Kitchen Make-Over

Long time no post!

Life was a whirlwind the last couple of years and I am happy to report that I finally found my home sweet home and I will be celebrating the one year anniversary on August 5th.

It's not a farm house, not even really my dream house {it has the potential to be though!}. I wanted to be able to purchase a home and shop with enough land for a mini farm in cash and not ever have to worry about a mortgage or rent. Which means beggars can't be choosers right?

So I dumped all of my savings into a very sturdy 100 year old Craftsman style home that came with land, gardens, mini orchard, and a very large 2 story brick building near by that is perfect for a store front.

This left me with very little cash flow left for improvements so it has been slooooow going, trying to save money when and where I could. 

The first project on my list to tackle was the room that I spend the most amount of time in....the kitchen! I love love love to cook and with a large family I'm always keeping them fed.

It is just me and my dad trying to complete things in-between 3 kids, cats, goats, taking care of the gardens/property, markets, sales, social media, website upkeep, and a couple of health issues. I thought we would never complete it, but here we are!! 

There are still a few things I would like to do but cost and time is currently limiting us. I want to do something about the flooring in the little bump out where the appliances are, and get new counter tops and sink.

Here are a few before and afters so that you can see what we started with:

The previous homeowners grandfather built the cabinets. I love that they had a history so we decided to keep most of them. We took out the ones above the stove so that I could put the fridge over there and not block so much of the window because the kitchen was VERY dark. 

I bought new handles and knobs {Menards for around $30 for all of them} and used Rustoleum in Linen to paint the cabinets. 

 The wallpaper stripping was INTENSE! There were somewhere around 5 layers of wallpaper and once we got down past all of that there was linoleum half way up all of the walls. The process took months, and then drywall mudding to cover up the dings and holes.

 I'm in love with the subway tile. Would you believe it is peel and stick and took less than an hour? They are from a company called Smart Tiles. I choose the Metro Blanco, because I liked the simple classic look. 

This was such a simple solution for us since we were doing it on our own and not hiring out any contractors to save on costs. 

I was even able to hang a vintage painting on the tiled wall {by myself!} with nothing but a hammer and nail. 

 I found this rug at Home Goods for in front of the sink for $12. I like how the colors play well with the room.

The most expensive part of the make over was the ceiling. It was around $400 for all of the bead board, trim, nails, and caulking. It was well worth it to hide the bumpy wallpapered ceiling. Oh yeah...did I mention the ceiling was also covered in wallpaper? After a couple of months of doing walls we gave in and decided on the bead board. I'm glad I did. I love it and it adds so much character and charm.

 The lights above the sink and kitchen island are also from Menards, and were fairly inexpensive {I think under $30 each}

 My kitchen island was a $50 yard sale find. It belonged to a sweet old ladies husband and had been his work table in the garage before he passed away. I painted it with my most favorite paint color EVER Hurricane from Country Chic

For the top we sanded it down to bare wood, and I mixed Hurricane with some water and gave it a wash then waxed. 

For the walls I used Bistro White from Lowes. The trim on the windows was a random mis-tint from Menards. I'm calling it "mushroom". I chose to paint the window trim because it was not original to the house and looked cheap compared to all of the other trim. 

Since we took out the cabinet above the stove we needed a new spot for dishes. I had this metal rack on wheels that fit in the spot perfectly. {spot the Tim, he likes to model}

I scored these cabinets from Facebook Marketplace. They were previously built in's in an old farm house. 

My dad striped them, we added bases and painted with the Linen White. One stores all of my mason jars and canning supplies and the other stores all of my apothecary goods. 

All in all I am SUPER pleased with the kitchen make over. Now it is light, bright, airy, and better organized.

 

Living with Farmhouse Neutrals 101

The one question I am asked about my house most often is "How do you keep everything white?" Followed by "You don't have kids or cats do you?

Our house has gone through a lot of different changes over the years and through a couple of moves, but one thing that has stayed the same is my love of white linens! Nothing says fresh and clean like white linens!! They are perfect for the vintage farmhouse vibe.....but can seem not so perfect if you are like me and you have three kids, and those kids have friends and your house is the hang out house.

Throw in a couple of goats and cats and I start to seem positively crazy for owning white sofa!

Slip covers are a LIFESAVER! I've had the same sofa for 6 years now. It was a $20 Craigslist score {from Ikea originally}. It has survived all of the kids and their friends, the cats, the goats....red wine spills, nail polish, scented oil plug ins that leaked, various food, mud and so many things that would just make you go EWW.

But most of all my laundry arsenal is my best friend! I'm that flaky person that always forgets to pre-treat or put it in the wash before a stain has time to set in.

Here's what we keep on hand:

Molly's Suds Oxygen Whitener & Mr's Meyers Clean Day Laundry detergent.

