Fancy New Kitchen Faucet

A couple months ago I mentioned that I had one kitchen project left and then I was going to move on to another room. I still want to add a backsplash and update the artwork, but for now I’m done working on the kitchen.

The last project I wanted to get done before calling it quits was installing a new faucet. I forgot to take a proper before picture, but you can see my old faucet in this picture:

It looked a lot like this one:

It worked fine, but I hated the two knobs (as opposed to one lever) and it didn’t have a sprayer - plus it looked cheap. After searching around, I decided that I wanted one of those faucets with the pull out spray head…until I realized they are like $200! There was no way I was going to spend that much on a kitchen faucet, but I lucked out and a couple weeks later Overstock.com had a sale on select faucets – 10%-off plus there was a 10%-off coupon that you could use on top of the promotional discount!

I’d been eyeing this Kraus single lever, pull out kitchen faucet (in satin nickel) for a couple weeks because it had great reviews and the price was somewhat reasonable (before the discounts). After the discounts it was a steal for that type of faucet, so I jumped on the deal.

And then it just sat in the box on the kitchen counter for a couple months (you can see the delivery date was March 7^th). I finally convinced my boyfriend to install it for me last week…and I’m completely in love (with my boyfriend and the faucet).

Not only is it 100x more functional, it makes the kitchen look more updated!  Seriously, doesn’t the entire room look so much more modern with the new faucet?!

I don’t have any installation tips for you guys because my boyfriend did it while I was at work, but he said it was pretty easy and only took about 30 minutes. We’ve only been using the faucet for about a week and a half, but so far I’m completely happy with my purchase and would recommend it to anyone looking for this type of kitchen faucet.

And with that, I only have a few items left on the kitchen to-do list. I’m hoping to find some new potholders and towels this weekend, so I can share some “after…for now” pictures of the kitchen next week.

To-Do List:

Add hardware to kitchen cabinets

Add backsplash

Replace stove (stainless steel)

Replace faucet

Update kitchen artwork

Update menu board

Create “Eat” sign

Re-pot plants

Add herb garden to window sill

Sew new faux roman shades

Create sign for above sink (to replace bon appétit sign)

Buy rug

Add accessories: potholders, towels, bamboo utensils/crock, oil/vinegar bottles

CB2 - Novogratz Collection

This post brought to you by CB2. All opinions are 100% mine.

CB2 recently announced that they are partnering with husband-and-wife design duo Robert and Cortney Novogratz for their latest collection.

The CB2 and Novogratz Collection debuted at the beginning of May and was inspired by the Novogratz vacation home in Brazil. Just like their bold, colorful decorating style, the collection features pops of color mixed with warm woods. Items and price points range from colorful pillows for under $30 to the modern dupla credenza for $499.

My favorite item in the collection is the figueira swing chair ($149). Now that the weather is warming up, how amazing would it be to lounge in that chair with a cool drink?!

To celebrate the new collection, CB2 is hosting the CB2 and Novogratz Brasil Sweepstakes! You and three friends could win a one week stay at the vacation home of CB2 collaborators Bob and Courtney Novogratz in beautiful Trancoso, Brazil!

Ten other lucky winners will receive a $100 CB2 gift card plus a personally signed copy of the book “Home by Novogratz”. The sweepstakes runs from now through June 3rd. Enter via cb2.com/sweeps. #CB2NovogratzBrasilSweepstakes

Good luck and don’t forget to invite me if you win! My passport is ready! =)

Yellow Paint-Dipped Chair

The birds are singing and the flowers are bloomin’ - that means it’s time for the Spring Pinterest Challenge!

Today I’m joining Katie, Sherry, Emily and Renee in their challenge to stop pinning and start doing! I have almost 200 pins on my DIY Ideas board, so narrowing it down to one was tough. I decided to go with a project that’s featured a few different times in a few different ways on my board. The paint-dipped look!

1 – Two-toned Stools from This Messy Business via Pinterest

2 – Dipped Planters from Parties for Pennies via Pinterest

3 – Ombre Utensils from Everything Etsy via Pinterest

I also went with this idea because I already had everything on-hand for this project, so it was FREE! My favorite kind of project!

I started with these two chairs that I found on the curb while walking Ringo and Abby. See, it pays to take the dogs out and get some exercise! They were in good shape except for the scratched and peeling paint.

I stripped off as much of the black paint as I could and sanded down the rest. As you can see, the chairs were painted a rainbow of colors under that black paint. This is where chairs become chair in this story because this is as far as I got with the other chair.  

I tried to spray paint the chair, but it was taking WAY too much paint, so I ended up using a brush and small roller instead. I used some leftover Creamy by SW to paint the chair white. It already looks so much better!

And now for the finishing touch!

I measured 5” from the bottom of the leg all the way around and taped it off. I used my painting trick of sealing the edges of the tape with the original color (to prevent bleeding) on each of the legs.

Then I used a small foam roller to apply the yellow paint! It’s Sweet Mustard by Valspar. I had a jar of it from when they sent out free samples a couple years ago. Two coats of Sweet Mustard later:

Paint-dipped legs!

I still have to finish the second chair and then we can use them as our desk chairs in the office! I originally planned to buy chairs, but you can beat free paint-dipped chairs!

Office To-Do List:

Sell current desk on Craigslist

Clean out room

Paint stripes

Replace outlets and switches with white ones

Build desk

Buy 2 chairs – removed from list

Paint 2 1 chairs

Buy pair of desk lamps

Buy and paint file cabinet

Mount TV on the wall

Create a gallery wall around the TV

Build pallet artwork

Additional artwork

Sew curtains

Buy sleeper sofa

Buy/build end table

Buy dresser

Paint dresser

Sew pillows

Add accessories

Oh, and don’t forget to check out Katie, Sherry, Emily, and Renee’s Pinterest Challenge projects!

London/Paris Calendar Art

As most of you know, my mom and I are headed to London and Paris in September. We are both REALLY excited about our trip and have been talking about it nonstop. So when I saw this famous cities/travel-inspired art project at Young House Love I immediately decided that I wanted to hang the same prints in my own home.

(source)

Luckily I saw their post right away, so I was able to order the same calendar before they were sold out. The calendar features 12 different cities, but I really only needed two for this project. I decided to go with London and Paris in celebration of our upcoming trip. Although not featured in this post, I do still want to hang the Tokyo print – I’ve been there plus my dad is from Japan.

Anyway, I had the calendar so now I just needed the frames. An 8x10 opening fits the prints almost perfectly - it does cut off a tiny bit of the London picture, but not enough to justify cutting custom mats. I had originally planned on using IKEA frames like John and Sherry, but I decided that they would have been too small for my space. Luckily Michael’s had all of their frames on sale for 40%-off plus there was a coupon for an additional 25%-off! The frames I bought were originally $29.99/each, but after discounts I only paid $13.50/each. This is what they originally looked like:

After I painted the frames white (Krylon Paint + Primer White Satin) and removed the black part of the mat I added the pages from the calendar and voilà:  

I got almost an additional half inch of space from removing the black part of the mat, so less of the London print ended up getting cut off. Yay!

I absolutely love my new art and now I’m even more excited to see these places in person.

Thanks YHL for the inspiration!