Friday, June 26, 2009

My tiny house - PART 1

I live in a Tiny House.


My house is just under a 1000 sq. feet. What is funny about that is I told my husband that I didn't want to look at any homes under 1000 sq feet. When we looked at it 4 summers ago we had no idea the square footage of this home. It was an open house and it was not on the listing.


Our house has 3 bedrooms. Not included in the square footage is the partially finished basement and a full usable attic. Since we have been here we have painted all of the rooms except mine and my son's (his is next), taken down hideous wallpaper, ripped out bushes, remodeled the kitchen, ripped out carpet, blew in insulation, replaced the hot water tank, replaced the furnace, added air conditioning along with many other little projects. Someone asked me recently about what I did about space. Well, all I have to suggest is to go vertical. When remodeling my kitchen I made sure we had lower cabinets that we had drawers in. This way my husband can't ask me where things are because he can pull out the shelves and see where everything is.


So here are photos of my kitchen before:

I have to share that the counter top on this side was NOT screwed down and moved. Also, there was a piece of wood on the end...that also was not screwed down. After we ripped them out, we realized that the one cabinet was from the other side where the dishwasher is now.When my kitchen was like this we had all of our food in the basement. I had no room in my cabinets for my food.I absolutely hated this tile! While talking to my grandmother one day about the kitchen remodel she emphatically told me that I could not remove such beautiful tile. Ummmm...sure...I like some old retro things, but this was awful!While creating my kitchen using IKEA the kitchen software it would keep telling me that the bottom cabinets were not far enough apart. LOL, yes we can not open both sides at the same time...I guess now a days people have to have everything open at the same time. I couldn't figure out what to do with that window. We can touch my neighbors house (not really), so we put that privacy film on the whole window. It lets in the light, but my neighbor can not see in.
The garbage can is in that cabinet to the left of the sink. You pull out the cabinet and it is in it. I found the long narrow garbage can at Target. Please disregard all the dishes in the sink. LOL....at least the counters were clean when I took the photos. Psst...they are not clean now. I have plans for that basement door. Our kitty litter is in the basement, so that door is open all the time. I am planning on painting both sides white. The one side I am going to paint with magnetic primer 1st. Then make 2 blocks (one on top and one on bottom) and paint them with black chalkboard paint. I bought the paint already, but I am going to do it August when I get past the other things we have going on.

All of our cabinets, counter top and faucet are from IKEA, our hardware we bought at Target and the reused our old sink. In the photo above that cabinet with the doors has 2 shelves that pull out. So does the high cabinet (cabinet with the pumpkin on it) where all of my food is.

Participating in  Parade of Homes over at Poppies at Play.

27 Sweet Comments:

Holly said...

I think your kitchen looks great...and the teapot tile is very cute!

Kati said...

What a transformation! I cannot wait to have a house of my own! It looks great!

April said...

WOW! You guys did a great job with the remodel!!

Ruth said...

I love your new kitchen. It's great. Can't wait to see how your door comes out.
Ruth

Anya said...

Wow!!
Its BEAUTIFUL now your kitchen ^__^

I Sew Lucky said...

I LOVE that! We will be doing our kitchen soon, too:)

2Shaye ♪♫ said...

Melanie, I REALLY like your kitchen. It's absolutely lovely. My husband and I wish we bought a smaller home. Our home is just under 1400 sq. ft. and far more space than we actually need. However, we got a first-time home buyers loan with an amazing rate which put us paying less than $600/mo for the house, homeowners insurance AND taxes combined. All in all an unbelievable deal, but still too much space for our family of five.

Some of our dearest friends with four children live in around a 900 sq. ft. home with no basement (where they live in Texas the homes don't usually have basements). Their lives are so much less complicated--less "stuff"--less mess--less cleaning. Another neat family I met has children and they live happily in a 600 sq. ft. home. I just know that we can someday live comfortably with less than what we have now and I love seeing other people doing the same thing.

Thanks for sharing your lovely home!

~Shaye

Anonymous said...

Wow! You did a wonderful job! It's so light and clean. I love your cabinets!

I don't know why they used to put up such dark wallpaper; it was the same thing in this house.
But that one lone little tile in the kitchen was cute...the little coffee pot.

vivian said...

great redo! its bright and cheerful and looks efficient! what more could you want?!
happy friday!
vivian

Pesky Cat Designs said...

I love your kitchen remodel! It's so clean and fresh. I love white cabinets and the ones you chose from Ikea are just perfect. :)

Beedeebabee said...

Your new kitchen is sooo pretty!!! You did an excellent job! I love those white cabinets, it all looks so fresh! Are you cooking more than usual just so you can be in there??? Hee hee hee! Enjoy! Paulette :o)

Jodi Nelson said...

Wow! Wow! Wow! It's fabulous! What a difference. i LOVE every inch of it. Great Job! And I love the color.

Roeshel said...

Wow! I LOVE the cabinets! What an awesome change. I'm so jealous! I have golden oak ones - yuck! Someday! Great job! :)

Roeshel

Jennifer @ Mom Spotted said...

Awesome job! The bright light white of it makes it look twice the size!

Kim @ Savvy Southern Style said...

Nice kitchen renovation. Much better and brighter than the original.

Debbiedoos said...

You totally opened up the space, it is so light and bright, reminds me of a country cottage kitchen, it is adorable....sometimes small makes the biggest impact, you just proved that!

Andy Porter said...

WOW.WOW.WOW!!! What a difference!! That is AMAZING!! You've done an amazing remodeling job!! I love the white cabs!! It really opens the space and is so inviting!! Fantastic job!!

Thanks so much for linking to the parade!
XOXO,
Andy

Katie @ Creatively Living said...

I love the upper cabinets especially! It looks great!

Nellie's Cozy Place said...

Oh Wow, What a beautiful kitchen.
Love all the glass doors, and I love white cabinets too!
Such a change!
Thanks for sharing it.
Blessings, Nellie

carolyn said...

What a fantastic remodel. I think that tile is pretty funky, but I don't think I'd actually want it on my backsplash either. I laughed when you said your husband could find things if they were in drawers - what is it about men not being able to see beyond the first row in a cupboard? Thanks for sharing your sweet kitchen.

Cass @ That Old House said...

Your kitchen remodel is stunning! You made just perfect choices; it's classic, and you are not going to get tired of this re-do in a couple of years.

Beautiful.
(And my husband grew up with parents and siblings in an 800 s.f. house -- it can be done! Around here, most new houses are more than 4000 s.f. ... which is INSANE.)
Best wishes ... Cass

Michelle @ Sweet Something Design said...

Beautiful job! Love the little tile!

Leanne said...

The cabinets look beautiful. You did such a great job.

Carol said...

Gorgeous! We had our kitchen remodeled a few years ago & I went with the white cabinets and glass doors. I love seeing my dishes all neatly stacked. Your kitchen looks great! A friend of mine has her litter box in the basement & installed a kitty door. Her basement door stays shut & the kitty can come & go.

Robin said...

Wow - what a change. Great job making the most of your small space!

Anonymous said...

I just saw this post, you did a great job on the remodel! Our litter is in the basement also. We bought a kitty door at Petco, works great!

Johnna said...

O WOW! I bet you are so excited! It looks really great!

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