Jan 18, 2012

Facelift!

Facelifts are great, aren't they? After adding a little color here and there, things look a lot better! Oh wait, did you think *I* got a facelift? LOL, heavens no. I'll leave that to those who feel they can't grow old gracefully.

So what am I talking about then? The Homestead!

When I moved into The Homestead four years ago (Can you believe it's been that long already?), I inherited some very, very old appliances -- think 25 to 30 years old.


Looks good, right? Almost everytime I used the range, I had to jiggle the burners in order to get a connection so they'd heat up. The drip pans were corroded so bad that they really needed to be replaced. The coils didn't sit flat like they were supposed to so one side of the pan was always cooking too fast or burning. The oven didn't bake evenly, and the self-cleaning didn't work. But hey, I made do.


The best part about the stove was the dashboard light. It gave off the perfect amount of light during the evenings when I really didn't need to turn on the ceiling lights. Stoves on the market now don't have those lights. As you can see, there were drippings behind the glass that made it look like I never cleaned the dashboard.

A couple months ago, one of the 8" burners quit working entirely. Of course it was the one I *always* used. Ever try to use a frying pan on a 6" burner? LOL I was relegated to using the 8" burner at the back of the stove. Remember the jiggling I told you about? A couple weeks ago, I was doing the jiggle dance and by golly if the socket didn't start sparking... and sparking... and sparking, even after I stopped jiggling. It was at that point I decided it was time to get rid of the archaic piece of crap put her to rest. I may have been able to get it repaired, but 3 of the 4 burners needed help and I'd still be stuck with a three-decade old stove.

So I did what any respectable woman would do. I went shopping! ☺ The delivery was made last Sunday. I won't mention the idiot delivery guy. The delivery guy tried to talk me into letting him bring the appliance in my side door, which 1) if I let him do, it would've gotten wedged in the door and 2) would've never gotten between the cabinets if he got it around the corner. He was worried about the stove not fitting between my hedges! I knew from when I bought my refrigerator a couple years ago that if *it* fit through the hedges, the stove would fit... AND the front door is 4" wider than the side door! Finally, I told him I'd put a sheet over it so it wouldn't get scratched. What does he say? "Oh, we have appliance blankets in the truck." Duh!!


Doesn't it look great with the exhaust hood the BF installed last summer? It also matches the refrigerator!


I couldn't get a good photo of the refrigerator since it's on the opposite wall of the stove. The sink and dishwasher are on the same wall as the stove:


Someday, I'd like to do something with the ceramic tile on the wall. Not sure what because other than the yellow color, they are beautifully embossed tiles.

OK, that concludes my kitchen facelift, tour. Up next is the dining room facelift tour!

I'm not sure what the previous owner(s) of The Homestead were going for when they installed a flying saucer very contemporary-looking light fixture in the dining room. It matches nothing in the house whatsoever.


Every once in a while, I like to visit the closest Habitat for Humanity Restore. This time I found an awesome light fixture. Behold....


Even though the shiny brass finish matched the rest of light fixtures in the house, I decided I wanted something a bit more modern. So I set to work.


Took everything apart. Covered sockets. Taped off wires. And then...



Spray Paint!

I was going for a rubbed oil bronze look. When choosing the paint, I made several trips from the lighting dept at Menards to the paint dept. I'm sure the guys who watch the security cameras were wondering what I was up to! I finally decided on a Hammered Dark Bronze paint.

Four days later, the facelift was complete. The curing time (waiting) sucks seems to take forever! OK, maybe not but it sure felt like it.


The BF sweated and toiled in order to installed the fixture. He said we did a great job. Me in the painting and him putting it up, LOL.



Looks 100% better, doesn't it?


Remember I mentioned the Habitat for Humanity Restore? It's a great place to find inexpensive used home remodeling supplies. If you have a creative mind like mine, it can be a treasure trove of goodies! They had two light fixtures like the one I just upscaled. I'm not sure why, but one was $20 and mine was on sale for...


That's right. $10!! So, for less than $20 (including paint and a few screws) I have a "new" light fixture. When I was running back and forth from the paint dept and lighting dept, I did take note of how much similar light fixtures cost. On the low end, a brand-new one was $99. I did good, eh?






Linked Up To:
My Repurposed Life
Saved By Suzy

57 comments:

Carol said...

