In the past 10 months, the Peaks have had a 3rd child. Sold a house. Been unable to find a new house. Moved in with another family for 3 months. Found a new house. Bought new house. Renovated new house. Lost their minds at times. Ok, often.
It’s been a long journey to get here but here we are! We are so happy to finally be getting settled after almost a year. We had our East Memphis home on the market from August-December, so we were living in a staged home with a 6 year old, 4 year old, and me very pregnant. We sold it and became homeless but thanks to some dear, life-long friends, we survived. They shared their 4 bedroom/1.5 bath home with our family of 5, which then included a nursing, colicky newborn and 2 wild and crazy boys. Did I mention they have a child of their own?
Bless your souls, Matt and Mary Elizabeth Washburn.
I’d like to share a bit about what we have been working on and why the blog has been so quiet. (And yes, I am still photographing! I’m so behind on blogging but beautiful things are happening!)
We bought a house. Actually, we bought a frat house. Our house was being rented by 6 Rhodes College males (I know). It’s a lovely tudor style home built in the 1920s. So we have been given the task of putting the tudor back in the tudor house. When we found out about this house, it was not on the market. So these iPhone photos were our first impression:
Amazing, right?! I hate that I didn’t get the life-size Pillsbury doughboy in the shot. Not to mention that it was April when we saw the house. Merry Christmas.
The first mission was to paint, and I chose Benjamin Moore Gray Owl at 50% on every wall in the house except the new kitchen. And BM White Dove for the trim.
Had a little panic attack when they painted the living room, it looked very blue. But then we realized the original creamy yellow trim was tricking our eyes. Once we got White Dove on the trim, my mental health improved tremendously.
And here’s a not-great, really grainy iPhone shot of the living room after:
I am still in the process of decorating this beast of a room, so I’ll spare you the specifics (and better photos) for now. But here’s a quick rundown: most of my furniture was found at discount stores or Craigslist, the flag is an old cotton TN state flag (we live in Memphis, TN for those of you who don’t know) that I diy’d, I removed the old ugly fireplace screen with a chisel and a hammer and found the new brass one at Sheffield’s, curtains are Ikea, and sconces are Hobby Lobby. I am a budget decorator, people!
So now, the kitchen. Oh, kitchens! Why am I obsessed with reworking your layouts??! The old kitchen was, how should I put this… ugly? And awkward. And small. And no windows. And awkward. These were taken during a walk-through.
So, we are converting that into the mud room since it is off the back door. We are ripping out the old cabinets and installing cubbies on one side, and the other side has been enclosed to make a large pantry.
As for the kitchen, we converted the breakfast room (just off the old kitchen) and dining room into 1 large eat-in kitchen/dining room combo extravaganza. We removed the main load-bearing wall between these rooms. I dreamed up the new layout and then sketched out the design on paper a few times, and then found this tool via Better Homes and Gardens. This really helped my plans come to life.
One of the main reasons that inspired me to move the kitchen into this room is because of the amazing built-ins. I wanted these cabinets to be my main storage. Having these, I knew I would only have to purchase a few new cabinets. Six, to be exact. We relocated all of our appliances and were able to make those fit perfectly in new kitchen. I still have to take photos of the dining room side… My dad built the most incredible farm table. I’ll post the dining room next. And I’ll share where I got everything after the photos:
So there she is! I wanted something rustic but also reminiscent of tudors, but also light and airy. I one day want to add wood beams and other tudor-y elements. I wanted to stay true to the character of the home, so we left the lovely brass chandelier over the island.
So, we were on a tight budget. I did tons of research and what we ended up doing factored in the best value. Honestly the most expensive aspects of the kitchen were relocating the electrical, gas, and water lines. Here’s the deets:
Cabinets: cabinetstogo.com Highly recommend. Very affordable, since I wanted them to be already painted white and Shaker-style doors. Closest location was in Birmingham, so we made the trip down to avoid shipping costs. Cabinet costs were under $1800.
Countertops: Beech butcher block also from cabinetstogo.com. We sanded, stained and sealed ourselves. Stain is Minwax Special Walnut. After some informal research, we found the best results were found from sealing with Waterlox. We are not super handy, but were able to handle this. Counter top cost was under $500.
Tile: Beveled Subway Tile in Biscuit. Best price found at Buytile.com. Grout is an unsanded grout from Home Depot- Polyblend Light Smoke. Tile cost was under $300.
Giant rustic clock: Pottery Barn Outlet. It was a fluke, a lucky find. I have had it since March, before the kitchen plans were in place. I used some rope from Home Depot and strung it up to the ceiling. $60.
Island: one of my favorite Craigslist finds. Was told it was an old 1800s general store counter. It was the perfect size and height and price so I snatched it up. I absolutely love having all the big drawers. One day I hope to save my pennies and get a marble counter top for it. Island cost under $400.
Small drawer pulls: Brass Windamere knobs from Anthropologie clearance room. $2.95/ea.
Sink: vintage Kohler white cast iron double sink from Craigslist. $50.
Faucet: Brass gooseneck. $220.
Walls: BM White Dove. Trim: Color matched the cabinets.
Contractor: OB Home Improvement and Repair. He’s like family to us at this point. Highly recommend.
What our life looks like these days in the tudor house kitchen. Follow me on Instagram for more pictures and inspiration! I’m @ashpeak. Let me know what you think!