Twice Remembered is a FINALIST Thanks to You! + More Hardwood Flooring Installed

I am over the moon thrilled to share with my blog readers some very exciting news! All of your votes for our projects that we entered into the first round of the Repair-Home contest really paid off! I entered projects in 11 different catagories, and in 10 of those categories, our projects were voted #1! YOU through your votes made that happen and hubs and I can't thank you enough! I have a feeling that 2010 is going to be a great year for Twice Remembered due to this contest because we are finally going to get to complete projects that we've been putting off for a long time!

I have a feeling that 2010 is going to be a great year for Twice Remembered!Not only did your votes help us to place at the top in individual categories, but it put two of our projects into the final round of the contest. {There are only five finalists' projects total.} This final round ends on December 15th. The winning project receives a prize of $1000 {not too shabby, eh?!}.

So once again, I'm asking for your help and vote. {I appreciate your patience with me and my "like-a-child-at-Disneyworld" exuberance, hehe, but I've never done anything like this before and am thrilled that we've reached this final stage.}

The two Twice Remembered projects that made the final round are our Cottage Kitchen Ceiling project and our Kitchen Windows and French Doors project. You can click either photo below to be taken to the main voting page to cast your vote and to see more of the project photos if you haven't seen them already.

Cottage Kitchen Plank Ceiling

Kitchen Windows and Doors

Thank you once again! I may be posting about this once more before the contest ends in a couple of weeks ,and then you won't have to hear any more of me on the subject:)

In Other News...

Folks, we've got hardwood in the living room and hallway now! Yes, we really, really do! Hubs, who was sick last week, still worked like a dog to get the flooring laid - despite my pleading with him to put the project off until later so that he could rest. We still have a little more to do - we just ran out of time before hubs had to head to Memphis for the week, plus I was starting to come down with a cold bug myself. Have any of you laid hardwood before? Then you can commiserate with me on Mainly I just wanted to post a booty shot of hubs.how labor intensive it really is! I've been out of commission for a few days now {my cold has a bit to do with that, I'll admit} and I wasn't even the one doing the backbreaking part! No, I was the one picking out each individual plank of wood and laying it where it would need to be nailed down. I know - not so tough physically, but it does require some forethought and concentration...seriously! I wanted to make sure we were varying the lengths and that the pattern was random and interesting. Afterall, we could be looking at these floors for the next 20 years:)

I took photos when we were halfway finished, but I realized later that I had forgotten to put the memory card in the camera. When it is completed this weekend, I'll take some photos to share, but in the meantime, above is a booty shot of hubs laying out some planks across the room to get an idea of how many rows we'd need and if he needed to cut the first row. {But mainly I just wanted to post a booty shot of hubs.} Even though we aren't quite finished with the flooring in this space, OH BOY- I tell you that what we do have installed has completely and totally changed the feel of our living room! It feels crisper and cleaner than before - even with our ugly, flaking popcorn ceiling above and several other less appealing aspects of the space {future projects}. We just have three bedrooms to go and our flooring will be complete - but we'll get to those rooms a little down the road. My studio will soon need my attention again...I'm running out of time if I'm going to make my end-of-the-year deadline!

A Little of This and That...

I so appreciate all the kind comments in my last entry about my new haircut and color and especially regarding my little known facts about myself. I'm thrilled to know others who share some of my kooky ways! We're all beautiful people, aren't we?

We went to a lovely wedding last week sometime in between the days we laid hardwood. It was so.much.fun! I don't know if I was more sore from stooping over piles of planks or from dancing! But well worth it either one!

Our little Ruby was not doing well at all last week. It seems that her neck went out and I'm not sure how. She's a mini doxie, as you may know, and these little dogs are prone to slipped/ruptured discs and easily hurt their necks and backs. I believe that her leaping off our couch over the last couple of months is probably what caused the trouble. We don't let her on anything higher, but even 15 inches can do damage, apparently, and I should have been more careful to prevent her from leaping around so much. She's small and she's fast and she's slippery - like a wet seal. So it's not always easy to catch her in time.