Yep, that's it! No kidding! I love to keep life easy peasy and I love that I can order these items from Grove Collaborative and have them shipped to my door every month.

Farmhouse neutrals are so easy to live with and around here I mean that, we really LIVE with it, just ask the goats who think that they live indoors!

Right now for a limited time you can get the following items all for FREE with your first $20 order at Grove Collaborative!

• Mrs. Meyer's Spring Hand Soap
• Mrs. Meyer's Spring Dish Soap
• Grove Collaborative Glass Spray Bottle
• Grove Collaborative Walnut Scrubber Sponges
• Plus free shipping & VIP trial

>>Click Here<<

Existing customers will receive the Grove Spray Bottle at 50% off

>>Existing Customers Click Here<<

My recommendation to keep those farmhouse whites clean and bright are Molly's Suds Oxygen Whitener & Mr's Meyers Clean Day Laundry detergent. Add those to your cart and you get the items above all for free!

♥

Nicki

Owner/Maker/Curator

The Vintage Farmhouse

*Happy to be a Grove Collaborative affiliate!

Spring Cleaning & Free Mrs. Meyers

I love Spring. It's such an amazing time of renewal, all the fresh bits of green popping up, birds singing, and the smell of sweet flowers. A time when I can finally crack the windows open and do some much needed Spring cleaning after a long winter.

That's why I love this awesome offer from Mrs. Meyer’s and Grove Collaborative. When you place your first Grove order of $20, you’ll get a free seasonal kit to help you get a jump start on your spring cleaning. Here’s what’s included:

• Free Mrs. Meyer’s Spring Hand Soap
• Free Mrs. Meyer’s Spring Dish Soap
• Free Grove Collaborative Walnut Scrubber Sponges
• Free Grove Collaborative Glass Spray Bottle
• Free Shipping & 60 Day VIP Trial

If you’re already a customer, you’ll receive 50% off of a Grove Collaborative Spray Bottle - perfect for making your own fresh scented cleaner!

Click here for new customers

Click here for existing customers

The limited edition Spring scents, Peony & Lilac, are my FAVORITE!!!! They smell so good like a fresh burst of Spring air. I don't know about you, but nothing motivates me more while cleaning than having sweet floral smells wafting up at me as I work! {That and a little music on the radio!}

 

Sign up is easy peasy!

To get your kit, sign up for Grove Collaborative here and the offer will be automatically added to your cart. You’ll answer 4 quick questions about your current cleaning routine, which Grove will use to recommend products for your first basket. You can customize your order by adding or remove items — as long as your order is a minimum of $20, you’ll qualify for the offer.

My monthly stock up always includes Mrs Meyers Laundry Detergent {in Lavender or Lemon-Verbena, sometimes I like to shake it up a bit on the scents!}, Mrs Meyers hand soap because with three kids in the house you can NEVER have too much hand soap, & Mrs. Meyers Clean Day Multi-Surface Concentrated Cleaner {also the Lemon Verbena}. I have two Grove Collaborative Glass Spray Bottles, one I use to make my own mixtures depending on my mood, and the other I use for the Mrs. Meyers Clean Day Multi-Surface Concentrated Cleaner.

*This offer ends Sunday, March 12, 6pm PST, and supplies are limited.

*I am pleased to be a Grove Affiliate!

Have you Picked Your Word for the Year?

You might think it is a little silly,

 to pick a word that encompasses your entire year. Maybe the way you feel about the coming year has many words attached to it.

For me it's all about SIMPLIFY.

I have kids, and cats, and goats, and life, and stuff, and things, and it is all just a little overwhelming sometimes.

{Isn't it for everyone?} 

So I am going through this thing.....

There is this whole minimalist movement happening. My friends and I have been discussing it a lot on Facebook. My personal thought on becoming a minimalist is this

Minimalism is trending BIG right now and I think some of it is monkey see monkey do....but I also think there is definitely a reason it is trending. We are living in an age where he who dies with the most stuff isn't a sign of wealth or status any longer. We are realizing that all this stuff is sometimes a sign of larger issues. We are taking notice of how we interact with our things and many of us are deciding it is time to spend less money and time on living with things and more on doing things...I personally want to do all the things, every. last. one. 

 

Now I know this isn't for everyone and if minimalism isn't your thing. If you like all of your stuff and truly enjoy it then keep on keepin on!!

 I started my year with a plan and a list.
And I am sticking to it.....
Sometimes things go in the get rid of pile, then come out, but eventually always end up back in.

I'm being brave and even further downsizing my Ironstone collection! #tvfstyle #ironstone #kindofahoarder #simplify #minimalistgoals

A photo posted by N. Morrow (@vintagefarmhouse) on Jan 24, 2017 at 8:51am PST