A Marble Backsplash and Rose's Presentation Ball

THE RAVENNA HOUSE

Well hello good people.  This week I want to talk backslash.  Marble herringbone tile backsplash, to be precise.  And Downton Abbey.  But I'll get to that in a bit.

Hubby and I spent last weekend tiling the Ravenna House's kitchen backsplash and this is how it looks:

The backsplash still awaits grout and someone's got to pick those tiles spacers out (read: me), but even in it's current state, I love it.   I'm obsessed with the subtle pattern of the marble and how the window trim and crown molding seem to pop out of the wall.  It's classic and downright pretty.

Then I watched Downton Abbey's Season 4 finale.  (Have you seen it?  Well don't spoil the end - I've still got another 30 minutes to watch!)  There are all of those beautiful pastel dresses, veils, and flowers at Rose's presentation ball.  And I got to thinking...is my kitchen going to look just like a twentieth century teenage girl's coming out party?  Soft palette.  Check.  Feminine feel. Check.  Shiny accessories.  Check, check, check!

Let's recap.  This kitchen has white cabinets, marble countertops, marble backsplash, shinny stainless steel appliances, frosted lights, and a cream capiz chandelier.  Have I designed the ultimate feminine kitchen?

No.  Yes.  Maybe?  Who cases!  After stewing on this question for most the week, I've realized that it simply doesn't matter.  Here are two reasons why:

1. Hubby likes the kitchen.  He thinks the tiles are cool.  Plus, according to him, I live with 3 males (if you count the dog) and there should be one room in our house thats all woman.

2. Women buy houses.  At least that's what I've always heard and it certainly works that way for us.  Women see the house, fall in the love with the house, and launch an all out campaign until their Hubby agrees to buy that house.  So a kitchen that's on the feminine side could work in our favor, if we ever decide to sell this house.  At least that's my theory and I'm sticking to it.

Besides the women at Downton never minded a little bit of feminine grandeur!

What do you think?  Do you like the backsplash?  Is it too feminine for you?

xoxo

p.s. I lOVE this life-advice wrapped up under the guise of money-saving-tips article on Oh Dear Drea (here).

p.p.s. Baby Wilder (eight months) wanted to make a guest appearance this week.  And who am I to stand in his way.  He's got a mind of his own, that one!

No Pain(t), No Gain

THE RAVENNA HOUSE

 

Well this week marks a fresh new look for the Ravenna House. Cracking, sooty, dingy walls no more. That's right. She's been painted! 

 

 

I went for classic Benjamin Moore colors: Simply White for the ceiling and trim and the lovely Revere Pewter for the walls in full and 50% tint (more on that later). 

 

All in all, we went through 9 gallons of primer and 7 gallons of paint.  For 830sf of house (we only did the upstairs since the basement isn't even drywalled yet).  Yeah.  I know.  That's a lot of paint!  And in case you're wondering, yes, it took us forever.  About two weeks of nights and weekends in all.  But it's amazing how transformed the space feels.  

 

 

 

 

The future backsplash only got a coat of primer since it will get covered by tiles and the plastic has to stay up until then - I'm not tolerating any grout on my new marble countertops - but you get a feel for how the kitchen is shaping up.   

 

Is that a refrigerator in the living room?  Why yes it is.

Remember this pink window? 

 

Well it's pink no more...

Sure there's still some touch up to do and the hardwoods need refinishing.  But don't those Revere Pewter walls look great?  I've heard it called the best paint color ever.  Who am I to argue?  And while we're playing favorites, mine are the living room's fireplace wall and the kitchen ceiling.  They look ah-mazing (well if you disregard the plastic, blue tape, and those dirty, dirty floors)!

 

 

The house is really coming along, don't you think?  It's really amazing what paint can do!

So let's talk about it.  The paint.  I used Sherwin Williams paints because there's a shop just down the street and they were happy to match Benjamin Moore's colors. Plus they are always offering coupons.  Seriously, always. 

• Trim/Doors/Cabinets: Sherwin Williams ProClassic Alkyd Interior Enamel, Semi-Gloss, matched to BM's Simply White
• Wall: Sherwin Williams Harmony, Eggshell, matched to BM's Revere Pewter (both full color and 50%)
• Ceiling: Sherwin Williams basic ceiling paint, Flat, matched to BM's Simply White

Luckily we had a 25% off coupon  (see what I mean) because that trim paint was expensive! $79 a gallon. But it was 100% worth it, because that trim has an enamel-like finish.  It's that good.   Of course using a paint sprayer helped out a lot but I'll save that story for another day. 

