Friday Dreaming....Kitchen Accessories

To continue with last weeks theme of kitchen love I really wanted to talk about all of the beautiful kitchen accessories I have been waiting to purchase. 

We have known for years that we would be building a larger home(we just didn't think we would be moving and building 2 larger homes) so we have been holding off on purchasing pricey items like dinner ware, tea kettles, coffee machines and so on. 

Here are a few of the items I am hoping to own one day. 

I am forever dreaming of this espresso maker...

Isn't it stunning!!! You can check it out here if you want one too. 

These next two I've already talked about somewhere but why not talk about them again! 

This kettle is a must...

You can review this product here. 

I love, love, love these dishes ....

My mom bought us this microwave last year for us for the new house, it can be purchased at Lowe's if you are in need of one. 

A pretty cake stand is always necessary on a kitchen island. 

Those are just a few of the items I am dreaming about...if you have any of the above small appliances please feel free to leave your reviews below! 

Have a great long weekend!

First Home Pictures Update - Let's Sell This Place!

Friday was the day! The For Sale sign was put up on the street and the listing went up on MLS. 

Yes, Yes...it was much later then our expected date but let's just be real here people, we built a home in 6 months. 

We had exactly 3 people help us on and off. 

We worked like crazy people in the cold. 

The out come is much more gratifying then I could have ever imagined. 

I wasn't sure if I should do the before and after's here but I figured if you wanted to visit my "First Home Tour" Page you could see all of that once I have it updated.

What we did:

Added 650 sq ft to the existing home. 

Changed the layout from a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom to a 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom. 

Moved the laundry room from the kitchen to the new living area. 

Extended all of the plumbing and electrical from the old part of the house to the new part. 

Moved the tiny dining area to create a new larger dining area. 

Repainted the entire house. 

Painted the brick fireplace white.

Installed sconces beside the fireplace.

Mounted the TV to the fireplace.

Changed ALL of the flooring in the house. (The old bedrooms used to be carpet and the hard wood was an oak colour).

Upgraded the electrical panel. 

Upgraded all of the electric baseboard heaters to the newer efficient ones. 

Removed hanging lights above old island and installed pot lights. 

Changed all of the floor trim in the old part of the house. 

Moved kitchen island to the center and also removed dividing wall from the living room. 

Added more seating area with the new island. 

Moved stove from the island to the back wall and installed a hood. 

Upgraded all appliances(dishwasher, stove, fridge, washer/dryer).

Purchased new granite counter top, new large sink and new kitchen faucet. 

Changed all kitchen cabinetry to new Ikea kitchen cabinets. 

Created a new pantry area for more kitchen storage. 

Installed new tile, new toilet and new vanity in the old bathroom. 

Rebuilt the back deck and front entrance deck. 

Created new landscaping around new part of the house. 

Other things on the property were done last year included mainly landscaping of the front yard area by taking down at least 45 ugly pine trees and seeding that area so grass could grow in. 

THE HOME

Exterior Front

Exterior Back 

Bedroom 1

 Bedroom 2

Bedroom 3 

Bedroom 4

Master en-suite 

Dining Room 

Kitchen 

Living area 

Backyard Oasis

Backyard Creek/Waterfall

A few pictures are missing of some rooms but if you are looking for the before & after's to see the full transformation make sure you check it out on our "First Home Tour" Page. 

Bring on the second Home Reno for our "Forever Home"!!! 

Friday Dreaming....Kitchen Love

The house is finally up for sale which now allows me a ton of time to dream about the new home! 

I think I may start a "Friday Dreaming" thread that will focus on all the things I am dreaming about for the new home.....the "Forever Home"

Although I am not a big cooking connoisseur I do still love looking at lavish kitchens. I have many big ideas for our new kitchen. My dad has already built the kitchen out of a nice solid wood. We just have to determine what colour we want it and have it stained/painted. 

So without further waiting here are some of my inspirations of what I would like my kitchen to look like...

Everything Grey...

(http://pinterest.com/pin/118430665171318910/)

I saw a picture of  a grey kitchen almost over a year ago and absolutely fell in love. 

