The major renovations are basically over (thank the Lord, Hallelujah, Amen!), the laundry room and bedroom that we added on are fully functioning and the construction crew has been replaced with Rupert and I. It is nice having the house back to ourselves, but we still have a ton of little things (and some big things) to do. We currently have about 10 DIY tasks in the making, each at various stages of completion all over the house. Here is to hoping we can knock a few of these projects off our list this weekend….
Above is a glimpse of the patio project I mentioned that Rupe and I worked on all last weekend. We painted the back wall to match the house (minus that trellis part that is kind of falling off since we will be taking that down and replacing it with something else, TBD) and started building some seating for around the fireplace. We were able to finish the bench on the left (minus the cushion) and got the entire right bench framed out, but still need to wrap it with the pretty wood and finish it off. A full post on that to come, in hopefully the near future.
In the bathroom, we are still waiting on our mirror and lights but we were able to get the vintage credenza retro-fitted to accommodate the plumbing. Another project I’ll share at completion.
In the den/family room I really wanted to create some built-in shelving to hold the TV and make it feel cozier. So, after buttering my parents up with the trip to Catalina and before they left town, I put my dad to work in helping Rupe and I make these built-ins. We still have to trim out each shelf, paint, add a door, and do a lot of caulking, but it’s one more project that I can just almost share the details of (soon, hopefully soon:).
Meanwhile… back in the kitchen. We got the second batch of cabinet doors from SemiHandmade to finish off the extension! Remember how we had professional painters do the first round? Well, this time I threw all my reasoning out the window because my dad was in town to show me exactly how easy it is to use a paint sprayer and which one to get. We ended up getting this HVLP one… and hooking it up to an air compressor. Now I want to spray EVERYTHING! (again, more on that soon. Is this getting old yet?).
We are still waiting on the rest of our cabinet pulls, and have to trim out the top and bottom of the cabinets too (one day I actually will paint the toe-kicks as well).
And finally, we moved into the new bedroom! This was the first morning waking up in the new light-filled space. While Rupert was trying (and failing) to implement a no dogs on the new bed rule with Pikku (she is a top negotiator), I was busy snapping away in bleary eyed delight. One project I’ve got in the works in the bedroom is re-upholstering our old bed. The sun had badly and unevenly faded the fabric so it was in desperate need of a refresh. I re-covered the base already (shown above) and just have to finish off the headboard, which I had saved for my mom to help me with (thank goodness for crafty parents).
So, now you know what I will be up to in my free-time for the next unforeseeable future! Project “finish this place already” is in full swing and I can’t wait to be able to share all the details.
Product Sources: PATIO: Vintage Fireplace from Surfing Cowboys // All BATHROOM Pieces // KITCHEN: Alto Pendant Lamps by Cedar & Moss // Bar Cart (vintage) from Hunt & Gather // Doors & Drawer fronts by SemiHandmade // Cabinet frames from Ikea // Cabinet Pulls by Lewis Dolin // Cabinet paint colors: Pigeon & Wimborne White by Farrow & Ball // Floor Stain Color is Ebony by Minwax // BEDROOM: Bedding from West Elm // Persian rug from Esalerugs.com // Pendant from a vintage shop, find new: Octo Pendant by Secto
To see all the renovation progress check here
To see all the before photos check here
Branding and Initial Web Design
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HOLY MOLY SARAH!!!! The patio / fireplace / bench-amazingness is looking AWESOME.
The bathroom–wow!!! The sinks look great!
I smiled huge when I saw that pic of the kitchen–damn, this place is really coming together!! Remember those hideous yellow walls and the light flooring?! (Of course you do!)
And SO HAPPY to see you’ve moved into the new master–yahoo!!
Looking great. Looking GREAT!
Ahhhhhh this is all SO good! I can’t wait to see the finished shots! your kitchen is amazing and the backyard is going to be rad (I’m imagining The Parker in PS) . . . also that vintage credenza in the bathroom Whhaaattt!!!!
i want to move in.
i love it all.
You two have such beautiful taste. I want to move in!!
Everything looks amazing!!! Can’t wait to see all of the finished projects – thanks for inspiring the rest of us! 🙂
Hi Sarah,
I live in your neighborhood- recognized your house from the outside. I LOVE what you are doing with your house and I can’t wait to see how the backyard turns out- our backyard is very similar and this post inspired me to get crackin!
Hey, I’m Sally 🙂
But seriously, it is all EXQUISITE and goes together beautifully. I think that my favorite thing is the color of your house! I love it all.
Can you give a bed upholstery tutorial? I can’t find anything that I like, and you did a gorgeous job with yours. I would *LOVE* it!
Thank you Amanda! Your excitement makes me even more excited. ha! and YES! it’s funny remembering back to all the yellow and all the closed up rooms! So glad you are liking the patio area too, it was such dead space how we had it before, so it is nice seeing it come to life.
Thanks Emma! AH the Parker, my favorite backyard of all time. Must keep that in mind while we work on ours 🙂
Haha thank you Madeline and Jade, Maybe we could arrange visits. 😉
WOW! I have been following along since the beginning but just had to comment (finally) to congratulate you on being almost “done”! Everything is looking super-duper. I love all of your design choices from the color on the kitchen cabinets to the built-in seating outside to the revamped vanity in the bathroom. What will you do with yourselves when it’s all done?!
But, seriously, your design vision for this space is 20/20.
It’s coming along great, I love the vision. And that kitchen is pretty drool-worthy already! Nice work Sarah 🙂
Everything looks so great! Progress always feels good. Love the kitchen. Love the new bedroom. Love everything 🙂
hi sarah! just a note to say how much i’m enjoying these posts! and it’s so exciting to see it all coming together now!
xoxox
Thanks Jessica!
So cool!! Love all of this.
Congratulations on almost being finished, such a relief when the builders clear out isn’t it? One is desperate for them to turn up and begin the job but boy, but by the end so, so glad to see the back of them! Great too to be at the stage where playing around with the decor and setting up rooms comes in, that’s the fun bit. Less dusty at the very least. Everything’s looking wonderful but one teeny, weeny word of caution if I may. Do you think the wooden built-in seating tight around the back of the patio fire will be up to code? I ask because last year we built an outdoor fireplace and I was shocked at how far away timber had to be from the edges of the fire “box”. We wanted to build a really long wooden bench (15 foot) straight across a fieldstone fireplace but had to have concrete (which got painted to sort of match) in the middle so that nothing within a foot or two of a fire was flammable. With the obvious exception of the logs burned inside the fireplace! California may have different requirements for all I know. Best of luck
Thanks Marie! and Oh you are probably so right! California is crazy with their codes too. The good thing here is my fireplace is portable, so I could easily move it to the other side of the patio if I had too.
Love the bathroom! The credenza is great and the pattern with the subway tile is genius!
everything is just so amazingly beautiful. So much gorgeousness in one house is just plain wrong!! The backyard space is shaping up beautifully as well. I always look forward to your house progress posts.
[…] cabinet color in this kitchen, that Smitten Studio remodeled, is so cool with the gold drawer and cabinet […]
love the rug in the bedrooml! could you please provide additional detail on the rug? i have been checking out esale rugs for a while now, after a friend from LA recommended the site, but am still a little unsure about buying rugs online…i’d love to know the particular style of the rug you selected, and whether you were happy with the condition upon arrival. what an inviting room!
Would you mind sharing the paint color that is on the kitchen cabinets? Thank you!
Would you share the paint color on the kitchen cabinets?
The paint color is Pigeon from Farrow and Ball based on another one of her blog posts
Hi. Love the kitchen. Do you mind telling me what faucet you used. I’m looking for something just like that and can’t find anything ;-). Thank you !!!
Hello! New to your site and am already in love! I am hoping you could share the bottom paint color of your cabinets and the faucet fixture brand? I am looking to do something similar and would love to use this color to compare but maybe in a lighter hue? (our kitchen doesn’t have as much natural light). Thank you so much and it all looks amazing! – LM
[…] a small fixer upper house to get! I am equally ecstatic that Rupe and I finished another one of our lingering DIY projects, these built-in […]
Hi – did you ever publish a post regarding how to paint the cabinets yourself with the spray painter? I’m about to order semihandmade cabinets and the cost is so much higher if they paint, thus I am considering doing it myself but looking for some advice, thanks!
Our semihandmade doors and panels arrive tomorrow! Can you share how you painted them with your sprayer?