And that is why I love visiting your blog, Meari--I learn so much!! Why, I have an almost identical brass light fixture that I took down and it's been sitting in my basement just waiting for me to do something with it. And now I know I can paint it!! You are so good at up-cycling things :)

Lovely new stove, too--I'm sure you'll be spending a lot more time cooking, right??

Berly said...

That's the best kind of facelift!!! Great job on the lamp!!

Rachel S-H said...

Both look very nice. I admire how handy you are at fixing things!

Birdie said...

BRAVO I love a crafty and THRIFTY girl. Your kitchen is so pretty. I"m hoping to replace out stove/oven this fall with a beauty like yours.

hugs
-missy-

Lesleyanne said...

Love your home improvements. You did a great job with the light.

Anonymous said...

Meari the facelift is awesome...

you have a great eye for how to up-cycle items

hugs
Louise

connie said...

Wow your facelift is amazing.The stove really changed the look of your kitchen..I would have did the same as you and bought a new stove.
I love how you painted your light fixture it turned out beautiful..

Faith... said...

Congrats on your facelift, everything looks amazing!

Denise SA said...

Love all your renovations so clever and so cost saving

Denise SA said...

Forgot to say maybe you could paint your tiles in uk have seen some special paint for tiles.

Kay said...

Meari,

Your dining room face lift is divine. I love what you did with the light fixture. You really do know how to make things work for you! The new appliances as well look awesome!!

Pam in IL said...

I love your new "facelift"! I think the security folks at Menards are used to us going back and forth from one corner of the store to the other. I'm always following Hubby around that store -- I've decided it's his process of thinking through a particular project, lol.

Laurita Hall said...

What nice stive! And the lamp looks amazing, love the color!

Hugs,
Laurita

cucki said...

Wow it is looking so stunning..
Big hugs xxx

Anonymous said...

Your kitchen & Dining area facelifts look great!!!! I really like what you did with the light fixture. I think it looks much better than the gold.
Thanks for all the crafty ideas!!!!
Betty in AZ (ILCS)

GoatFarmer's Wife said...

You did great with the light. It looks way better than what was there. I'm hoping to renovate my whole kitchen (moving walls etc.) someday soon. In the mean time paint and new fixtures, socket covers and curtains will be all I get.

Stove looks good, other than the stainless steel part.. haha. I'm not a fan of stainless steel appliances. Congrats on your beginnings.

Lynette M said...

Great job on the light fixture! I've used that same paint to re-finish the bathroom fixtures in my daughter's bathroom. I used hammered bronze for the towel rack, toilet paper holder and the light fixtures. That was over a year ago now and it's held up perfectly. I want to switch out my door hardware from gold to bronze and I'm thinking of doing the same thing on my door hinges - I have way to many of them to replace. Paint is way cheaper. Great job!

Katie said...

Love the homestead updates. The facelifts are great! You are awesome at doing these things!!!

Anonymous said...

Good job. Meari! And now we have to see what new recipes you're going to come up with. And, btw, Love what you did with the light fixture. I forgot about the rehab store when I went looking for lights for my room. I'll have to check it out. I've bought a lot of stuff there in the past.

Judith Truly in OH

~ Sue ~ said...

Way to go Meari! Nothing beats a DIY project and when it turns out this great, well, what can one say. By the way, I used your flat fold tutorial and it works great!!!! I'm excited about trying it again and soon.

dixiesamplar said...

Way to go Meari!!! Love the new stove and light fixture...great job.

Sue said...

You NEVER cease to amaze me girl! LOL..........you could make a fortune in remodeling homes. Really!! I love the dining room lamp; that is just way too cool.

I love the stainless stove and fridge.....they look fabulous. Until next time!

Hugs,
Sue

Pam said...

You did a great job on the fixture! Looks so good. And that stove--whew who!!!!! I know you're gonna love cooking on it compared to the old one =)

Emily in NC said...

Looks great, we have done our kitchen in stainless steel as well, much easier to keep clean.

Gabi said...

You sure did great on both face lifts. Love your new lights. Kudos to your creativity

Kathy said...

Congrats on the new stove. Something I could use too. :) Oh well, maybe after Uncle Sam gives me back some of my money. LOL

Love, love, love you chandelier bargin and transformation. it looks awesome. And I just love the painting you did to it. Looks even better than original. :)

Mouse said...

oooooo love how you have done your light and well done on deciding enough was enough with the old cooker .... love mouse xxxx

Linda J. said...

