Farmhouse Essentials: Mrs. Meyers Clean Day Products Peony Scent {element}

It has been awhile since I've shared some of the products and items that I consider to be essential elements here at the farmhouse. These are short, sweet, non-sponsored posts about products that I use and love. Today I'm sharing my 2015 Summer Crush: Mrs. Meyers Clean Day products in PEONY! If you follow me on Instagram, then you already know that I'm stocking up for summer!

 I've used Mrs. Meyers products in my home for several years.  They're eco-friendly cleaning products made from essential oils from flowers and herbs that not only smell wonderful but do a great job of cleaning, too! I also love the fact that they're easy on my budget with most items are under $4.00 and the fragrances are so yummy that I sometimes think that I should wear them as perfume....or eat them!

This summer, my favorite fragrance is Peony.  I'm on my second bottle of the hand soap and multi surface cleaner and it's not even July! I use it in the kitchen as well as the bathroom. It makes my whole house smell like a summer garden.  My only regret is that they didn't make a home fragrance spray in this line. Oh well, maybe next time.

I purchase my Mrs. Meyers Clean Day products at Target but they're also available online at Mrs Meyers, at Amazon, Walmart, Bed Bath and Beyond and other stores. Just beware...Peony is a limited edition so grab it while you can!

Do you use Mrs. Meyers? What's your favorite scent?

 Thanks for reading!

Candy Cane Stripe Christmas Kitchen - Welcome Home Tour

Welcome to Christmas in my farmhouse kitchen! My philosophy this year is inexpensive...and easy.  Ninety percent of this red and white striped candy cane kitchen was created using items that I already had on hand. 

Choosing Kitchen and Bathroom Tile

Shower display at Floor & Decor

Choosing tile for the kitchen and bathrooms at the farmhouse has proven to be one of the easiest selections that I've made to date.  For me, the wide range of materials that's out there has made the job easier rather than more difficult. Like I did last week, today I'm sharing my choices and showing you what I found at Floor & Decor. 

When I began designing the farmhouse, I chose to make the color palette for the floors, tile, counter tops and cabinets completely neutral. Since I tend to like redecorate about every fifteen minutes often, keeping the more permanent parts of my home neutral allows me to introduce color through paint and fabric.

I know myself well enough to know that this is the best way for me to decorate. I also know that I like to use natural materials whenever possible but if the price is right and the quality is good, porcelain that looks like natural stone is a cost effective alternative for some areas of my home.

Since I'll be using hexagonal terracotta tile in the stable hall and the hall to my studio,  I feel that it's a good idea to use that same hexagonal shape on the floor of the master bath or in the shower,  for continuity. I've found that using larger tiles with just a few accent pieces saves on installation as well as tile cost.

First, let's talk about my new kitchen. It will be a combination of shades of gray and white with dark wood flooring, a natural wood island and open shelves. The the style of my new kitchen is French country farmhouse (with the emphasis on farmhouse, of course!)  I'll be using rustic finishes like painted cabinets and honed counter tops. I'm considering poured concrete or soapstone for part of the counter tops but will have Vermont Imperial marble on the island.  My kitchen cabinets and shelves will be similar in color and feel to the fabulous kitchen above from Our Vintage Home.

Source: Kvanum Kitchens

The only area that will have back splash tile is the space between the cook top and the exhaust hood.  This is because the wall where the sink is located has four windows that extend to just above the counter top and those windows are flanked by cabinets with glass doors that sit on the counter top. Similar in layout to the photo above but, with four windows instead of two:

Photo: Home of Colette of La Brocanteuse

I've chosen over-sized subway tile in white for my kitchen. I think that it will blend well with my gray cabinets and  gray and white counter tops. Installing oversized the tile will provide a updated feel and proper scale while giving me the traditional feel that I'm trying to achieve. 

I think that the tile on the bottom of the display below would work nicely as a kitchen back splash, don't you?   Of course, it would be pretty spectacular in the shower i the upstairs bath, too!

There are two and one half baths in our home. The half bath is tiny and  is located on the main floor near the family room. The floor in this room will probably be a natural stone like travertine because it's rustic enough to blend well with the dark hardwood that will be in the rooms around it and still sturdy enough to hold up to traffic. I'm adding character to my little bathroom by using a vintage chest as a sink base with a vessel sink and wall mounted faucet similar to this one: 

Source: Decorpad.com

There are so many elements of this bathroom that I love; from the wall mounted faucet to the mirror ad the architectural salvage above the shower curtain...but I digress....

                                                                                                 Where was I?  Oh yeah, vessel sinks.

I was really pleased to find that Floor & Decor carries what I consider to be a pretty substantial selection of vessel sinks. I'm sure that I'll be find something that will be perfect.

There are two full bathrooms in our home, one in the hall of the second floor and one is a master ensuite. Both will have gray and white tile, both will likely have gray cabinets, both will have white fixtures. Color wise, that may seem boring, but using an interesting tile layout and things like mosaic accents or carved pieces like this one that I found will help to make them simple but beautiful.

