it was so nice to hear that you all agreed the afters were better than the befores
of our kitchen remodel.
ha ha ha.
you had lots of questions and i have lots of answers.
how long did the remodel take?
3 months…november – january.
how did you survive?
we moved the refrigerator into the living room…set up a folding table also with throw away utensils
and the microwave…and that was what we used.
it was kind of crazy but so much changed in the new kitchen everyday that it was exciting.
how did you decide what you wanted?
we remodeled our kitchen LAST in our home in illinois and then we moved.
all that work and money and we didn't even get to enjoy it. so when we bought this house we decided
we would do the kitchen FIRST because it is the most important room to us.
i knew i wanted the exact same cabinets i had in my IL. kitchen.
i had a baby at home so i spent hours and hours sitting and dreaming up what to do.
and i had years of magazines pictures in a file that i used to put it together.
did you design it?
yes. i designed it all. i like to draw so i gave my detailed drawings to the cabinet guy brad and our contractor bernie and said " do it like this".
i wonder where those are now???
can we move in?
that depends…are you good at laundry? cooking? cleaning? i may consider it if you are….
is that a real chalkboard or just chalkboard paint?
it is an old school chalkboard…running the other way…from a garage sale.
(sarah has the paint on the wall and it looks great too…so if you can't find a huge chalkboard at a
garage sale…do what she did!)
the kids' dinnertime chores are written way at the top.
what kind of dog is that?
waffle is a golden doodle…half poodle/half golden retreiver. and he needs a haircut.
they do shed and i don't know if they are hypoallergenic.
but if his hair is short…there is practically no shedding at all.
our friends had one liter of these in 2008.
this entire liter of puppies is the happiest bunch of dogs i have ever seen!
but they aren't having anymore puppies unfortunately…and i don't know anyone else to find one for you.
check your classifieds or google golden doodles in your area.
(those are the most frequent questions i am asked about waffler)
how did you have the patience for a kitchen remodel?
craig and i are a good team.
he likes my designs (at least he says he does)…he is very flexible and encouraging with my vision/ideas.
i really like how hard of a worker he is.
we both like to get good deals.
and we take our time figuring out what we want.
and he is such a good painter! he is so detailed.
so much so that he's asked me to stop painting a few times…because i was so messy he wanted me to go.
working with all men (contractors, electricians, plumbers, carpenters) can be a challenge because i don't like confrontation and i really don't like being treated like a dumb girl.
and that happens every once in awhile…but not too much.
i know what i want when it comes to my home down to the last detail.
so that caused some tension for me sometimes…and of course…tears because i am a girl.
but other than that…it doesn't take too much patience when you are so excited.
bernie, our contractor, showed up EVERYDAY and worked all day till the job was finished.
he rocks.
he never made me cry. :)
and i have a few kids around here to distract me…helping with the patience.
what made you decide to put in the wall of windows?
that side of the room was previously a porch.
in the 70's or 80's the homeowners enclosed it with 12 skinny tall windows and a door.
none of them worked anymore.
we decided to use 6 big windows and closing up the space where the door had been…
gaining 3 more feet of counter space in the process.
the wall with wood slats is gone and a steel support beam is in it's place.
the door on the left is now a wall (with the red EAT letters)
the floor was cement on this half and slanted because it was a porch.
it had to be leveled and then the wood floor laid down across both rooms.
stop looking at my dirty dishes!
&
#0160;
do your wood floors stand up well to high traffic?
yes.
i am in love with wood floors.
we have no carpet i our entire house…and only 2 rugs. one of them came with the house!
they are scratched in a few places but i don't mind.
and i HATE to vaccuum.
how should i paint my cabinets?
these are all new cabinets painted by the cabinet makers….so i can't help you with that.
where did you get your slipcoverd sofas?
the white ones are from world market. the blue is an old couch from our IL. days…
what color is the paint on your walls?
you know…in the mess of the remodel we threw out the can.
after we'd used literally every single drop and we don't know what color it is!
that is BAD.
it is a creamy off white…just different enough from the bright white cabinets to show a difference.
it's not yellow.
where did you get your chandeliers?
chicago jenny gave me one for our IL kitchen.
she had taken it out of her house and it was sitting in her garage!!
she walked into our new kitchen and started laughing and called her husband in to show him
my new light i had bought at the flea market. identical to hers…that she was getting rid of.
so when we moved to kansas she gave it to me as a going away gift. 🙂
best gift ever.
so i had two chandeliers that were nearly the same.
yes…i took my light from my IL. house. we put in a different one though…
some of my friends were here yesterday baking for their friends fundraiser…it was a blast.
but you can see the chandelier.
(and i need some more globes…any one have one they don't want anymore :)
i find chandeliers at antique stores and flea markets.
my friend diana gave me one from her dining room and it's in my bathroom.
they were all brass and i spray paint them white.
should i take my cherry cabinets out and put in white?
that quesiton is too big for me.
it's a personal preference. you want to be happy in your home…so you have to decide that for you.
i like cherry too…they are pretty.
where did you get your roman shades?
a little place called the home depot.
how do you keep the white cabinets so clean?
ha ha ha.
now that is just funny.
right now i can see spaghetti sauce…footprints…hot cocoa splatters…all kinds of gunk on them.
you just have to wipe them off like everything else.
but you can use clorox clean up at least.
and annie loves to use cleaning wipes…often the cabinet cleaning job goes to her on saturday mornings.
what kind of appliances do you have?
the dishwasher is a kitchenaid from best buy. it's great! it get used every single day 365 days a year.
