Summer Sideboard

I've got one more closet to share some pictures of later this week (we haven't wallpapered it yet but we made it a little more functional) but I still have to finish going through those pictures so today I thought I would share what our kitchen sideboard looks like in the summer. We kept the hot cocoa stuff out through late spring but once the very very hot (yuck!) weather arrived we put that stuff away in the pantry and just kept out the different coffee syrups we use and added a few of the disposable cups we found at HomeGoods in some black and white polka dots and stripes that are fun to use for snacking. Then we generally keep fresh cut flowers from the yard on here. Despite the fact that we've planted quite a few hydrangea bushes the last couple of years we've only had a few blooms this year. At least that's better than nothing, though! And seeing how the bushes are growing like crazy we are hoping next year we will have a lot more to cut. 

Oversized Chalkboard - made by me, you can read more about it here
X Sideboard - made by me, you can read more about it here

Top of Sideboard (left to right): 
Candle Sticks - Balsam Hill
Creamware Bottle Holding Hydranges and Greenery from Yard - Painted Fox
Marble Cutting Board - Gift, Think it was from Sur La Table? Crackled Planter - Birch Lane, spheres in planter - can't remember, have had them for forever
Black and White Disposable Bowls - HomeGoods
Sugar Bowl - World Market
Hot Chocolate Cups and Saucers - L.A. Burdick (anniversary gift years ago)  
Chalkboard Canisters with Copper Tops - Target
Dark Wooden Pedastal - Pottery Barn
Little Mercury Glass Votive holding hydrangeas - Painted Fox
Owl Canister - Target

Middle Row (left to right): 
Coffee Syrups and Waters - World Market, HomeGoods, Fresh Market 
Saucers - Pottery Barn
Microwave - Target
Cup Holder - World Market
Cups - Heritage Lace

Bottom Row (left to right):
Cookbooks - miscellaneous gifts
Metal Tub - HomeGoods
Silver Chargers - Pottery BarnWhite Plates - Mikasa
Blue Plates - HomeGoodsBowls - Pottery Barn, Emma Collection
Aqua Colander - Painted Fox White Dinner Plates - Pottery Barn, Emma Collection
Gray Salad Plates -  IKEA
Aqua Jars - World Market 

I hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday! 

Our Summer Kitchen and Family Room

Yesterday I posted about the new sideboard we made for the kitchen and thought today I would share more photos of it in the overall space as well as a few updated photos of the other side of this room. We spend most of our time in this room and love the open feel of it. You might notice that the drum shade flush mount that was in the kitchen is gone. I moved that to our master bedroom and then used this little light that I plan on hanging in our back hall as a temporary fix. We are planning on having recessed lighting added to the kitchen and living room this summer but until the electrician comes we at least needed some kind of light there.

You can see the rug better in some of these photos. As I mentioned before I liked the way the other rug looked in here much better! However, it was too small (although that was hard to tell in photos) which always drove me crazy. I really love how it looks up in our gray guest room which I think will be it's permanent home and this one is down here just until I can find the right one. Once I do, this one will move upstairs into our office/guest room.

Source Info:

Cabinet and Trim Color- London Fog in Semi-Gloss by Benjamin Moore
Wall Color- was here but very similar to Simply White in Matte
All appliances are Whirlpool and were purchased at Lowe's during their Memorial Day Sale
Hood - Custom Built
Farmhouse Sink - Signature Hardware
Faucet - Wayfair
Backsplash - purchased from McKenzie Restoration (but just basic white subway tile that can be purchased pretty much anywhere)
Counters - Honed Carrara Marble
Hardware - Lowes (not sure what the knobs were but just found the packaging from the cup pulls last night - they were marked Brainerd and the color is Wrought Iron)