Our little Ruby was not doing well at all last week...I was actually terrified.Anyway, she was in such poor shape suddenly - and I do mean suddenly - on Wednesday night. The vets office was closed on Thursday but we took her in first thing Friday morning only to find that they wouldn't be open until Monday. Argh!!! We called the emergency number and told the vet Ruby's situation and told him that we did have some prescribed pain/anti-inflammatory medication for our elderly dog, Cara Bella. After telling him the name of the medication, he said that it was exactly what he would have prescribed {but in lower doses} had we been able to bring Ruby in. Thank goodness! So we kept her confined to a small, warm space, gave her medication, and now she is fine and as rambunctious as ever. I am a lot more careful now about not letting her jump off the sofa or go down stairs, though like I said, she's a fast and slippery little creature!

But there was a day or so that I was so worried...these little dogs can even be paralyzed or die from such injuries. I was actually terrified. So take that situation and combine it with being in the middle of laying flooring, the house absolutely upside down with stuff stored and piled everywhere, three restless kids pretty much confined to their bedrooms, a sick hubby, a sick me, and a wedding that we wouldn't miss for the world...I just wanted to find a dark closet to curl up in until everything was right with the world again! Hubs insisted that we keep moving forward despite everything that could set us back - and I'm glad he did. I'm the worrier, he's the optimist. Gotta love him.

Today I'm going to try to restore some order to the house before hubs returns from Memphis tomorrow. It's upside down, I tell you!

Thanks for reading this novel of a post and have a wonderful rest of the week!

A { Hair } Makeover & Random Facts about Kim

Well, no home makeover project photos to share today, but last night I did get a hair makeover. I didn't think to take a "before" shot, but my hair was lightish brown, long and all one length. I got about 8 or 9 inches of my hair cut {yes, it really was long!}. I don't often color my hair but whenever I do, I'm drawn to red. Go figure! So here are some after photos as well as some random facts about moi...


I will be 36 in January.

I've been married for 17 years.

I have 3 children - all girls going on age 15, 10, and 9.

They were born in three completely different settings - the 1st at the hospital, the 2nd at home, and the 3rd ant a birth center. Two were with the help of midwives.


I was injured {whiplash} on a wooden roller coaster 14 years ago which later resulted in the onset of fibromyalgia. It has been challenging and life changing both to me and my family, and I don't feel that I'm the same person I would be without it. {Life goes on though - just at a slower pace!}

I'm an introvert. To say that I'm not a party animal is a grand understatement. When I do go to a social event where there will be lots of people and activity, I have to take a nap afterward - and most definitely before.

I cannot kill bugs and spiders. I just "rehome" them if necessary.

I'm a huge, HUGE Little House on the Prairie fan, both of the books and the show.

I have a kind of crazy sense of style. My purple or hot pink or turquoise or RED tights make my heart skip a beat.

I watch very little TV...We got rid of our cable a few months ago.

I love reading historical fiction and nonfiction. I'm currently into reading books that center around the Civil War. I've never read Gone With the Wind but purchased it last week.

My brain is not a sponge. It is a sieve and I remember very few details of what I read.

I tend to be scatterbrained and confuse easily {myself and others...} and tend to be unorganized. He won't say it but I think it kind of drives Hubs crazy.

I read to my daughter's class on Fridays.

I am and will always be a loner of sorts. It's a personal preference. When Hubs says "call a girlfriend and go out", I grab a coffee and a book instead. I think having 3 children has something to do with that - Solitude is a wonderful gift.

Many years ago, I was a web designer.

I do not observe holiday celebrations though I am a devoted Christian, baptized in 1989.

I do not adore sports. The raucous of roaring crowds and the droning voices of sports announcers on TV during games makes me feel on edge. Hubs loves football.

Old houses also make my heart skip a beat.



So there you have it - a few random things you may or may not have known about me. Enthralling, eh? I hope you all have a great week! We'll be busy laying hardwood flooring in a couple of days and I have the task of removing everything from the living room. Now where to put it all?

One More Word about the Contest...

I just posted a few minutes ago about one last contest entry I added {in the plumbing category}of a home improvement contest, but I wanted let you know that I do have some main competition in five categories: Kitchen, Home Decor, Flooring, Electical, and Outdoor. If you only have time to vote in just a few categories, those may be the ones to start with! I've posted all the categories I've entered to right of my blog if you want to see where I rank so far with the other entries, or if you just want to go to my project entry pages, just click on the links below. Thanks again! I've never done a contest like this before and want to try to give it my best shot so that I can maybe win a little Home Depot help to complete more projects!
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A few weeks ago I first announced that I had entered several Twice Remembered projects in a contest in an effort to {hopefully!} win a little green to...complete more projects! There are only 7 days left in round one of the contest and I'm getting really
Your rating matters! excited! I would be so, so, SO appreciative and grateful if you could visit all or some of the projects below and rate them for me. Winning projects are based on the ones with the most votes. At the bottom of each of my project pages linked to below, you'll see five stars next to where it says "Rollover to rate this:".

Here is a screenshot of you what your looking for at the bottom of each project entry. You'll click on a star to rate the project, the 5th star being the highest rating and the 1st star being the lowest.


You can click on the links below to view and rate my projects. Each link contains more photos of the project. Thank you SO much for taking the time to help me out! If I'm privileged to win in one or more category, that means a little more cash flow for us to work on other projects here at Twice Remembered. So needless to say, your rating matters! Thanks again!

Cottage Style Sink and Faucet Makeover


Cottage Kitchen Remodel on a Budget


Deck Makeover



From Gaudy Art to Fabulous Chalkboard



Cottage Studio Steps Makeover



Cottage Style Brick Paver Backsplash



Cottage Kitchen Ceiling: From Popcorn to Plank



Replacing Worn Out Linoleum with Warm and Inviting Hardwood



Cottage Kitchen Cabinet Makeover: From Honey Oak to Old Fashioned Red



Cottage Ceiling Windows



Ceiling Fan Makeovers




New Updated Lighting for an Old Kitchen



French Doors and Windows for a Dark Kitchen and Dining Room

Tomorrow is the Last Day of Contest - Just One More Cottage Project to Rate

T omorrow is the final day for the contest I've entered and I'm so excited! Thank you ALL so much for taking the time to vote on one or more of my projects {more info below on how to vote...you can continue to vote till the last minute!} I've added one more project in a category I hadn't thought to enter before, our Cottage Style Sink and Faucet Makeover. So if you have time to vote for just one more project, I would be so grateful if you could rate this one! The other projects, along with the info on how to vote, are below. I'll let you know soon how the first round goes as I think 1st round winners are announced on the 23rd!
____________________________

A few weeks ago I first announced that I had entered several Twice Remembered projects in a contest in an effort to {hopefully!} win a little green to...complete more projects! There are only 7 days left in round one of the contest and I'm getting really
Your rating matters! excited! I would be so, so, SO appreciative and grateful if you could visit all or some of the projects below and rate them for me. Winning projects are based on the ones with the most votes. At the bottom of each of my project pages linked to below, you'll see five stars next to where it says "Rollover to rate this:".

Here is a screenshot of you what your looking for at the bottom of each project entry. You'll click on a star to rate the project, the 5th star being the highest rating and the 1st star being the lowest.


You can click on the links below to view and rate my projects. Each link contains more photos of the project. Thank you SO much for taking the time to help me out! If I'm privileged to win in one or more category, that means a little more cash flow for us to work on other projects here at Twice Remembered. So needless to say, your rating matters! Thanks again!

Cottage Style Sink and Faucet Makeover


Cottage Kitchen Remodel on a Budget


Deck Makeover



From Gaudy Art to Fabulous Chalkboard



Cottage Studio Steps Makeover



Cottage Style Brick Paver Backsplash



Cottage Kitchen Ceiling: From Popcorn to Plank



Replacing Worn Out Linoleum with Warm and Inviting Hardwood



Cottage Kitchen Cabinet Makeover: From Honey Oak to Old Fashioned Red



Cottage Ceiling Windows



Ceiling Fan Makeovers




New Updated Lighting for an Old Kitchen



French Doors and Windows for a Dark Kitchen and Dining Room

Round 1 of Contest Drawing to a Close - Can You Vote for Me?

I know. Shameless. Totally, completely, utterly, and unequivocally shameless. I do hope you understand!

A few weeks ago I first announced that I had entered several Twice Remembered projects in a contest in an effort to {hopefully!} win a little green to...complete more projects! There are only 7 days left in round one of the contest and I'm getting really
Your rating matters! excited! I would be so, so, SO appreciative and grateful if you could visit all or some of the projects below and rate them for me. Winning projects are based on the ones with the most votes. At the bottom of each of my project pages linked to below, you'll see five stars next to where it says "Rollover to rate this:".

Here is a screenshot of you what your looking for at the bottom of each project entry. You'll click on a star to rate the project, the 5th star being the highest rating and the 1st star being the lowest.


You can click on the links below to view and rate my projects. Each link contains more photos of the project. Thank you SO much for taking the time to help me out! If I'm privileged to win in one or more category, that means a little more cash flow for us to work on other projects here at Twice Remembered. So needless to say, your rating matters! Thanks again!

Cottage Kitchen Remodel on a Budget


Deck Makeover



From Gaudy Art to Fabulous Chalkboard



Cottage Studio Steps Makeover



Cottage Style Brick Paver Backsplash



Cottage Kitchen Ceiling: From Popcorn to Plank



Replacing Worn Out Linoleum with Warm and Inviting Hardwood



Cottage Kitchen Cabinet Makeover: From Honey Oak to Old Fashioned Red



Cottage Ceiling Windows



Ceiling Fan Makeovers




New Updated Lighting for an Old Kitchen



French Doors and Windows for a Dark Kitchen and Dining Room



I'll will let you know how the first round of the contest goes at the end of the next seven days! Until then, I'm going to try and keep my mind on working on that studio. If you are looking for updates between posts, be sure to check my Twitter updates over there to the right of the page ------->. I update Twitter as I'm working on projects and sometimes with photos. :)

Have a great one, everyone!

Transformation of a Cottage Kitchen Part 6: Hardwood Flooring

In part of six of this cottage kitchen transformation series, I'd like to share with you some details of our floor makeover. When we first There is just something about living with subflooring for years that will make you appreciate a good old fashioned shiny floor when you finally get it!moved in, the flooring was a basic beige linoleum. Believe me when I say that the photo below makes the flooring look a lot nicer than it actually was, and you also can't see the hideous hump in the middle of floor which was the result of the previous owners trying to mesh the kitchen addition with the old part of the house. The hump, {or the protruding backbone of my kitchen as I've called it} has always driven me a little bonkers. First of all, I wasn't sure what was causing it. Second of all, I was worried that there was nothing we could do about it and that it would make laying hardwood flooring a nightmare. I remember one day a couple of years back, I just couldn't take it anymore. I had to find out what was going on with the hump, so I ripped out the linoleum with hubs help. Under the lino was a thin layer of plywood, lots of some kind of concrete patch, and this lovely yellow flooring which nearly burned my eyes out.



What a mess that concrete patch was! I think the previous owner was trying to fill in the big gap between the old and new parts of the house. We had to break it all up with a hammer to remove it.




I was so relieved when we removed that yellow lino...Even the ugly subloor looked better in comparison!


We weren't yet ready to pull up the rest of the flooring to fix the hump or install our hardwood {we were getting ready to host a party and it also just wasn't in our budget at the time} so we just painted over the mess with cheap white paint for the time being. Note to readers: Never use cheap white paint to paint your floors. They will never look clean. But I lived with it like this for two years, sometimes biting my tongue about it, but not often.


To my delight, though, the "hump" underwent major surgery recently.


Old subflooring was removed,


...the hump was sanded down as far as we could get it,


... and new plywood subflooring was added.


The hump was just about all gone after all of this, but my mom {who was visiting all the way from California and was promptly put to work} and I added some floor leveler over the plywood to smooth out a couple of dips caused by the slight height difference between the kitchen addition and dining room. I must say that at the point the photo below was taken, my middle child declared that "our kitchen floor is getting uglier by the day".

See that weird, colorfully wrapped thing hanging from the ceiling? That's the light above our kitchen island that we kept whacking our heads on for two weeks. I thought that if we covered it with something bright and patterned {an old vintage sheet}, we'd still have some sense left by the end of the project.

Yeah...that didn't work.


I was still reluctant to believe that all this subfloor prep work would totally solve the height difference problem, but I can say that now that the 3/4 inch hardwood has been installed, you would never, ever know that we had a hump backed kitchen. Surgery was a complete success!

