Some people ought not be allowed into home improvement stores. Alarms should go off when these people cross the threshold, and security guards should escort them from the premises.
The original owners of our home were Do-It-Yourself-ers. They bought the house partly finished, and completed it themselves, with the help of a lot of friends, cut-rate materials, and (we suspect) a lot of beer.
They built the deck, but didn’t ground the posts in concrete, so eventually they began to rot away. Consequently, we had to have the deck torn down and rebuilt.
We don’t know who they got to pour concrete for the pool deck, but whoever it was didn’t have the formula right. The concrete began to crumble, and we had to pay people to jack hammer it up and replace it. (The jack hammers were overkill. The construction crew kept picking up chunks and crumbling it in their hands, laughing and making comments like: “Look at me! I’m Superman!”)
They finished the kitchen, too – with cheap cabinets, a tile countertop they laid themselves – YIKES – and Pepto-Bismol-pink flowered tile floor that only an old lady could love. They felt that grout could fill in any mistakes they made with the tiling, and they must have bought buckets of it!
Plus, they built their own island. It’s heptagonal. How many of you have a 7-sided island in your kitchen? I wonder if they thought it was lucky.
We can’t afford to replace the cabinets, so we’re painting the ones we have. We started a steampunk-sort of theme when we installed counterweight lights, so I’m continuing the idea by putting a different and unusual knob on every single cabinet.
The picture above is a peek at our newly painted, multi-knobbed cabinetry. Here’s a few more of the knobs we’ve purchased! My daughters (unsurprisingly) are fond of the gargoyle.
I’m also considering this clock. (Okay, I already bought it.)
I plan on staying in this house for a good long time, so hopefully nobody can come along behind me and call me a Decorating Vandal.
Hah…good luck with the finishes. I love the Gargoyle, BTW. We did the same thing with our cabinets. Saves a ton, but it’s also environmental: reuse what you have.
Enjoy your weekend.
Haha! The different knobs are great.
That’s scary what they did, but I did have to laugh at the jackhammer part. Yep, I’m thinking that wasn’t necessary. 😛
hi miss dianne! wow neat handles. i like the gargoyle and the starfish. having those different handles is a help telling someone where stuff is. want crackers? there in the gargoyle cupboard. that clock is soooo cool. i love stuff thats got gears. having a house is just a lotta work for sure. my one brother andrew is a carpenter so mostly he does all the fixing at our house.
…hugs from lenny
very cute! My husband is one of those people who shouldn’t be allowed in a hardware store. He gets all frusterated and confused just putting together ikea furniture as it is.
Love this idea! My fave is (naturally) the cocktail shaker. The martini glass is a close second. 😉
a heptagonal island? who were these people? love your idea of salvaging the kitchen, and the clock is definitely cool. I imagine it adorning a wall in Ann Henry’s house, her study perhaps.
Wow, I love your cabinet door handles and your clock! Very cool!!!!
I absolutely LOVE the handles they are wickedly cool. Although I don’t drink, I really like the shaker and the cocktail. The clock rocks! It is amazing!