I haven't made final selections yet... but I'm close. I've still got to find a cabinet for the powder room but then, I'm going to sit down with a F&D designer to choose a sink for the powder room and lay out the patterns for the tile in the bathrooms.  I'm still drawn to the mosaic border in this photo...
                                                                               
                                                                                             and that harlequin....maybe just a little?!

However, before I do any of that, either today or tomorrow (September 12th and 13th), I'm going to the Grand opening of the new Floor & Decor at 3300 Oakton in Skokie, IL to check them out! You know that I love to shop and I want to make sure to check out all of the latest options before I purchase.

If you're in the area, here's what's going on at the store this weekend. Maybe I'll see you there.

Friday, Sept 12

9:00 – 11:00    Ribbon cutting

10:00 – 6:00    NASCAR Simulator

11:00 – 2:00    Ice Cream Truck – free to the first 200 customers

  Chicago Mix popcorn available

Saturday, Sept 13

Chicago Mix popcorn available

10:00 – 6:00    NASCAR Simulator

11:00 – 2:00    Hot Dog Cart – free to the first 200 customers

11:00 – 3:00    Face Painter/ Balloon Artist

11:00 – 3:00    Inflatable Sports Challenge

12:00 – 2:00    $250,000 Dice Roll Challenge

Yeah...that $250,000 dice roll got my attention. But to be honest, so did the Chicago Mix Popcorn (for those of you who don't know what that is, it's a 50/50 mix of caramel corn and cheese popcorn...I know, it sounds odd but trust me, it's amazing!) 

Disclosure: I was compensated for writing this post. However, my account of my experience with Floor and Decor as well as my opinion of them  is my own.  I only write about products and services that I use personally in my own home and it is my policy and promise to you, the reader, that all reviews are genuine, 100% honest, and reflect my experience with the product or service being reviewed.

Small Space Kitchen Contemporary Makeover Reveal

When I sat down to write this post about the renovation of the kitchen at the apartment, I typed "it really wasn't that bad"...and then I thought, Really!? Not that bad!?!?!?  Let's recall the fact that during a winter several years ago when the apartment was vacant,  a window was left open and one of the pipes froze and burst.  Remember that when the plumbing repair was done, they drywalled and put joint compound over the wallpaper?! Oh YEAH...that......sigh.

If you saw the apartment bathroom renovation reveal, by now you know that there's a recurring theme of repairs done poorly or not at all and, in case you wondered...the kitchen was more of the same.

After I removed the chair rail, my son spent the better part of an afternoon removing as much of the wallpaper as he could without doing further damage to the wall. With the wallpaper removed, I patched and sanded...and patched some more... until the walls were tolerable...far from perfect... but better.

When I removed the layers of DUCT TAPE and pink foam insulation  from around the air conditioner in preparation for replacing the A/C unit, I found mold...yeah...mold...due to trapped moisture which had formed because water was getting in from the outside and being trapped by the duct tape.

To repair it, I cut out a section of the wall on the interior and the exterior, reframed the opening for the A/C unit in pressure treated lumber,  then re-insulated, repaired the wall on both the exterior (with caulk to seal the edges) and interior. On the inside, I put up molding to cover the edges. I haven't found a good way to camouflage the A/C unit without impairing the airflow so for now, this is as good as it gets.

The kitchen cabinets and hardware are original to the unit.  We unbolted them from the wall, I removed the scroll-y  piece that used to be above the sink from the smallest cabinet then, sanded and painted all of the cabinets and re-installed them. I was able to  add one 36 inch cabinet by moving all of the cabinets up to the ceiling and to the left corner in a new configuration.

The counter top and sink are also original  but we replaced the faucet, drain, trap...and, of course, the shut off valves because they were leaking...just like those in the bathroom.

Because we moved the cabinets, we had to extend the ceramic tile up to the new cabinet height and, while I was at it (and since the tile was literally THIRTEEN CENTS per tile), I also tiled to the edge of the range which with my careful planning as luck would have it, actually lined up with the upper cabinet. (Don't tell anyone that I didn't plan it this way.) I also sawed out the old blue grout and replaced it with Graphite Gray.

We removed 2 layers of flooring and installed new wood grain laminate. Not an easy job but SO worth it! I painted the steel fire door and added a chalkboard which I framed with some oak trim that was stained to match the rest of the wood in the apartment which isn't painted.

We installed Ikea shelving and purchased a movable kitchen unit to extend the work surface into the "eating area"  as well as a butcher's block  island which gives him a place to sit and another worksurface. As of now, my son now has a fully functional kitchen with enough storage and work surface to be able to prepare meals.  Heck, now that I finally got the oven clean, I may go over his place to do some baking...he's actually got a nicer oven than I do!