Then it was time to lay the hardwood! We had actually had our new flooring for quite awhile {2 or 3 years} so you can imagine how happy I was to get the wood out of the garage and onto the floor! But I was nervous, too, because we had never laid hardwood before and wasn't sure if we could pull it off.

So this is where we began... I was hoping our measurements were correct so that we would have nice, straight flooring. Getting the first row right was very important! I had visions of us getting halfway finished and having to rip everything out to start over due to mathematical errors! But thankfully, that didn't happen. We found a million different techniques online to make sure that first row was straight {because you can't run the first row of boards off the wall - most walls are not straight}.

We got our first straight row going by finding the dead center of the room and marking that center point on the floor by a drawing a vertical, straight line down There is smoke coming out my ears now...I hate math!the center of the kitchen. Then we measured off at various points from that center line to the walls, making tick marks. We left a 3/4 inch gap at the wall to allow for expansion {this is very important!}. Let's say your room is 20 feet wide. The center point would be at 10 feet. You would measure from that center point to the right and to left all the way to your walls, but minus 3/4". That would be 9 ' 1/4". { 9' 11 1/4" + 9' 11 1/4" + 3/4" + 3/4" = 20' }. There is smoke coming out my ears now...I hate math!

{Edited to add: Thanks, Julie, for helping me correct my math error, hehe! Smoke, I tell ya! Out the ears! The above math is now correct!}

We drew another straight vertical line near the walls at the tick marks we made as a guide. This gave us a straight line to begin our first row, and good thing, too, because our walls definitely are not straight! {I know this was clear as mud...Make sure you check with some professional sites before you tackle your hardwood flooring project!}

The first couple of rows were face nailed but after that, we used a flooring nailer to nail into the sides where the nails would be hidden. By the way, we bought our flooring nailer on Craigslist for the cost of renting one! If you have a whole house to do like we do, it might be worth keeping your eyes peeled for one.

A few other tips: Make sure you work from several boxes at once to get a good variation in color tones and grain. If not, you may be able to notice that one section of your floor came from one box and another section came from another box.

Also, be very selective about each and ever piece that is laid. Make sure it's not the same length as the piece you just laid or the piece beside it. You'll want to stagger your planks according to the different sizes you have to work with. We found it helpful to create separate piles of planks according to their length. Nothing would be worse than to finish your flooring and realize that you have about 5 boxes worth of short planks left over!

Another important tip: There should be at least six inches between end seams. For instance, when you lay a row of planks, any end seams in the next row should not be less than six inches from the seams in the first row. Not only will this produce a more interesting pattern, it will add to the stability of your flooring.


We used Bruce 3/4" thick oak in the Marsh finish. {We're told it's the same as Gunstock, more or less.} Part of me really wanted dark wood flooring, but having two dogs and three kids, I knew I needed something that would hide dirt and hair well without me having to sweep myself silly.

It adds the warmth I've been longing for for so long...



Not to mention the shine is amazing! There is just something about living with subflooring for years that will make you appreciate a good old fashioned shiny floor when you finally get it!


I'm looking forward to seeing how the kitchen flooring will look against white trim and beadboard.



Hubs told me that at the end of this month, we'll be laying hardwood in the living room and down the hall. I'm excited but I have to gear myself up for this project because it is tiring work. Hubs does the hard part, nailing the planks into place with the nailer and I pick out the pieces and cut them to size if need be. It's not complicated - it just requires a lot of time on your hands and knees!

For now, this will end my cottage kitchen transformation series. If you haven't see them already, you can take a look at how the kitchen is currently decorated, though we aren't finished with all the kitchen projects. What is left to do in the kitchen? Adding beadboard, finishing trim, a fireplace mantel and faux fireplace in the dining area, and corbels under the top kitchen cabinets. Those projects will be added to this series as they are completed.:)

{Did you miss Part 5 of Transformation of a Cottage Kitchen?: Check out Part 5: Cottage Kitchen Lighting

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If you enjoyed reading about this project, please take a moment to rate it for a contest I've entered. Just scroll to the bottom where it says "rollover to rate this" and click on a star - 5 stars being the highest rating and 1 star being the lowest. I am so grateful to all those that have rated my spaces so far - Thank you!

More Cottage Studio Progress Photos

T hings are moving along in the studio and I'm really excited about some of the changes that have taken place in the last month. I will admit, I did not originally plan to dramatically change the studio as much as we have. Originally, I wanted to just paint the walls and make a couple of important pieces of furniture. I wanted to quickly get to what I've been been dreaming of doing for a very long time - crafting for a living.

However, when I was working on the studio floor a few weeks ago, I was looking around the space and I started thinking. {Hubs always holds his breath a little when I "start thinking"...} I started thinking about how this little studio space has so much potential. I started thinking about how I wasn't sure anymore about the robin's egg blue paint color on the walls {it didn't seem as I started thinking it's now or never. cheery with the arrival of fall and darker weather as it did in the spring and summer}. I started thinking about how much I love the color scheme in the kitchen {white, cream, red, and dark brown} and how I wished I could use the same palette in the studio. I started thinking about how I wanted to use more red in the studio because, well, I'm addicted to the color red. And finally, I started thinking about when I finally get busy crafting, I won't want - or won't be able to - take the time to tear apart the studio again at a later date to do all the things I wish I would have done to begin with. I started thinking it's now or never.

So I devised a new plan and moved forward. First, we changed the color of walls to the same color we've used in the rest of the house - Valspar's Malted Milk in an eggshell finish.


Then we attacked the door and windows with nice, wide farmhouse style trim. Though we still have the french sliders to trim out, I think the studio is looking more like a studio that belongs at Twice Remembered. Those little windows just sing now! {I've always said that a window without trim is like a face without eyebrows!}



I wanted to really beef up the door at the top of the steps. Actually, there was an unsightly boo-boo that I was looking to cover up somehow. The landing there will be a pretty special place when we are finished - lots of plans for that little area. The red mirror in the photo will not be in the room. It's just being stored in the studio at the moment.


I bought a sparkly baby chandelier to hang right here above the door...


Another major focal element that we've added is 8 foot tall beadboard on one of the walls. I would love to do the whole room, but our budget won't allow it, unfortunately. Even so, I think just one wall of beadboard goes a long way in adding cottage charm to a space. We added wooden brackets and will be installing a long shelf the whole way across the top of the beadboard.

I spray painted the brackets with an oil rubbed bronze spray paint {I got the idea after the brackets were already installed, thus the overspray.} I love the rich, dark brown of this shade - just what I was looking for!


We used wooden beadboard panels {4' X 8'}. It is somewhat rough to the touch to begin with but after a little sanding, it's a lot smoother.


The beadboard will be primed well and painted a nice, crisp white. The shelf that will go above it will be the same dark brown that the brackets are painted. And I have big plans for the wall space above the beadboard!



We've had this pine armoire for about 13 years and at one point was going to put it in a yard sale. It ended up in the garage and we instead used it for storage. I decided to dig it out for the studio, but it needed some major work first...namely, some additional trim {we still have a little to add} and a top so that I could sit things on it.


I think in the second photo from the top, you can better see the nice top hubs added to the armoire, but here is what the back now looks like. Impressive, huh? The back will go against the wall, of course, at the bottom of the steps.


And here is bit of a side view along with a view of the french sliders that need trim.


I have several small studio projects lined up and one includes creating a huge piece of art from this piece of plywood to sit on top of the armoire. The wall across from the beadboard wall needs something tall to balance it out visually and make the ceiling height seem proportionate.


Oh, and there will be more red!


I can finally say that we've put a little beadboard up in the kitchen. This is the door that leads into my studio. My heart is telling me to paint this door and all the main doors in the house red, but I don't know...{I know I've already asked for opinions on this in the past - I thought I decided I'd paint it/them white, but why am I hesitating? Why does white seem too safe for Twice Remembered?}




I hope you've enjoyed these progress photos as much as I enjoy sharing them with you. There is still so much to do but everyday puts me a little closer to being finished!

By the way, do you Twitter? If so, you can follow my progress as I tweet throughout the day about the projects I'm working on. If you're not into signing up for Twitter, you can still see my Twitter updates there to the right of my blog page.

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

P.S. I'm sorry about the poor photo quality of many of my pictures as of late. My photo editing software {what makes my pictures purdy} is on my studio computer, which has been unplugged and removed for a few weeks now. I'm using an online editor on a different computer which seems to distort the photos after I edit and save them.