And Then There Was Light

Hubby has developed a new hobby - collecting kerosine lamps.

Last summer he was just buying up what came his way and looked halfway decent.

We wound up with about 10 or so lamps.

Once we got back home he started researching it more, ordered books on lamps, on the history and types of lamps. He became a regular

Kerosine Lamp Guru

So on this trip we took a look at what we already had and only one was a real antique. The rest were modern kerosine lamps.

He was on a mission to find genuine antiques, and that he did.

All of the lamps he found are from the 1800's....Imagine the stories they could tell!.

The brass one is an electric lamp and not part of his collection.

This one is a special beauty:

This lamp can be height adjusted. Either low for reading or up high to shed more light in the room. Very cool. We also have a hand painted globe that fits over the top part, but the original owner dropped and cracked it. She glued it back together, but I'm not sure what kind of glue she used and if it can take the heat when the lamp is on so we'll only put it on there for looks, not for use.

Now all that's missing to make the room complete is one to hang over the dining table (that has been electrified). Happy hunting!

Aloha A Hui Hou!

The Reveal

With out further ado, our 50% new kitchen. Let's start with entry...

The North facing wall - Before

After

The door you see leads out to the back porch and to the left are the stairs that take you down to the basement.  I painted the wall with 3 coats of magnetic paint and a final coat of chalk board paint.


Funny story about the magnetic paint. I purchased a quart can and asked the guy at the paint counter to "shake it up" for me. He put the little, but oh so heavy, can in the centrifuge and walked away. Surprise, surprise! When he turned around the machine had shaken itself about 2 feet out of it's cubby space. It was also really heavy to roll onto the wall. I'm glad it was a relatively small area.


Oh and another thing about magnetic paint and chalk board paint. If you have them separate, like I did, keep in mind that by over painting the magnetic paint with chalkboard paint it reduces the strength of the hold your magnets have on the wall. Be sure to get it covered with one coat.

The window over the sink faces South - Before

After (OH! I see the curtains are crooked...guess I can't do anything about that right now, can i?)

We are so pleased with how the tile turned out, the color of the cabs, the granite, the wood details, the sink....everything. It is a beautiful little farmhouse kitchen.

The fridge is on the West facing wall - Before

After

You can see we added a 2nd drawer to the left of the fridge. That's where the laundry cute was.  The lower part is still a laundry cute, just smaller, but it's still big enough for what we have to throw down. Down the line I have to insert something so the laundry doesn't get caught on the water line/rafters.

We originally didn't want to have the ice maker hooked up, and then we went ahead and had it done anyway. Not that we really needed a lot of ice while we were there (we only have a few days over 60), but it's good to know that it works.

This window faces East

Here is our "table"and it is just perfect for the two of us. If need be, a 3rd person could sit at the end. Kind of bummed that we decided to skip the silverware drawer, but I'll get over it.

Oh, can't forget the floor....I love, love love the tile floor. Easy to clean, feels great under my feet and looks fantastic, just like wood. I would pick it again in a heartbeat.

Here you can see the under cabinet lighting. It makes the counter tops and back splash shine.

These are the lights we finally decided on. I really liked the farm house ones, but just couldn't get over the price. These cost under $30 a piece and also have a vintage feel/look. In addition they go well with our appliances and if I ever want a touch of color I could always spray paint the skirt of the light.

Oh and they are on a dimmer, which is perfect for our needs.

Looking in from the entry off the front room.

The light over the sink - originally we had planned to put the same light over the sink as we have over the table - turned out it was WAY TOO BIG, so I had to go out and buy something else. As you can see it has similar lines. A good match to the ones over the table.

Window facing East - Before (original listing photo)

After

Two things I want to say about this photo. First, notice the Sit-a-Bit sign over the window. I bought this sign years ago, when we were still living in Waikiki. Amazing how it exactly fits in the color scheme of the kitchen! Love those little coincidences!

Second, the chairs. You can't believe how hard it was to find counter top height chairs! Sure, we found some saddle chairs, but we have those here, never really liked them and replaced them with a nice set I found at Ross. Most of the chairs we found were so cheaply made we just had to pass on them. One day, when we were driving down the road I spotted a 2nd hand furniture store. We turned around and went in. The guy had these two chairs. They were the right height and seemed pretty sturdy. Not to mention the price was right. The guy at the store was so nice. He asked what colors we have in our kitchen and gave us a piece of fabric (enough for both) that will fit right in! I didn't get around to reupholstering the chairs this time, but I will next time...might even paint some of the wood to match the cabinets....we'll see.

Thanks so much for following the progress of the kitchen - Looking forward to getting some good use out of it!

Aloha a Hui Hou!