bead board Archives - Spindles Designs by Mary and Mags

DIY: Kitchen Island

February 27, 2015 by Mary Ellen Stringham 6 Comments

Mary Catherine has a smallish house with this great kitchen space…but, there was no counter space and not a lot of cupboard space either. So in our love of remodeling projects, we decided to make her and her husband a “KITCHEN ISLAND” for Christmas. Check out our DIY: Kitchen Island.

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Kitchen Remodel Part #2

May 13, 2014 by Margaret 4 Comments

When the island was complete and looked so great we were anxious, but nervous to start the next step, the stove wall. Because we were reusing most of the existing cabinets, to tackle this wall meant taking apart basically the rest of the kitchen and still be able to function in it.

There was a lot more demolition, wiring and so on in this portion. John moved plugs and wired so we could have lights above as well as under the counter. We hung onto the stove for as long as possible, it was going to be replaced by a counter top stove and a double wall oven. This part of the project started in August and the goal was to have it completed and ready to cook Thanksgiving dinner.

Along with the cabinets from the kitchen we were able to use the cabinets taken from the master bath a couple of years before. They were the same size style and height. We did have to construct a few new cabinets as well. A Cabinet to house the new bigger hood, the wall ovens and a small shelf by the sliding glass door, just for decor. We refinished the old cabinets and finished the

new ones using a wonderful product called

Rust-Oleum Cabinet Transformations. It was so easy to use and did a beautiful job.

I think the hardest decision we had was the back splash. We tossed so many ideas around but none of them seemed to be just right. Then John came home from a doctor visit and said, “I saw this great idea in a magazine in the doctors office. What about bead board?” It was the perfect answer. It gave us that bit of country look and we had already used it on the island. We found our back splash.

It was close but we accomplished our goal. The granite counter top was installed the week before Thanksgiving and the wall ovens the Saturday before.

This project took a lot of time but well worth it.

I love every inch of my new kitchen and am looking forward to the final wall to be finished.

That will be coming soon.

Mary Ellen

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Stairs Make Over

February 5, 2014 by Margaret 21 Comments

We have just about remodeled our entire house. Well not really, we just always take on large projects. Our most resent project has been our stairs. When we bought our house 11 years it had very light carpet throughout, yes even the stairs. Well over time and 6 people, which has grown to be 11 people, running up and down them, you can imagine what they looked like. I unfortunately can’t find the before picture that I took, but trust me they were not a pretty thing to see. Even after shampooing they were not clean. In fact they almost looked better bare wood.

We had several different ideas for the process, but they all depended on what was under the carpet.
When we found that as we suspected, the treads (the part you step on) was just constructions grade wood covered with paint and dry wall mud, refinishing them was out of the question. We had some laminate flooring left from another part of the house that we thought might work, but what was available for the front edges didn’t work. There goes that idea. Next idea we just rip out the treads and buy new ones.

So that is exactly what we did.

Using some inexpensive pine boards we made make shift treads while we finished the new ones.

Along with the new stairs we wanted to trim up the side a put Bead Board and wainscot the solid wall. We used the pre-primed tongue and groove package. They were easier cut and handle than the 4″ X 8″ sheets.

John designed and made the moldings and trims that fit the craftsman style of our house.

After two coats of Ultra Pure White, Semi Gloss paint our new stairs look like this.

Remodeling is hard work and at least at our house, is a long term, but very rewarding project. Most of the time we are learning as we go. If John and I can do it, so can you. Dig in!!

Mary Ellen

If you are new to Spindles we would love for you to subscribe to our e-mail updates or follow us on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter.

You might also enjoy trying these other DIY projects:

Laundry Room Make Over

Window Makeover