There are so many different shades of grey of course but I would like something in between the above picture and this below picture...not too light and not too dark. 

(http://pinterest.com/pin/118430665172277470/)

I also really love the side of this island..

(http://pinterest.com/pin/118430665171813870/)

Since my dad has custom built our kitchen for us I had him leave a space like this in the island for the microwave...

I love, love, love large sinks!! We put one in the old house that we are selling right now and will not hesitate to be putting one in the new house....(ps this is from http://aubreyandlindsay.blogspot.ca/ famous kitchen!)

(http://pinterest.com/pin/118430665172640261/)

There will be so many other things happening in this kitchen like the very large pantry that will be beside the fridge and we may also have room for a mini bar. We also plan on having no upper cabinets since we have so much room in the lower cabinets and the pantry. 

Hope everybody has a great weekend...if you have kitchen tips for me please feel free to leave them below. I would love to hear about things that you may love about your kitchen or wish you would have done! 

Say what....Addition update

Addition Deadline is changing to Addition Done!!! 

Last week we were supposed to finish up and put the house up for sale but with Branko's very busy week at work ahead of him and a few small details that needed to be done our realitor advised us to take another week which was great for us. We rested most of the week and finished our final touches over the weekend. 

This weekend I picked up the camera and snapped a few shots around the yard and house

Since it's Monday and I'm sure most people don't want to read a long winded post I will present you with a few pictures that I took. 

I just love the way the sun shines back here as it's setting. 

We have 7 flower beds and 1 flower bed that raps the entire house. Can you say garden lover's paradise. 

This car is waiting to go cruising

Puppy on guard

Beautifully grown in sod

Now for some inside picture of the addition....

Dining room(the picture doesn't do it justice) it is actually much bigger then it looks. 

Laundry room(no longer in the kitchen)

Small Bedroom

Master bedroom

Bathroom attached the master bedroom 

And lastly one of the bedrooms in the old part of the house...

We painted and changed the flooring in this room

Now all we need is for this place to SELL!!! 

"Forever Home" is waiting for us....

3 Years Today

No fancy words here today....just a few pictures to take you down memory lane with me on an amazing day that happened 3 years ago today. 

We had family travel from near and far to be with us in a beautiful tent setting at my parents home. 

We laughed, we sang, we danced....and drank like typical Europeans do. 

Heck....even my Aunt was dancing to rap music. 

"In dreams and in love there are no impossibilities" Janos Arany 

Addition Update...Kitchen on a Budget

Last week I came down with some sort of illness, I had to stay home Thurs. and Friday and slept for 2 days. We think I may have just been over exhausted and it finally hit me and it hit hard. 

So over the weekend when we had planned to go full force and finish every small detail we decided to scale it back a bit. 

(http://pinterest.com/pin/118430665173743162/)

On another note though I have a Kitchen Update for you!! It's DONE! All of the small details were completed last week and we are very happy with the outcome. 

First a side by side before & after picture(sorry for the poor lighting):

The details on what we did(I don't have the exact costs only estimates of what we paid):

Upgraded all of the appliances to brand new stainless steel LG collection this includes the stove, hood, dishwasher and fridge(Fridge, Dishwasher, Stove all from Home Depot $2400, Ikea Range Hood $400). 

Upgraded the counter top to granite, brand new 9" sink and faucet. (Granite, sink, faucet, deliver/install: $2050) If you need a place for recommendation let me know. They were located in Richmond Hill. 

New back splash and new kitchen cabinets purchased from Ikea.(Ikea Cabinets + Hardware : $1300, Tiles from Lowe's $300). 

The island backing was made by Branko himself with some pre-cut wood from Home Depot, we also took one of the cabinet doors and had Home Depot colour match the paint so it wouldn't be off. (Pre-Cut Wood $50, Paint $30) 

Total cost: $6530

Other things we did is move the stove to the back wall and build in a hood, moved the island over and took out the wall between the kitchen and the living room to make it all open concept. Removed all upper cabinets but created a large pantry to the right of kitchen. We also removed the previous hanging lights and installed 3 pot lights to go over the island. 

AND 

Before I leave from here today just for fun a photo of the one of the bedrooms: