The final version....

I love my new kitchen. There are a few things I'd change,

but it's so much better than it was.

The "farm house" window frames are a part that I really am pleased with.  I found a tutorial online.
I framed up all the other doors in the vicinity as well.
The drainboard sink was a request of my husband.  We REALLY wanted a vintage one, but they are super expensive.  This new version was $50 on craigslist.  The hanging lights were installed last year and all the appliances are the same.  We pulled up the floor and reused it.  We had purchased 6 extra boxes so we had enough to cover the pantry area.

The backspash is Ann Sacks.
I purchased it on Craigslist for $50.  It was leftovers from a remodeling job in the ritzy part of Portland.  I also found the Ann Sacks bullnose tile at The Rebuilding Center.  I love that place!
the only thing I splurged on was the stainless exhaust fan.  I found a killer deal on ebay!  Shortly after I purchased it they raised their price. 
I'm happy with the results.

I'm sure I will find something to change in the near future.

Out with the old and in with the new-ish

Goodbye brown stripe.  I buy all my paint on the mistint shelf.  This can be a challenge.  I know my color wheel and am getting pretty dang good at tweaking the colors just so.  The blue/grey on the walls and the teal-grey-green on the cupboards are both "custom".  The savings are huge....but I'm learning it doesn't always work.  Although the recycled the cupboards were sanded the paint just isn't durable enough for the daily use. It didn't want to stick!  My dad always swore by the stuff he called "liquid sandpaper".  It just didn't work well for me this time.  I really needed his expertise.  But unfortunately he is getting too elderly to take to the worksite anymore.  I tried a clear a final clear coat,but in the long run I think I would go with a more durable enamel rather than painting 3-4 coats of a cheaper paint. whew.  Too much work!

These upper (left)  I created.  First attempt ever.  I learned my lesson with these quickly.  My large vintage square is my savior through out this whole job, but not lining shelves up was my mistake.   Although I wanted open shelving, it makes it impossible to put doors on in the future (because they didn't line up with each other.) Keep this in mind. 

New pony wall.  This should of been easy right?  It wasn't as solid as we wanted.  I didn't realis that that you have to frame in glass blocks so I bagged the staggered glass blocks  for the top.  I love glass blocks and I scored a bunch at Habitat for $2 ea.  I was bummed.  But I really like how the wood turned out on it.  I salvaged the tongue and groove from a 100 yr. old house on our farm.  I have wainscotting made with it around my adjoining dining room.  another possible issue is the fridge is pretty snug in it's original spot.  We just won't ever be able to buy a bigger fridge.  The flooring you can see (blue vinyl)  That is the original manufacturers flooring that was in when we purchased our snug little repo.  The "repo" experience was pretty good.  We have so many stories and are quite savy now......but we learned alot!  If anyone ever needs any advice about contracting your own Manufactured home placement or buying a Repo.....feel free to me here.We've been told to write a how-to.  I think we might do that here.

kitchen Re-Do

I hated my kitchen.  We had put in a new floor...again.  The cabinets were pressboard covered with a vinyl.  Standard issue for a manufactured home."Oh I can do that" I said to myself.  So I started collecting ingredients.  That's the way I approach most projects.  I scrounge and "score' before I buy it and sometimes takes a while.  My first find were cabinets from a 60's ranch house that were on Craigslist for $60.  The owner was taking them out to put in cabinets from Home Depot.  How is that and upgrade from Maple to pressboard?

These are the before photos.

left side - pantry door

right side - missing cupboard doors

King Size!

Recently we upgraded from a full to a king size mattress.  One thing I didn't take into consideration when I chose a "king" was that everything associated with king sized beds are king sized in price.  I ordered a bargain priced "hollywood" frame on with our Amazon Prime account.  Got my moneys worth on that free delivery!   Having a frame made the bed useable, but we really need a headboard I've scoured Craigslist....nothing.  I'm a little picky and broke.....since I'm handy with wood....I'll make one.  I've got interesting wood, but I did have to buy a nice 2x4 and some 1x3's.  So far I've spent $11.   I chose my desired height and cut the 2x4 legs to that length. I had scraps of plywood that was purchased for the hollywood frame. I used that as the main base for the wood that I will add so it doesn't need to be pretty. Attach with screws (they'll be hidden.)

I got this far and still didn't really know what I was going to create.  I contemplated using 4 cabinet doors I had stashed away but it wasn't quite the look I wanted.  I had built Ana White's Farmhouse headboard a while back so I knew I want a 1x4 flat on top so I made sure the plywood is flush with the top of the 2x4 leg. Always use wood glue at every joint.  My rule is you can never have too much glue.  Next I cut a 1x4 for each end.  Glue, square and clamp.....then nail with whatever you choose to use.  I have a 16 gauge Porter Cable Nail Gun.

Don't slack when it come to square-ing EVERYTHING! Make sure you have legs line up with the frame.  You should measure your frame but also do research about standard sizes. I found out you should add 3" to the width of a frame.  That was one websites theory. Sounds good to me....  continued tomorrow.