As I mentioned earlier, I ordered both full strength and 50% tint Revere Pewter for a little variety.  We painted the bathroom and nursery in full strength and the living room, hallway, and master bedroom in the 50% tint.  It turns out there's not a huge difference between the two.  The full strength is a little bit darker but it's barely noticeable. Can you even tell in the photos?   The 50% is a beautiful color but  it's just a tad darker then I was hoping for.  Not dark enough for me to even think about redoing the walls, but next time I might opt for a 25% tint.

So that's it.  The whole paint story.  In the end, it was a long project.  And a ton of work.  But what they say is true.  No paint no gain!

 

xoxo

 

p.s. Revere Pewter was my second pick for wall paint.  I found it during a midnight raid on Pinterest.  Before that, I bought 4 gallons of something called "White Duck".  Didn't like it.  Now we have 4 unused paint cans sitting in our basement.  Someday I will paint a test swatch before buying the paint!

p.p.s. Hey who's that?  Oh yeah, it's me in a men's shirt ;)

 

 

DIY: How To Make Old Wood Drawers Slide Easier

THE RAVENNA HOUSE

Hi Guys - Well after a long and grueling Sunday of peeling blue tape off the roll and laying down plastic I have learned the meaning of prep.  And oh how I've grown to hate that word.  Prep.  Eeerrrr.  See, after a weekend of prepping the upstairs for paint, we didn't even make it to the painting part.  So the Ravenna House is covered in a shroud of plastic.  And no paint. Not exactly the makings of beautiful painted wall pictures I was hoping to share with you today. 

 

Here's a progress shot of the window masking:

 

 

Yeah.  Anyway.  Let's move on.  I'll tell you all about the prep and the pain(t) sprayer another day when the words blue-tape and plastic don't make me grind my teeth.  

 

So let's talk drawers.  All-wood. Easy-gliding. Smooth. Wonderful. Joyful drawers.  See I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about dressers and built-in-drawers of a certain age.  We've got a lot of those around here.  They look really nice.  And they are solid.  Plus they've lasted 80+ years so I know they're well made.  But they are a real b^#*$ to open. They stick.  They grind. They take two strong hands to open.  Of course I can't get rid of them or replace them with some cheap crap.  Cause that would be wrong.  That would cut me straight to the soul.  

 

So, what to do.  

 

Well it turns out that there's an easy fix.  My years of frustration and ground teeth were all for not.  It could have been fixed with $0.90 and a trip to the drug store.  Let's consider this my first DIY on the Grit and Polish blog.  Here I'll make it official:

 

DIY: How To Make Old Wood Drawers Slide Easier

 

Cool. Ready? 

 

For this DIY, I'm taking you over to The Bryant House. That's where we live now. It's a 1920 craftsman that has 2 bedrooms, a renovated bath and kitchen, and just 790sf of finished space.  Yeah, try fitting two full-grown-adults, an energetic 65-pound dog, and a baby plus their swings, bikes, and toys in 790sf! But that's another post entirely.  Back to the drawers...

 

Step 1: Roll up your sleeves.  What's that? You've got a baby tugging on your pant legs too? Well put him in the jumping johny.  Maybe toss a binky in there.  Okay, now roll up your sleeves.

We've got this. 

 

Step 2: Pull out your drawers and arrange them so you can access the underside. 

 

 

Now grab a bar of soap.  I used a classic bar of Ivory, because that's just the kind of family we are.  But really any bar of soap will do.

 

 

Step 3: Rub said bar of soap across all wood sliding surfaces on the drawers and in the cabinet/dresser.  Don't be shy - give it a good, strong rub.  This is one of those more is better situations.

 

Okay, that's it!  Slide the drawer back into place and pick up the baby. We're done!

 

That wasn't so bad, right?  Give those drawers a try.  Better, right?  Yeah they're not brand-new soft-close drawers, but they're better, right!  And for $0.90 and 5 minutes, I'd say that's pretty darn great!

 

What's that?  You like the drawer hardware.  It's a Martha Stewart classic and you can find it at your local Home Depot (here).

