Kitchen Cabinet Repairs

We moved to northern Virginia four years ago after spending thirteen years on Capitol Hill. We went from an 1890’s building to a brand new condo building. We thought it would be a great escape from things that required constant repairs - especially the water pipes that were constantly leaking and breaking. Well, we were wrong. Don’t think having a new unit eliminates things that require repairs. We had white kitchen cabinets in the Midwest. And they needed constant touch ups. My husband tends to splash a lot of water so it makes the matter even worse. Several of the homeowners were having the same problem so they finally got the builder to come back in to do the touch up work. It would require some in unit fixes, but also the removal of cabinet doors for off sight work. It’s taken at least two plus years to finally get this project scheduled. They were supposed to show up last Monday. We stayed at home all day and no one came. We left at four in the afternoon because we were going bonkers only to be told we missed the workmen. So it was rescheduled for this last Monday. They got our phone number and called us early Monday morning to say they would be here in the afternoon. So that at least gave us the opportunity to do the morning walk. They did arrive in the afternoon and ended up removing seven doors. The kitchen looks miserable and we are discombobulated. It doesn’t take much these days. They are supposed to return next Monday and hopefully it won’t take long to replace everything since most of the items just pop in. The refrigerator door and some of the under cabinets require in home touch ups. We asked how do you avoid this issue from arising again. They said to keep a towel by the sink when washing dishes and wipe things dry when they get wet. And maybe use dawn, vinegar and water to wipe down the refrigerator door so it doesn’t get dry and crack. I don’t think any of this will matter because my husband will continue to splash water all over. It happened in the Midwest, DC, and now here. I just need to make sure we have a touch up pen handy. At least it might look good as new for a couple of days. 

Two Microwaves

I’m sure everyone has heard of a double oven, or having two ovens. When we renovated our kitchen in our Midwest home we had two ovens. What I liked most about that was not having to bend over to access the space snd the food  - which is getting more and more difficult. It also seemed a lot safer. We rarely used the second oven anyway. On a Capitol Hill we had two 500 square foot units and each one had an oven. That came in handy about once a year. When we first moved in to our northern Virginia condo our new under counter drawer model microwave just didn’t work. Who can live without a microwave? So we went to Target and picked up a cheap unit to hold us over because the repair person wasn’t showing up immediately. It’s been over two years now and I’m not sure we would ever go without two microwaves. We use them more than the oven. For dinner it is really convenient to have two things cooking at one time - especially when there is a baked potato involved. If we had known we would be using two microwaves all of the time we probably would have paid more attention to the appliance we selected. Recently my husband punched a hole in the floor of the smaller countertop unit, but I don’t think it affected anything. I suppose only time will tell. So now we have one oven that is hard to get at and two microwaves. And we didn’t even plan it that way. 

Crate and Barrel Dish Towel Solution

When we were in Crate and Barrel the other day looking for trivets to match the kitchen and island, we came upon some kitchen dish towels that matched the trivets and the general color scheme of the house. When we moved to our new condo in northern Virginia nine months ago, we brought along just about everything from our Capitol Hill condo - because we didn’t have much to begin with. But the color scheme was more reds and greens with Persian carpets. Here, we are lightening things up a bit with more seafoam, lighter greens and blue tones. Regardless of any color, my husband prefers neutral as opposed to vibrant. So when we put the new dish towel on the dishwasher handle, he didn’t like it. It was much too bold for his taste. Rather than toss them out or use them as rags, I just turned the towel inside out, using the inside as the outside. It created a more muted look, which he preferred. We have been using off white and beige dish towels and they were okay, but they are quite old and stained. So we can add these two towels to the mix and they go along nicely - inside out. 

Olive Oil on Stainless Steel

We recently had our tiny condo outfitted with a new backsplash in the kitchen. Once the backsplash was added, my husband was not happy with the worn look and old color of the kitchen cabinets. So we decided to update the space and have the cabinets painted. Along with the cabinets, the old worn drop leaf table would also be painted the same color. We are half way through the project and decided that the appliances also needed some attention. They were also run down and had lost their original stainless steel shimmer. I just read somewhere that a tiny drop of olive oil could bring the shine out on anything stainless. I am usually skeptical about things like that, but thought we had nothing to lose. So after wiping all the appliances down, I touched them up with a bit of olive oil. It was really obvious where the oil was rubbed in and where it was not. Yes, it's not perfect, but it sure looks so much nicer than it did. Since the table is not in the room it doesn't yet look complete. But we are happy with the results so far. Let's hope it lasts for awhile. 

Benjamin Moore Dior Gray Kitchen

I hope I like it. My husband has not been happy with the color of the old kitchen cabinets since we added a backsplash. Yes, the cabinets were worn and chipped, but I thought the existing color created a warmer tone against the masculine feel of the black and white glass tiles. And he hated the color of the drop leaf table too. So after discussing the options for a few weeks, we finally picked out a Benjamin Moore Dior Gray paint. We didn't want it to be too light - we had white cabinets in our old home - and not too dark. For a tiny space the last thing I want is a gloomy room. The work started yesterday. The upper cabinet doors and the base cabinets were primed. The table was sanded down. The initial coat was painted and the doors were set outside on the patio to dry. I think it is going to take more than a couple of days to get this  ll done. It will be worth it if I like it. But I haven't made up my mind yet. 

Crate and Barrel Visit

We needed a few kitchen items and haven't been to Cafe Delux for awhile, so we headed out to Tysons to see if we could find what we were looking for, and have lunch at the same time. The dish rack bottom fell apart, one of the insulated tea cups cracked, the knife handle broke off (and super glue didn't do the job), and the soap pump was rusty. So we found an Oxo soap dispenser - the bottom is left clear so yeah can see when it needs to be refilled. The Simplehuman dishrack was an updated version of the one we had. Now the question is whether to keep the rack on top of the counter or in the sink. We love the Bodum insulated cups and glasses and found a replacement. The biggest issue was deciding which knife to get. We just needed a good all around knife that would work for most activities. The sales person was very helpful, and she unlocked the cabinet for my husband to "try out" the one he liked best. We ended up with a German Wusthof brand made since 1815. I better behave myself now that thing is in the house. It feels like we accomplished a lot, but the day is almost over and we haven't really done anything. Where does all the time go? 

Simple Human Custom Garbage Can Liners

One of the items I forgot to order from our last Amazon batch was garbage can liners. We bought a Simple Human garbage can for the kitchen at the Container Store quite awhile ago and had a case of liners to go with it. Well, the case was about to run out. We try to compile a list of things to ensure free delivery whenever we do order with Amazon, but it doesn't always work out based on the number of vendors. Luckily, when I checked the Simple Human website, they offered free shipping. So we got a case of the H liners to match our can and don't need to think about it again for awhile. Even though we live in a tiny space, we have enough spare room in the closet to store these kinds of essentials. But unfortunately the size of the space we live in has little to do with the amount if garbage produced. I just wish I could also hide the can. 

 

Happy Thanksgiving

When we had the space to entertain in Milwaukee, we didn't have a lot of visitors on major holidays. Who wants to travel to Wisconsin in the winter? But here in Washington, we have family members and we oftentimes have Thanksgiving in our tiny place. Thank goodness we an get extra plates and forks just eight houses down where our grandson lives. They are off to other places so we can raid their house. So my husband was up early starting with the eggplant dish...this year we decided to have a little bit of a lot of things rather than a big turkey. So we created a big enough table hopefully to get everyone at least to the edge. I snipped a couple mums from the garden. And now we are relaxing until the next big wave of activity starts.  Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving regardless of the space or the place.