The big reveal!

Done.

I had no other words to update my facebook status after finishing the project that has consumed my family and me over the last two weeks.  And now I'm still fishing for words, so I will mostly just let my pictures speak for themselves, after just a little explanation.

My sister, brother-in-law, and nephew have been in China for two weeks, adopting my new nephew.  While they were gone, we attacked their house, a la "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."  Except minus the wrecking ball.  Ok, maybe "Extreme Makeover" is a bit of an exaggeration.  But we did put up a lot of trim and a lot of paint!

The kitchen was the big project.  The previous homeowner had started, and not finished, a lot of projects.  Kristin and Ramsey invested in new appliances when they moved in, and got new lower cabinets and countertops recently, but it still had some unfinished bits.  Before K & R left for China, Ramsey and I had snuck in a couple confabs about what they would like . . . a certain green paint strip, and a retro vibe.  Up went the trim, a backsplash, new chandelier, lots of paint, valences . . . add in new dishes and some wall art and voila!  (Pretty sure from Kristin's reaction that Ramsey managed to keep it a surprise for the entire trip!)

In the living room Dad again worked his magic with the trim around the windows, and we painted painted painted.  Big room!  New curtains, a couple rugs, and a new arrangement completed the look.  In both rooms function was our biggest focus, because if anyone needs function it is a family with six kids in the house!

We finished twenty minutes before they drove up, running around the house in a frenzy of vacuuming, washing, laundering, and final tool clean up.

Welcome home, David Zhi Shen Tripp!!!

The blackboard wall in the entryway into the kitchen . . . love it, Mom!  The hands and names are all the people who helped with the project.

The finished kitchen.

Going with the retro vibe, I found this fantastic clock at . . . Lowe's!

We used two different fabrics in the kitchen, both found on clearance at the Fabric Warehouse here in Auburn.  Love at first sight with this watercolor chevron!  

Denise, a close family friend, and I cut and put up this backsplash using leftover wainscotting.  She also gave me a lesson in how to caulk . . . can you find the seam?!  $10 for the top trim piece, painted it up with the Benjamin Moore "decorator's white" used on the trim, and it's the most inexpensive but classy backsplash ever!  Top with Audrey art, place fresh picked apples, done.  (Note the pops of red thruout the kitchen!)

Ramsey is a collector of all things Coca-cola, so Mom put together this little moment as an homage . . .

Kristin had a great metal storage rack in the basement, so we brought it upstairs and made a cover (thank you, Fabric Warehouse!) so if it ever gets a little disorganized under there no one will be the wiser.

With all of the dry goods and cookbooks elsewhere, there was room to display all of the fabulous dishes that Kristin already had.  We used the little green pitcher and blue owl as inspiration for the room along with the paint chip.  And now that the cabinets are painted "oystershell" instead of bare wood (I know, you can't see that they are gray in this picture, but it really is a beautiful color!), the dishes look amazing in there!

All new white dishes and new glasses complement the beautiful dishes and stemware (Top shelf and part of next shelf) that K & R got 13 years ago for their wedding.  The light above the sink just needed a good cleaning and now works perfectly in their retro-inspired kitchen.  And check out that amazing trim work!

One of my favorite details, the new chandelier.  I found it at Home Depot in a bronze finish that totally would not work in their kitchen.  Out came the spray paint!  I installed a dimmer switch (I might be a little bit proud of doing some electrical work . . . and got to have fun using lots of power tools during this whole project!) while Dad put up the chandelier, and now they have a pop of personality in the center of the room.

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On to the living room . . . this room has five great big windows (with new trim!), but doesn't get a ton of light in at different times of the day, so we brightened it up with a couple coats of "alpaca" and of course "decorator's white."  R & K had a fantastic 8x10 rug in the basement, and Mom came up with a great new arrangement that maximizes space and gives them two different seating areas.

The checklists . . . can you see that there was one last item we didn't get to?!  Grrr.  (Two items not checked off, but one of them we actually did complete.)  But all those items that DID get finished on the checklists?  Not at all possible if it hadn't been for my fabulous sister Mallory babysitting my kids day in and day out over the last two weeks.  She is amazing with them, and deserves huge kudos for all she did.  And of course, John does as well for putting up with not having a wife at home (Tired of alternating pancakes and scrambled eggs for dinner, honey?!)  Also deserving of huge thanks are Mom, Dad, and Denise for working with me tirelessly to make this happen.  The rest of you know who you are, and your names are on the blackboard wall . . . THANK YOU!

Enjoy, Tripp family!!!


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