 

It's a good thing I came across this solution (from The Farmers Nest here) when I did because I've got a lot more sticky drawers in my future. 
 

 

Did you catch that?  Yeah, it's a new dresser that I picked up on Craigslist for Wilder's new nursery. Lot's of soon-to-be-smooth drawers in this piece.  What's that?  Oh you think she's kinda dingy?  Well just hold on a sec (read: couple months).  Not sure if I'm going to paint her or give her a new coat of stain, but she'll be looking lovely before you know it!

 

xoxo

 

p.s. It's been electronic anarchy around this household.  First our MacBook Air crapped out (she's still in the shop), then I dropped my iPhone into the toilet.  Before I flushed.  Too much information?  Yeah, I thought so.  Anyway, no phone for a week.

 

p.p.s. I'm secretly digging the way the blue tape and plastic looks in the windows.  So graphic and ethereal.  Of course I'll be digging a fresh coat of paint even more...

The Case for Marble

THE RAVENNA HOUSE

Hi guys.  Well it's time I came clean.  As I hinted a couple weeks ago, I did something that I said I wouldn't do.  Many people will think I'm crazy.  Heck, you may think I'm crazy.   But it's done.  And this thing - the thing that I said I wouldn't do - is cut, polished, and glued in place.  Permanently.  

The Ravenna House | Kitchen Progress

That's right.  I am now the proud owner of marble countertops!  Hooray!

So I am obviously super excited, but not everyone is going to that way.  Some people's crazy sensors are probably going off right about now.  See marble is a controversial choice in the world of kitchen countertops.  It's pourous.  It stains.  It etches.  It's soft.  And it needs maintenance.  So why would I use it?  Well let's back up.  Let me make my case for marble...

Pilar Guzman's Kitchen | Designed by Tyler Hays

Deciding Factor number one: they are beautiful! Okay, so everyone knows that. Or at least I think everyone does (could it be possible that people have different taste than me...unlikely!).  I've never liked a countertop surface as much as marble and I doubt I ever will (case in point, this awesome kitchen island in Brooklyn).  I am going to be thrilled - no ecstatic - to walk into my kitchen and see these countertops. Every. Single. Day.

Faith's Kitchen | Marble Island

Deciding factor number two: marble is a historic material.  I love to use materials that were used in the same time period as when the house was built.  And marble fits the bill.  Combine this with deciding factor number one and we have a winner!  

Emily's Granite Island | Cupcakes and Cashmere

Deciding factor number three: I don't like the alternatives as much as the real deal.  There are tons of Carrara-marble-look-alikes on the market today - mainly quartz and granite - but they lack that certain je na sais quoi of marble.  Okay, so they're more durable.  And less prone to staining, etching, and scratching.  But, they also tend to feel cold or have a "man-made" quality or be too dark or too light.  So while they look nice and work well in plenty of very stunning kitchens around this country (most notably Emily's beautiful granite island), they aren't for me.  At least not now.  I am prepared to eat my words if I find our marble countertops too high-maintenance in the future.  (See why designer Amber Lewis recommends against marble here).

Joan's Kitchen | For the Love of a House

Deciding factor number four: I like a little patina.  Yes, marble countertops will show some wear in the form of staining, etching, and scratches/chips. But it really doesn't bother me.  In fact, I like patina.  I'm a sucker for the antique.  The old.  The historic.  I love age and all the wear and stories that comes with it.  So I don't think I'll mind the patina.  Here are some other people wearing-in marble (and loving the patina) as we speak...

• Joan's Kitchen at For the Love of a House
• Edie's Kitchen at Life in Grace
• Greg's marble staining experiment (day one and day two)

Martha Stewart's Kitchen | Designed by Beth Weinstein

Deciding factor number five: I really wanted marble.  Ultimately that was it. I couldn't talk myself out of it no matter how much research I did.  In the end, I was going to be disappointed if we went with anything else.   So that was that.  

Am I crazy?  Maybe.  Mmmmmm....okay, probably.  

But who cares.  Because I am one excited home owner.  Do you have marble in the kitchen or are you thinking about getting it?  I'd love to hear about it!

xoxo

p.s. I am back in Seattle.  Missing the 70 degrees of Arizona.  

p.p.s. I am dying to do a big kitchen reveal.  But first we need to finish the kitchen...  Painting is up next.  And then tiling the backsplash.  And finally installing the appliances and refinishing the hardwood floors.