Oversized Chalkboard - made by me, you can read more about it here
Sideboard - made by me, you can read more about it here
Counter Height Stools - Target
Bottle Holder - HomeGoods
Menu Chalkboard - Dear Lillie (for sale in our shop coming very soon!)
Schoolhouse Light - Lowe's
Pendants - These were a hand-me-down from my mom and they worked perfectly in here (originally from Bellacor)
Circular Mirror - gift from my sister, Dana (from Antique Farmhouse)
Metal Baskets - Joss and Main
Bowl on Sideboard - Wedding Gift
Dishes - Emma Collection from Pottery Barn (wedding gifts)
Dishes - Mikasa
Chocolate Cups and Saucers - gift from my sister, Jamie (from L. A. Burdick)
Canisters - wedding gift - Williams-Sonoma
Vase on Stove - IKEA
Vase under Menu Chalkboard - Target
Vase under Oversized Chalkboard - Target
Moss Sphere - Savvy in Williamsburg, VA
Three-Tiered Display Piece with buckets - gift from my mom (from Mothology)
Vase next to wire basket - gift from my mother-in-law from Spring Mill in Indiana
Marble Rolling Pin and Board - gift from my mother-in-law (from Sur La Table)
Table - Pier 1 years ago and has since been painted in French Linen from Lady Butterbug
X Back Dining Chairs - IKEA
Slipcovered Dining Chairs - IKEA
Sectional - IKEA
Chevron Picture Frames - tutorial here
Pillows - Home Goods, Target, Dear Lillie
Tufted Chairs - TJMaxx
Script Chairs - TJMaxx
Painted Cabinet - makeover here
TV Console - Antique shop in Camden, SC
Frames above chairs - tutorial here
Striped Roman Shade in Window above Sink - made by me, you can read more about it here.
Drapery Panels - IKEA Ritva Panels
Drapery Rods - Lowe's
Sconces - RH Baby and Child
Mirror - gift from my mom (Restoration Hardware)
Rocking Horse - gift from my mom (from RH Baby and Child)
Urns on Fireplace - Seasons in Williamsburg (years ago on clearance)
Lamp on side table - Joss and Main
Side Table - Pottery Barn (years ago and has since been painted)
Coffee Table - Pottery Barn (also years ago and has since be made over - you can read more here)
Rug - HomeGoods
Basket on Coffee Table - Savvy in Williamsburg
Painted Bucket on Coffee Table - White Home Collection in Wilton, NH
Tall French Cabinet - Consignment shop (you can read about that makeover here)

I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!

A Sideboard For Our Kitchen

When we did the first part of our kitchen makeover we removed the microwave over the stove and had a hood built. That meant that we needed a new spot for the microwave. I didn't mind it being on the counter during the first part of our makeover, but once we put in the marble counters I wanted to find a better spot for it. After playing around with a few different options we decided to build a sideboard. We had decided to get rid of the island cart to make the kitchen feel a little bigger and adding the sideboard let me still have a little bit of the open shelving look I liked and also offered a nice little spot for the microwave that wasn't too glaring and the girls love that they can push the buttons themselves "just like at Mimi and Papa's".

Initially I looked around online and in some local stores for a piece that would fit our space but when I didn't have any luck finding something that was close to the right size and reasonably priced I started looking into some online tutorials on making one myself. I found this set of plans on Ana White's website and thought it would be perfect! I altered it a tiny bit by making it about 4 inches taller (the height on the original design is meant more for a living room console look). Although I have made a few basic pieces of furniture before (like our dining room table and bench as well as lots of frames) I really don't know what I am doing so was a little bit nervous to attempt this. The plans were quite detailed though and there are links to other bloggers (and I also googled Ana White X Console and found quite a few more) who include lots of details as well so I figured it couldn't hurt to try.

Although it is by no means perfect (seriously - don't look too closely - haha!), I have to say I am so happy with how it turned out. It feels incredibly sturdy and really was surprisingly easy to make. And it's something you can make completely on your own. It certainly would make it faster and a little bit easier if you have someone helping you, but seeing how I don't let my little helpers use power tools just yet =), I did this one on my own. 

Seeing how Ana White has the plans on her site there's no need for me to repeat it here but I will show a few of the photos I took as we made it.

First, we took FOUR trips to the Lowe's and Ace Hardware in about 24 hours for this - ugh! Make sure you have EVERYTHING you need before you start - haha! I had them cut quite a bit of my wood at Lowe's but I also cut quite a bit at home too.

Then you build the front and back:

And then you fill in the middle:

and add the top:

Once I did that I stained the top using one coat of a graywash stain and another coat of Provincial. I didn't want to stain the entire piece because I thought that might be a little too much with the chalkboard above it. I wasn't sure what color I wanted to paint it though, either, so I left it in the kitchen like this for a day or two and thought about it.

I ended up just painting it Sea Haze by Benjamin Moore seeing how I still had some of that left over from the nightstands. In real life it has a nice bluish green undertone to it. I didn't do a very good job photographing it though because I think it looks quite a bit more washed out in a lot of these pictures.
Once I painted it I started working on the x's. Because I made mine a little bit taller than the one on Ana White's site the single x measurements didn't work right so I had to make my own. I could not for the life of me get the single x to look right though on mine so eventually I threw in the towel and just did two smaller x's. Once I had them secured I used lots of wood filler to smooth out the spots where the x's connected. And then sanded them down and painted them to match the rest of the piece.

And there you have it!

 I'll share lots more photos of it where you can see the whole kitchen tomorrow. I hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday!