Olliebop Blog | Inspiration, Ideas and Information for Busy Families | Parenting Teens and Tweens

An optimistic resource for on-the-go families.  Ollie and BOP join forces to go fetch products, tips, tools and inspiration to make this fleeting time in life all the better.

Playfully stylish. Somewhat sophisticated. Always optimistic.

Posts Tagged ‘renovation’

Chaos in the Kitchen: The Renovations Begin

We’re in the midst of a kitchen renovation around here… exciting and messy!

This is what we are trying to accomplish:

  • make the kitchen feel more spacious
  • replace laminate cabinets and countertops that are falling apart {packing tape is holding counter edges in place}
  • create more counter work space
  • have an island where four people can be seated; ideally not all in a row {we want it to feel like a table}
  • have our kitchen feel more interesting and funky

Here’s the before view {the hole in the soffit is there because Mr. BOP was looking for the heating duct}:

The kitchen was like this when bought our house about nine years ago. We added this butler’s pantry on one side {through the doorway on the right} to create more storage and counter space. It was a great enhancement, and we decided to keep that in the same configuration, but with new cabinets and counter.

As we planned the renovation, we turned to architect Dick Robson {my step-father}. Here’s the concept drawing that he created for us, below. The area to the left of the present fridge has been open space for an eat-in table {earlier in our lives} and now, a couch. Using that wall for kitchen workspace gains the spacious feeling that we were looking for. Plus, the view from the sink will now look out toward the stream. The only loss here is that we really have enjoyed having a couch in the kitchen.

This plan accomplishes everything we were looking for — counter space, a seating area for the four of us {the island is 8 feet across} and space that is overall more interesting. The pantry will remain on the right hand side of this view. We have made a few minor changes, such as decreasing the height of the soffit above the island and also continuing the counter all the way across to the left of the new fridge. Although we like the breakfront look, we decided to sacrifice some style for function in that area. We also needed to replace four windows on the left side to accommodate the counter height.
So, this brings us to our current phase; chaos and demolition! We feel fortunate to be working with Joe Churchill of J&L Woodworking, as they create custom cabinetry and coordinate the kitchen installation. We highly recommend them. Joe and his right hand man, Ron {along with several electricians} got to work this week:

So that’s what’s going on here on our home front. Next week’s tasks; choosing cabinet hardware, painting, approving the concrete countertop sample, emptying the rest of the cabinetry, and coordinating with our plumber and taper. Oh, and packing for camping too! Although renovating a kitchen is challenging, confusing, and inconvenient — I’d say so far, so good. Stay tuned!

A New Look: Simplified with Dash and Albert

We are plotting the long-awaited renovation of a problematic area of our house — the “red room.” In mid August, this former dining room will be divided down the middle and will become both mud room and office/creative space. For the past eight years, the red room has housed: a bench piled high with school packs and bags, a table which acts as my desk and has no drawers {and is covered with papers and office supplies}, Ollie’s crate, a bunch of miscellaneous items with no other home, and a few coat hooks. It’s pointless, and at times embarrassing. Time for this part of the house to grow up. More on the transformation {before and after pictures} later….

But for now, I owe paint colors and the countertop choice to our contractor, pronto. Short on time, I landed on a simple approach — starting from the ground up, with Dash and Albert.

 

For the office: the Stone Soup woven cotton runner {$84}. Click on image for link.

 

I’ve admired rugs by Dash and Albert in the past — happy, colorful and not so expensive. Both of the new spaces — mud room and office {Olliebop Central!} — will be long and skinny so I chose a runner for each from outdoorrugs.com, lured by free shipping. Pictured above is the Olliebop Central runner. I like it because it’s a little bit beachy and fun without being too much. The cotton will be soft under foot and most importantly, it’s neutral enough to handle yellow lab hair. I chose the Indoor/Outdoor Marina Stripe {made of polypropelene which can be cleaned with a garden hose} for the mud room.

To firm up the decorating plan I rolled out each rug and chose two neutral, but upbeat, paint colors {a creamy color for the cabinets and a subtle but deep robin’s egg blue for the small amount of visible wall}. Next, I’ll accessorize by pulling brighter colors out of the rug — orange, pink, blue, lime green, and some earthy tones too. We found a desk chair at an antiques fair, and an old arched screen window that’s now destined to become a chalk board. I’m having fun imagining it all coming together in mid to late August.

Here’s one other good thing; should one wish to go mobile with a color palette, Dash and Albert makes tote bags that match their cotton rugs too {$60}. Redecorating or not, these are a unique accessory.

Now that paint has been chosen, I’m lurking on Etsy and other favorite in search of fun accessories. My hunt has yielded some ideas like these… but I’d love to see any that you’ve got to share {subscribers: please visit the site from the header or footer of your email, and include a link in the comments}.

 

 

Above: Top left Dwell Studio Soft Scrolls Leaf Fabric by Robert Allen {$15.98 per yard}
Top right Ampersand Recycled Wooden Sign by WilliamDohman of Oh Dier on Etsy {$32}
Bottom left Curvy Chrysanthemum Vase from Anthropologie {$28}
Bottom right Address/Business Card File Made with Vintage Record Album Covers by FreestyleGifts on Etsy {$55}

 

Above: Left Vintage Stamps and Stand: Set of Twelve from BrooklynRetro on Etsy {$42}
Right Make Something Good Today Print by PleaseBeStill on Etsy {$25}

SO VERY HAPPY (white)

Above: So Very Happy Print by dazeychick of Studio Mela on Etsy {$23}

Note: If one of the Etsy links shows the item is “Sold” just click on the blue “Shop” in the righthand column to look for the same or similar listings.

And there are just a few more things that I really like here, here, and here… do you have any favorites among items in this post, or elsewhere?

 

I hope you are having a vibrant, colorful day — complete with French Fry, or your own version of a wonderful treasure. And what would that be???