasons. So I then called two other contractors to get quotes and they both said the stairs would need to be completely reconstructed (which made the quotes way more expensive than we can affford for the time being... Maybe some day post-college tuition! ha ha). I then went to two neighbors who also have splits and have had oak stairs put in over the past few years, and both of them said their contractors had, indeed, rebuilt the stairs, including treads, stringers, risers, etc... I'm so happy for you that yur dad was able to give you wood stairs without all the hassle of having them rebuilt!

Donna

Our mini kitchen makeover....

The makeover is mini but, then again, so is our kitchen! (I'll give you the "grand tour" in a bit)... After the "tour" be sure to visit Susan's Metamorphosis Monday where you'll see how she transformed her dining room walls (teaser - her dining room is soooooooo elegant!); not only that, there's also a list of bloggers who are all sharing makeover or "before and after" projects! Okay, on to our little kitchen...

Here are Before (mid-80's) and After (2009) photos, both taken from the same vantage point.

All that remains of my 80's kitchen are the tan tiled backsplash, faux butcherblock counters, and stainless sink. I'd love to put up beadboard as a backslplash and get a white sink at some point; but I have to admit that the countertops (that I used to hate!) have grown on me over the years and I quite like them now...

We replaced the floor with inexpensive stick down tiles a couple of years ago, and the original almond appliances were replaced (as needed) with newer bisque-colored appliances. The old dark brown cabinets & hardware were treated to a coat (actually many coats) of creamy white paint about 4 years ago...

And last year, I made fabric panels for the cupboard doors over the sink... Little by litttle, it's coming together...

I've often said that some man with serious mother issues (i.e. he hated women) designed this kitchen... What it doesn't have: not one single window (for view or light) and no elbow room whatsoever... What it does have: tons of "dead" space in the backs of the top and bottom corner cabinets (which are not the lazy susan variety). I now store my pots and pans on a small shelving unit behind the family room sofa (seen in above photo) because everything kept getting pushed into the dead space way back in the corner cabinet next to the dishwasher, making things impossible to find unless you were on hands and knees with a flashlight..

So now I just keep my griddle, roasting pans, and a big Texas sized frying pan in the cabinet... I'd love to have a pot & pan rack, but there's no ceiling space to hang one from that wouldn't involve a cabinet door opening into it or people banging their heads on the hanging pots and pans!! In all seriousness though, I realize how blessed we are to have what we do... So all this complaining is superficial (to a point! ha ha)


Okay, so on to the grand tour... As you are coming through the dining area (there is no formal dining room), you have the kitchen off to the left, with the step-down family room straight ahead...

On the left, we're passing our little 'recycling center,' which is butted up against the fridge.... Coming into view is our stove. We replaced the old hood/fan with a microwave/fan a few years ago in order to free up counter space (which we are sorely lacking)...


Take a step into the kitchen and you'll see the dishwasher and sink area.

Okay, I know I just told you we have very little counter space, but I still found the need to set up a little "50's vignette" with some parakeets and a vintatge cat planter to give a little oomph to that corner....

.... because I've been so inspired by the many little lamps and vignettes on kitchen counters in blogland that I had to take a little chunk of counterspace and try one of my own!

Turn slightly to the left and -whoops - there's the fridge already!


Turn your head a tad more to the left and you'll see the side of the recycling center that I said was butted up against the side of the fridge. The toaster and blender are over on the counter behind the fridge. Wow, that was quick!! The tour is over almost before it began!!


To add some natural light to the kitchen, we removed the original light fixture and in its place installed a sun pipe (like a skylight except it's a highly reflective tube that fits between attic rafters and evenly diffuses the light throughout the room). We then installed track lighting over the work areas.

So there you have it... You can see the entire kitchen in this photo, and if you stand in the center of the room you can touch everything you need to (which makes it a breeze if you're the only one in there trying to cook, but just try adding one or two more people - ha ha! - my family says that's the reason they don't ever offer to help me cook!)... The floor tiles are 12" square, so you can easily do the math and see how tiny my kitchen really is!

The one change that made the biggest difference was painting the cabinets creamy white. Why I didn't do that until four years ago is beyond me. It at least made the room seem bigger, even if it didn't add any real square footage...

So if there ever is another house in my future, Dear God, I promise I won't ask for much... I don't need a stainless steel kitchen or granite countertops or a nice big island... I don't need top appliances or fancy floors... But do you think I could have a window so I can watch all the birds and Chips and Sammies you send my way? I would so love that!!!!

Donna