A while ago I hinted that we were considering making a custom bar from IKEA kitchen cabinets. Last night we drove to IKEA after work and it didn't go as planned. Do you ever have those days where nothing seems to go right? That was last night. So instead of coming home with the cabinets to make a bar, we came home with an empty bag. At least the cat likes the empty IKEA bags.So we'll be spending some more time thinking through this project and our bar will look like this a bit longer. Sigh.I'm … [Read more...]
kid approved – diy ikea chalkboard table
I think this present went over well. Alexander really seems to be enjoying his chalkboard table! The Lack side tables are definitely the perfect height for little ones. I can't wait to drop off the one for Drew this weekend..In case you missed it, my tutorial for making these inexpensive chalkboard tables is here: chalkboard tables. Happy Friday!Thanks for following Directions Not Included! … [Read more...]
diy ikea chalkboard table – ikea hack
We only have furry kids but I am surrounded by a bunch of little ones thanks to all my friends. Most of them call me Tia - which is Spanish for Aunt - so I try to keep up with the proper Auntie behavior and spoil them rotten. I have always wanted to pick up the Rustoleum Chalkboard Paint but had no idea what I would make to justify the purchase. In comes the IKEA Lack Side Table and a reason to finally buy the paint. IKEA hacks are great because you can take a relatively inexpensive … [Read more...]
Who’s coming for dinner?
We have a kitchen! A 90% complete kitchen, but it is a kitchen! I can't believe we did it ourselves but IKEA kitchens in all honesty are really easy to do. Time consuming of course, but otherwise pretty easy. We still have to install the handles (which are on the to do list for tonight), pick a backsplash, install the toe-kick along the bottom cabinets and have our lights installed. All and all, I'm happy with our progress. So now the big reveal....View from the family room into the kitchen … [Read more...]
time for a little tour – house tour
I've been traveling quite a bit the last few weeks for work so I haven't had any time for house projects. I thought it would be a good time to do a little tour to show you what we started with. I hope to follow up in the next post with some during shots of the major work we did the first month in. Most of these might have come from the actual listing and our first walk through. What can't be captured in these photos is the overwhelming filth (dirt, dust and overall grime) that caked every … [Read more...]
getting closer to a real kitchen
Countertop time! We've had plenty of time to think about what type of countertops we wanted given that we bought our cabinets January 1st. Slow and steady wins the race, right? After some research we went for quartz, specifically CaesarStone. Our personal preference lead us to this design-wise since there was less variation in the pieces in terms of color and the textural appearance. While granite and marble are beautiful and many people love the variety in them, it wasn't for us. The plus side … [Read more...]
