5 Things to Look Out for When Buying a Recycled Kitchen

I got an email asking how I can tell a recycled kitchen will work for me. Good question! The cost savings will be completely negated if it ends up not working in your space. Here are 5 things to keep in mind if you're shopping for a recycled kitchen, plus, a real-life example of a kitchen I've been considering — and how I discovered it won't work.

Bedroom Inspiration: Yellow and Gray

1. Duvet fabric, Bubbles - Sterling, Tonic Living
2. Yellow bureau - street find
3. Chair fabric, Casablanca Geo - Citrine, Tonic Living
4. Gray campaign dresser, inherited
5. Piston lamp, Lite Source Inc.
6. Floating nightstands, Slice Wall-Mounted Storage Shelf, CB2
7. Min Bed, Design Within Reach 

What do you think of the gray and yellow theme for a bedroom?

Fixer Upper Friday: Cost of Renovations $0

Our $0 renovation

This isn't going to be a post about scouring the internet for the best deal on fixtures. Or how to find upcycled goods at salvage yards. Or even how to cut your contractor costs by doing some DIY yourself. (Though, I can readily get behind any one or all of those things.)

This is about something very real that you don't hear too much about in the home blogs. How to buy a home that's equity will pay for your renovation.

If I were to add up the cost of the renovations to our new home - contractor fees, materials, and fixtures - it totals more than $40k. But it didn't cost us a cent.

Wa-wa-what what? That's right. Here's how we did it.

Slipcovers Make an Old Sofa New Again

Before you consign that old sofa to a Re-Store, could that sofa be saved? I had ours slipcovered and they look as good as new. Even better, they fit right in with the midcentury style of our home.

Brooklyn Garden Apartment: Kitchen Plan

This is the line of cabinets I'm ordering. Aren't they sleek? I'm over my disappointment that I can't use Ikea cabinets. They don't come in enough size increments for me to be able to make the best use of every inch of space. The main sticking point is the corner sink cabinet. IKEA corner sink cabinets are all L-shaped with a lazy susan in the blind corner. While I applaud IKEA for their price points and innovative thinking, their sink cabinets are all simply too big for the space. Having a corner sink is key to my design. It's the only layout that will give me enough room to fit all the appliances I need and let me locate the refrigerator in the one place where it will not block the line of sight to the French doors and garden.