Tending the Back Door

After almost a year of gently nudging the man of the house, honey-do list item #2 can get a big fat check! Our back door has officially been moved and we now have an open walkway between our kitchen and attic rooms. (Note: if you're not interested in how to move a door, skip down to the bottom where the real meat of the post is!)

This is where the door was before the move;

And this is the hallway space between the kitchen and the stairwell that leads up to the attic;

I've been wanting this door moved so that I could use the extra hallway space as a kitchen extension to hang our pots and pans. It would also allow us to walk straight upstairs to our two attic rooms without going through a locked door. Let me explain; this door acts as our back door- on the other side of it is the stairwell that goes not only up to our attic, but down to the first floor (which leads outside) and then to the basement. The door that actually leads outside is down on the first floor, and we share that with our neighbor.

So, Thane moved our locking back door to the top of the stairwell instead, directly to the right of the opening you see in the first pic. So, we still have a secure, functioning "back door", but it's no longer blocking our direct access to our two attic rooms. And if that wasn't complicated enough, just watch me try to show how incredibly easy (yet hard via photos) moving a door really is.

Here's the all too-unwilling man of the house, getting ready to knock this baby out without so much as a power drill or- by the grace of God- a single curse word.

See the little pin at the top of this hinge? It has to be lifted up and out, which can be done using a hammer and flat head screwdriver. Just wedge the flat head in the seam, and give it a few taps with the hammer to get it moving.

 

And out comes the pin!

Give that treatment to both hinges, and it's off with the door!

Now it's as simple as removing the existing hardware;

As well as re-moving the hinge plates;

And then re-installing all of it in the threshold of the new spot (if you plan on putting the door back up in another location).

This is the dead-bolt. We were fortunate that somebody else had already done this exact door-spot-switcheroo before, so hollowing out the hole for the dead-bolt was very easy (it was filled with caulk). Otherwise, we would have needed a drill to hollow it out.

 

Re-installing the hinge plates;

Then came the trickiest part, for which there is no photo; lining the door back up with the hinge plates so that the big hinge-nail can slide back in to secure the door. This took both of us (hence no photo). But once we were all lined up, it was as easy as just sliding the hinge-nails back in.

And now we have a full, unencumbered view of our not-so-fancy (army house) kitchen and then dining room. Notice the new-ish microwave cart to the right- my latest attempt at better kitchen organization.

And now for the meat. Right around the time I was coercing Thane to complete this honey-do task for me, I came to a sermon preached out of the gospel of Luke titled "Jesus and Demons" (I'm going through the entire series, and it's excellent). And this particular sermon on "doors" came in a timely fashion- just as we were moving our back door. Here's a quick synopsis; 

Sin is the opening of a "door". We either belong to God or Satan. If we are Christians, Satan does not own us, but we are still able to "open our doors" and invite demonic influence into our lives. And this is a checklist of common ways that we do this;

Doors of Demonic Influence

-Sexual sin (1 Corinthians 7:5)

-Marriage between Christians and non-Christians (2 Corinthians 6:15)

-False religion, false teaching, false Jesus (1 Corinthians 10:14-22; 1 Timothy 4:1-2; 2 Corinthians 11:1-4)

-Bitterness (Ephesians 4:17-5:2)

-Foolishness and drunkenness (Ephesians 5:18-21)

-Idle gossip and busybodying (1 Timothy 5:11-15)

-Lies (John 8:44)

-Idolatry (1 John 5:18-21)

I'm guilty of a good number of these things, and by the grace of God I have to constantly strive for obedience so that I'm tending my own doors. Not only for the sake of living within God's will (the most important thing), but for the sake of my family. They're affected by what I do every single day.

So I hope this list is just as helpful to you guys as it is to me. I need these constant reminders and warnings from the Word, to continually strive to put off the things of the world and be conformed to the image of Christ. Praise Jesus for His amazing provision- for His Spirit that allows us to live the lives He meant for us all along.

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A Seat for our Sitting Room

Enough is enough. We'd been staring at our unfinished bay window turned construction-tool-and-trash-zone for four years worth of ranch visits, and this time it had to go. Along with the rest of the junk on the floor nearby.

As well as the blue painting tape on the center and left window panes that for whatever reason didn't come down when the tape from the right pane did. Somebody (probably me) must have decided that it was a good stopping point. And let's not forget the rodent-motel twin box spring that's been migrating from room to room for as long as we can remember.

To think that one day (God willing) there will be couches in here! It's current condition wouldn't clue you in, but this is our sitting room.

And we couldn't stand the construction zone look any longer, so this spot got some much needed cleaning.

Shew! That's better. (Minus the cardboard box and the tip of the long horn- try as I might, I couldn't manage to get a single photo free of some sort of misplaced item or construction evidence.) But it is still a construction zone, so I'll just have to be patient.

Notice the object leaning against the bay window seat? That's what it is- the actual seat that has yet to be installed. We have no idea how to do it, which is one of the reasons it's still sitting there. But a simple how-to google search ought to suffice when the time comes, and in preparation I've been gathering some ideas for how to make the most of this space.

Here are some of my favorites so far;

I love the idea of having built-in storage. And the fact that the front of the seat is painted white makes it look like it's all one custom piece. I'm pretty sure we could give this "treatment" to ours as well by painting the same space white (that's currently green, since it's "the wall") and then giving it some white decorative trim to make it look like it's one planned piece.

This one's really fun. We can't exactly have this circular shape, but I love the idea of a custom cushion and decorative pillows to make it cozy and inviting. The way this was made into its own little reading area complete with a coffee table puts a few ideas into my head as well. Hmmm...I'm sensing another (shoddy) sewing project in my sort-of-near future...

One other option is to cover the top of the "seat" with some of our leftover bamboo flooring and then trim it with either the same espresso-stained maple trim that we have on our stairs (which you can see in the photo below), or just finishing it off with some variety of bamboo trim.

Oh look, the traveling box spring has moved yet again!

How about you? Do you happen to have a bay window that doubles as a seating area? Or have you done anything else creative with a similar window space?

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P.S. Speaking of seats, here's a portion of one of my favorite Psalms;

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. {Psalm 1:1-2}

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We Have Cabinets!

Our very first peak!

Cue the choir- the kitchen cabinets are up!- and after four and half years of planning, it's like music to our ears. Praise God for His perfect timing and provision, as well as enabling us to get this massive cabinet hanging project behind us!

But first let me set the stage.

We arrived at the ranch after 22 hours of driving to discover a much anticipated garage full of newly ordered cabinets. It was like Christmas morning. With glee in our eyes, we ripped open boxes like kids ripping open gifts. And just like Christmas morning, this lead to inevitable chaos;

As great as it was to stare that them amidst a sea of cardboard and scattered haphazardly on the floor, we couldn't wait to get them hung. And on the verge of chickening out and hiring a pro to do it for us, I gave Thane a hearty "you can do it!" (Easy for me to say, since I wouldn't be doing it, LOL.) But a little encouragement goes a long way, and the iron-man-cabinet-monkey (that he's now proved himself to be) did it! Along with the much appreciated assistance of somebody else we'll call cabinet monkey #2.

This was our inspiration (see the full gallery here);

And we decided on maple cabinets with an espresso stain from MidContinent Cabinetry. This look is what we based our stair design on, as well.

Now for the DIY portion of the post;

Tool List
-Hammer
-Pencil
-Measuring tape
-Electric drill
-Heavy duty general purpose screws size 9x2-3/4"
-Laser leveler
-Regular leveler
-Stud finder
-Electric rotary saw (for cutting the cabinet trim)

The laser leveler and the stud finder was extremely helpful. The last thing we wanted was crooked, ready-to-fall death traps. If we couldn't guarantee how good this whole undertaking would look when we got through with it, we at least had to make them sturdy. Here's the leveler;


Black & Decker BDL190S BullsEye Auto-Leveling Interior Line Laser / Stud Sensor Combination Tool

And I've got to say that I'd have no idea what kind of screws to use for a project like this, but thanks to people who know a lot more than me, here they are- heavy duty general purpose screws;

Since I'm in no way a cabinet hanging expert, I can't really give you an accurate or detailed step-by-step guide. Thane could, but he has this thing called a job. So I'll just pass along a few helpful tips that we picked up throughout the process, just in case any of you are considering hanging new kitchen (or even bathroom or office) cabinetry. If nothing else, this goes to show that you don't have to be an expert to tackle this kind of project! All you need is the right tools and a little gumption. All Thane did to prep was watch a quick You Tube video (see a variety here) and enlist a little help from cabinet-monkey #2 (another able bodied man).

So here we go;

Before starting, use your cabinet blueprints to get everything laid out and prepped. Then there's no need to stress over whether you're hanging the right pieces in the right spots once you kick it off.

Tip 1- Start in the corner, if you can.

See the corner piece? We started there in order to get the right placement of the cabinetry. It would have been a nightmare to start on the outside of either wall and then realize that the corner piece didn't fit. So we avoided that possibility altogether and didn't run into any problems! This top corner piece is a "garage" with a little door that pulls down to cover whatever you store inside. It was a little tricky since the space between the garage and lazy susan underneath of it had to be the perfect width in order to accommodate our future counter tops. (How that will play out is anyone's guess...)



Tip 2- Use a 1x2 as a guide for hanging.

See the 1x2 board that's nailed under the rightmost cabinet? Thane used it as a guide for hanging the upper cabinets to be even and level. Determine how high your cabinets need to be hung on the wall (depending on if they're standard or not), and then mark that height. He marked the correct height using a regular leveler (to make sure his board was level), and then it was as easy as "stacking" each cabinet along the top of the 1x2 board and screwing it into the wall. By the way- whoa those walls are orange! Especially in this photo, haha. I'm thinking I might tweak this color a shade or two once we've picked our counter tops.

Tip 3: Studs=sturdy! Use a stud finder to mark your studs.

Screwing into studs vs. drywall is kind of a must in this case, so it was really helpful to mark out the studs so that Thane knew where to drill. There is a lip on the top back of the cabinet and one underneath as well.  Drilling into those lips will prevent anyone from seeing the screws when you're putting away dishes or just opening them up and showing them off.
 

Yep, they're sturdy!

Tip 4: Screw your cabinet faces together

If you screw the sides of each cabinet together it will remove any seams or gaps and make the kitchen look completely tied in.


You might remember the 3D plans our supplier drew up for us after measuring the dimensions of our space. Take a look at how one 3D compares to the real thing! (Minus counter tops and appliances...)

Unfortunately the lighting in this room isn't great. We don't have electrical lighting installed yet, and this room gets the least amount of natural sunlight. But oh well, you get the idea.

This might be my favorite section of the new kitchen;

I love the bookshelf with the cottage-y panel details. This was a total surprise to me, I assumed the backing to the shelf would be plain. Then to the right of it is a microwave shelf, which will be great for preserving counter space. Directly below the book shelves is what will be a desk for my laptop. I'm always finding myself dragging my laptop into our current kitchen to reference a recipe. But that will no longer be necessary once it gets a permanent home here! Not to mention the fact that it'll be great for playing music and sermons while I'm cooking and cleaning.

The empty hole with the wire hanging down is where the ovens will go. Word to the wise- as great as double ovens are, they're pricey. This is one thing we could have planned to do without when planning out the cabinetry. It's kind of a standard in the custom cabinet world, and it's just about all you see when you browse kitchen galleries while building your own kitchen plans. I think it'll be worthwhile in the long run, but it's a big pill to swallow right at first!

So, that's a big check on the ever long ranch house to-do list. And all glory be to Christ for providing us with the time, finances, and wonderful babysitter that enabled to get this done! This home will surely be a blessing to our family, but I'm praying that it will bless a lot of other people too. Hopefully it'll be a place for lots of wonderful family time, Christian fellowship, and service in the years to come. As imperfect as we are, we want to dedicate all we do to Jesus for the sake of His name and Kingdom. That's our desire and prayer!

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Before & After: A Snazzy & Sophisticated Dining Room

Happy Friday! I just wanted to share this amazing dining room transformation that was done by a couple of friends of ours- thanks for letting me brag on you, John and Ashley! (A little background- John and Thane spent some "quality" time together at VMI. Oh, the good old days.)

So take a look at this "before" photo:

Got the idea? Now here are a few "work in progress" shots:

Notice the wallpaper is beginning to come down. Bye-bye!

Next came the carpet removal.

Can you guess who's responsible for this little mess?

This cutey pie! But it's okay, he gave a very sincere apology...

 Okay, ready for the new look? Let's see the "before" one more time.

And here's the "after". This is truly amazing.

..................................

Ta da!!!

Magic, right?!

Well, not exactly, clearly there was a lot of skill that went into this stunning renovation! Here are a few more beautiful photos to feast your eyes on:

I immediately asked Ashley where they found their new dining set (which they got on sale). Thane and I are in the market for one as well, and this one tickles every inch of my fancy. But unfortunately this one comes from a local store, so our search goes on. Oh, I almost forgot, notice the new chandelier in the mirror? It was a hand-me-down that they spray painted black. Spray paint doesn't get enough credit for how diversely it can be used!

The flooring is Pergo's "Stained Oak", and the paint is Home Depot's Behr Premium Plus Ultra, in "Cherry Tart" and "Silver Screen". The trim and chair rail are "Decorator White". They were originally planning on using a cream color for the upper portion of the walls (to match the chair upholstery), but decided on silver at the last minute. They fell in love with it, and so did I. Isn't it fun to see your family and friends successfully pick gorgeous paint colors? Not only is it great for them, but then you get a chance to snag the same color but without the guess work. If they don't mind you copping their style, that is.

I was just informed that curtains have been purchased for the windows! Hopefully there will be a photo of them to come.

Thanks again John and Ashely for letting us take a peak into your home!

Thane and I can't wait till we're in this stage of home building. You can see the very beginning stages of our dining room here, (it's the red room) but don't expect to be wowed again. One day though, God willing of course... :)