You sure had a time with the old stove over the years ! I love what you did with that light fixture..and it looks fantastic in that room ! hugs..Linda J.

valerie said...

Gorgeous facelift! Love the new stove and so nice of BF to do the installing. I am hopeless at home stuff...hopeless! The light looks so much better with the bronzing. Total new look! Great job Meari!

Unknown said...

Great renovations Meari!

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed seeing your new "facelift" Meari, very pretty!

We also did our kitchen last year, just the cabinets and painted the outside. It is all worth it though, isn't it?

Yes, that is way cold, try and stay warm.

Hugs,
Shirley

Ranae said...

Looks awesome!
You did very good

Lynette said...

You're so creative Meari! I love what you've done with the light fitting!
And your new stove looks great!

Alberta said...

Meari, I love how you take these facelifts one step at a time, researching and doing it yourself with some help from a friend! Your investment is in good hands.

Anonymous said...

Looks great Meari! Love the stainless appliances!

Christine

Anonymous said...

Facelift looks great!!!
Elena

Anonymous said...

Absolutely wonderful! Great idea with the light. Face-lift looks great!

Nancy M said...

Too funny! I think we are doing what you are doing. We have the stainless fridge and dishwasher and just waiting to get the new stove until we remodel.....we keep dreaming but it might happen. And we did buy new light fixtures for our foyer and dining room to get rid of the polished brass and clear glass (that you can't keep clean)but then Carl spray painted ALL our brass accessories with oil rubbed bronze paint and it looks great!Then when we redid our masterbath he painted the brass to a chrome! We have a HFH resale shop here and we have donated many things to it but never thought to buy anything! I thought most of the stuff was used to build the HFH houses!

Vicky said...

Awesome!!

Anonymous said...

What a great face-lift for your home. You can learn a lot by reading your blog.

Marl

Anonymous said...

Hi Meari,

Enjoy the new stove. The light fixture looks terrific. You and the bf did a great job!

Tobie in So. Cal.

Mary Ivancicts said...

Love the new look on your homestead! you are so handy!

Anonymous said...

Love your new stove and what is so funny your old stove I had one just like it up until the time we had ours built in and the light fixture is now beautiful Sincerely

Kathy

Lyn said...

I love your new stove and your new light fixture in your dining room that you created. Yes. You did a wonderful job!

Shelleen said...

I am always in awe of what you find and remodel. Love the new stove. I want to replace everything with stainless steel, someday.

Cathy said...

Hi Meri!

Just google how to paint ceramic tile and there are tons of links to instructions.

I painted some at my friend's house about 20 years ago and it still looks great. It should be really easy since there are so many specialty products on the market, now.

just me,
Cathy from KY in CA

Akila said...

Wow, excellent facelift. Love the way you "lifted" the light fixture. The new style goes perfectly with the curtains

Shelley said...

OMG!!! I love what you did with that chandelier!! Absolutely fabulous. You Go Girl :)

I enjoy your homestead chronicles so much. They give me hope for when we buy our own home and can actually do 'things' to our place.

Sharon said...

What a gift you have for re-using and re-purposing! I love how you are making "the" homestead, "your" homestead! You're efforts at making your house a home are truly paying off! Stay safe and warm in your beautiful dwelling place! :)

Debbie said...

Way to go! Your kitchen is looking great Meari!

Bonnie said...

You done a great job on the light. Really looks good above the table.
Bonnie

loretta said...

Wow, changing that light fixture made a HUGE difference in the dining room! Whoa.

It looks like there's one of those Habitat resale stores in my area too, so I'll have to check that out. Thanks for the tip ;)

Anonymous said...

your kitchen looks nice n so does your house!
of course the unfinished projects are looking good!

georgena

SoCal Debbie said...

Congrats on being mentioned in STNA and Craft Gossip! The kitchen/dining room facelift looks great. Thanks for sharing!

Katrien said...

awesome facelift

gail@My Repurposed Life said...

ohhh you lucky, lucky girl to have that new stove! And a fridge to match! I *want* new appliances, even though mine are old, they still work okay. :(
I love your new light fixture--what an improvement!!!
thank you for linking up AND linking back to catch as catch can!!
gail

Anonymous said...

Your light fixture looks amazing! As for the tile in your kitchen, I love it! It looks so retro. If it were me, I would decorate my kitchen around the tile.