(except i guess you aren't supposed to put pieces of broken glass or bobby pins in them…who knew?)
the cooktop and double oven are Jenn-Air and we bought them off ebay.
one was a floor model with a scratch and one was an older model…but still looked great to us.
the refridgertor is GE and we got it at sears.
the microwave is GE from home depot.
do you help people with decorating dilemmas?
no one has ever done what i suggest.
ever.
so i will say no.
can we see the rest of your house?
no..it's too messy.
just kidding. there is a photo album in the left sidebar…if you haven't seen that.
but i do have a few more before and afters to show sometime.
but the afters are too messy to show you today.
so that is that.
any other questions?
http://project320.blogspot.com/ 
Kimberlee J. - Maybe I should’ve purchased that watch…
Leigh - I am a HUGE Francesca’s fan! I don’t go very often because dangerous things happen with my wallet.
Courtney Walsh - Oooh, the dining room will be so fun! Can’t wait to see it when you’re done! 🙂
Bringing Pretty Back - Just pourd my coffee and I am sitting here sipping and reading your blog while the family is sleeping… heavenly way to start my day.
Musings Of A Gem - Hope you had a nice mothers day : ) I read 302 sycamore too 😀 Great blog!
Gemma X http://musings-of-a-gem.blogspot.com/
Christina - You are so funny…I call myself a ding dong, too. Like the old-school cakes. Soft and spongy on the outside, full of fluff on the inside. haha That refers to me, not you. 🙂 I think you are awesome. I think Ding Dongs are pretty cool too. haha
Why am I leaving this comment, I’m not sure. I hope it is not offensive.
And your dining room project is totally amazing…when you are done with that, feel free to come here, fix up our house and take pictures of my kids. 🙂
DreamGirlLisa - I can’t wait to see the finished dining room!! Nice post(s) about mothers, you inspire as always, thanks!!
meaghan - ooooooooohhhhhhhhhhh nnnnnnnooooooooooo! you added word verification!!! 😉
meaghan - you. are. awesome.
nichole shinners - Ok, please tell me what color that is on your walls.. it is incredible!
Melanie - I am heading over to Melissa’s right now!
Kate @ Songs Kate Sang - Awesome guest post! Great words. Thank you, Meg and Happy Mother’s Day!
Dana@Bungalow'56 - I am always so pleased to find a new post. I wish you all the best this Mother’s Day Weekend. I was thinking about your pillows today, and your photography, and your lovely writing voice. You have been given many talents. Thank you for sharing them with us. I for one am very appreciative.
Dana
sarah - I went and read the post.
It’s perfect. So perfect that it is in fact ok that it’s posted for two separate blogs.
You put into words everything I feel that I can’t express as well as you.
Happy early Mother’s Day Megan!
julia - I made a book on MyPublisher and love them…well, not the price but the quality is amazing.
Leigh - meg, that was beautiful!
Leigh
Julie - As a renter, Apartment Therapy has been a great place for me to visit! I love it! and I love that now there’s a book!
Kevyn - Hi Meg…I just stumbled upon your site this week. First off- I love your blog and all it entails…your home is so dreamy and you display a very realistic- yet FUN looking family. I have a question. Do you take custom orders for pillows…?
I am also a photographer and love what I do. Thanks for sharing your talents with the world.
Kevyn
kevynlynnphotography@yahoo.com
Lori - I went to find Francesca’s after reading PW too. Loved it!
And great Mother’s Day post…yes, good enough to be in two places at one time! 🙂 Have a good day on Sunday!
Liz - Your guest blog post is AMAZING! Thank you! I really needed something like that! Happy Mother’s Day!
Jill - Thanks for the guest blogs. It couldn’t have come at a better time. I needed some mama inspiration to keep me going with these two boys of mine! Thank you.
On another note, we made your stuffed shells the other night and loved them. Keep sharing recipes that you use to feed that big family of yours. I’m going to need them with another boy on the way!
Becky @ Farmgirl Paints - That is quite an honor! Now I’m off to check out all your links. Happy Mother’s day Meg:)
melissa*320 sycamore - I wish your guest post had been on 100 blogs today, because it’s something every mom needs to hear. Thank you again, Meg! Good luck with the dining room~can’t wait to see. Happy Mother’s Day~
Rachel / cREaTe - love that you merged 2 people [hilarious]. 🙂 but loved your mother’s day guest-post EVEN MORE. made me cry. so well written, so many WONDERFUL points. and the photos speak volumes to the lives your children are leading [as always]. such an awesome post – glad it can be found in TWO places in the internet world. 😉
Shar - The guest posts were so awesome. I got tears in my eyes just from the emotion. Enjoy those kids because it goes by way too fast. Now, I am a grandmother and it is going by way too fast. Happy Mother’s Day to someone who appears to be a #1 Mom!
Michelle - Can’t wait to see the dinning room. I showed my hubby the pic of the pipe from your post earlier this week. . . he told me this morning he woke up in a cold sweat last night dreaming about finding the same pipe in our house. ha! Totally different subject. . . but every time I see the commercials for the McGruger movie I think of you. . . . wonder if it will be as funny?
Queen Bee - Oh Meg, THANK YOU for the MyPublisher link!!! I get emails from them but delete them after a half glance. I use them to make a coffee table book every year of my daughter’s life. I wait until they have a BOGO or a B1Get-One-1/2-Off sale, and give a copy to my mom for Christmas. Combine those sales with this gift certificate savings and I’m in savings heaven!! Thank you!!!!!! I LOVE MyPublisher!
mel - I love Apartment Therapy, that book looks neat!
And, your chandelier is gorgeous!