home: Maret 2011

Yesterday we went to the Dr Pepper Museum in Waco, Texas for a Spring Break outing with my little boy. We brought home an old crate used in 1930's on a delivery truck just like this one...

It's perfect organization for art supplies.

my shiny, new kitchen sink

Lime cleaner left streaks and ruined the finish on the chrome faucet six months ago. I was secretly happy we had a reason to replace the faucet, but the sink was a trickier problem to address.

The hardest part when replacing an undermount sink is finding a sink with the exact dimensions as the cutout in the countertop. It took six months to find an off-the-shelf sink in the exact dimensions. We were afraid to go with a special order, just in case it didn't work.

Step 1: We scoured the web and all the hardware stores. Finally, a score at Home Depot. A single bowl undermount stainless sink from Kohler's company, Sterling. $250 off the shelf. I am thrilled Home Depot now carries a single bowl undermount stainless style, something they didn't have when we first started looking.

Step 2: Hire a willing granite company to send their crew to torch, pry and buff the shellac from existing sink and install the new undermount. $220 for 2 guys for 2 hours. Check.

Step 3: Back to Home Depot and Lowes to find a replacement faucet for just the right amount of holes (3 existing in the granite). This limited us because we wanted a soap dispenser and easy to turn-on-with-messy-hands lever, but not a goose neck (divides the kitchen). I found the perfect faucet at Lowe's. A bronze Price Pfister for $160 and a $20 bronze soap dispenser.

Step 4: Max rigged the faucet to be installed without the deck plate, used plummer's putty to seal the new stainless drain (Home Depot, $30) and reinstalled the old disposer and new faucet. (30 minutes.)

Result: Shiny and new. The single bowl makes the whole kitchen feel bigger. Not to mention much more practical for washing platters, pots, babies, puppies, watering orchids.... The soap dispenser - soap bottles = eco happiness and one less thing on the counter!

Success six months in the making for something seemingly so simple.

Lesson learned: Be careful what product you use to clean lime.

(it wasn't me!)

And one more tip: Add felt pads under the sink bottom and sides to muffle sound. (Wal-mart, $2)

Next on my Spring to-do list: re-do kitchen grout, freshen flowers beds and a dining room paint project. Stay tuned!

home

DIY... from vase to lamp

Texas Chic... art supply storage

London Love

spring Lonny is out and it's really good

patio pillows... a chic for cheap find

my shiny, new kitchen sink

Schumacher ad L O V E