 Resources:

Trim and Cabinet Color: Benjamin Moore
Wall color:Sherwin Williams White Matte
Laminate Flooring: Pergo
Island, Movable Kitchen cabinet, shelving and utensil holders: Ikea
Towels: Target
Striped Placemat on island and Wire Fruit Bowl: Pottery Barn
Kitchen Rug: Bed Bath and Beyond
Light Fixture: Home Depot

We've still got artwork to hang but I'm so excited that I wanted you to see how far the kitchen remodel has come in the last couple of weeks! We're building some shelving for the living space (living room/bedroom combination because this is an efficiency) and then I'll do a final reveal of of the entire space.

Pot Filler and Bath Accessories from Craigslist: Starting Small

I've found that Craigslist is the answer...even when I'm not sure what the question is.

When I set out on the journey to transform our 1950's red brick ranch into the French farmhouse last summer, I made a conscious decision to make this project as environmentally and budget  friendly as possible. This means re-using what we can, purchasing used elements when possible and selling or donating the things that will be removed from our home so that they don't end up in the landfill. It's what I'm calling,

                                             "Caviar decor on a scrambled eggs budget."
 
Given that I live within reasonable driving distance of Chicago, Milwaukee and Madison and that I have two sons who attend college in southern Illinois, my search area is pretty rife with potential.  Over the last month, I've made weekend trips to salvage yards and resale shops in my area to get an idea of what types of things they have and to discuss the list of things that I'm looking for with the owners of the various shops so that they can let me know if something on my list comes into their store.

I've also had wonderful support from my network of vintage junk loving girlfriends who know what I'm looking for and are helping me "shop" while they're picking and stocking their stores and booths.

Of course given my budget, I've also turned to Craigslist.  I'll be sharing what I find (as well as tips and tricks for finding and purchasing items on Craigslist) in the coming months. Today, I'm sharing the two bronze toilet tissue holders, two robe hooks and pot filler that I purchased last week for a total of $225.00. The original "asking price" was $325, but I made a package deal with the guy who was selling them.

Lessons Learned:

• Know what you're looking for. I have a spreadsheet where I'm keeping track of what I need for the various rooms in our home. This helps me to remember what I have already purchased, what I still need and how much remains in my budget.
• Know how to search. Manufacturer name, type of item (I found the pot filler under "faucet"), finish and room that it will be located in are all search possibilities. (Correct spelling doesn't always count...more on this later.)
• Tell your friends who are in the "business" (vendors at flea markets, thrift store owners, contractors, plumbers, electricians) what you're looking for. They may be willing and able to assist.
• Understand what you're looking at. For example: Each of the robe hooks and the toilet tissue holders has a brass mounting plate which gets attached to the wall and to which the hooks and holders are attached via a set screw (the little screws in the bottoms of the pieces).  Replacement set screws can be purchased from most hardware stores for a few cents. Replacement mounting plates, however would add incremental cost to the items so it's important to know that all of the necessary parts are included to avoid having to purchase parts in order to make items functional.

The "pot filler" is attached to the wall above the cooktop at the end of the water supply line with a simple connector. These are readily available and are a part of normal plumbing supplies so it's not an issue that it's not included.

When purchasing the pot filler, I checked the water filter, the threads on the part where the filler will be attached to the wall (to make sure that they weren't damaged or stripped) as well as the junctions where the spout swivels and the faucet knob turns on and off. All appear to be sound and didn't leak when I filled the faucet with water.

The robe hooks and toilet tissue holders are made by Perrin & Rowe and are solid brass construction. If purchased new, the robe hooks retail for $104 each and the toilet tissue holders retail for $304 each. The pot filler is made by Rohl. It's also solid brass and has a "Tuscan Brass" finish. It retails for $275.

Sure, I could have probably purchased other tissue holders and robe hooks brand new for less than the $125 that I spent for those four items but they wouldn't have been solid brass and they wouldn't have kept metal out of the scrap yard. The pot filler was the item that sealed the deal for me. The finish is pre-aged and it's exactly what I would have chosen if I had to purchase it new.

Lessons learned:

• Always negotiate. Many sellers will offer better pricing if you purchase more than one item.
• Don't expect finishes to be "perfect". Most items have been installed and in use in some one's home.
• Have cash and get receipts for larger items.
•  Know where you're going and who you're meeting and if you're unsure, bring a friend along.

Purchased new (not on my budget), these bath accessories and pot filler would have cost $1,141. By using Craigslist, I saved $866. If you follow along on Facebook, you know that I've purchased a couple of  big plumbing fixtures in the last few weeks as well. I'll be sharing posts soon.
 

How to Create a Non-Chippy Milk Paint Finish on Raw Wood

I couple of weeks ago, I made a trek to my local IKEA to look at cabinets for Phase 2 of the renovation here at the farmhouse. Of course, once I finished that, I spent the next hour and a half looking at everything else including a couple of these adorable, unfinished, step stools.  I just knew that they would be perfect to use to reach the upper cabinets in the kitchen and the shelves in the garage show you how Miss Mustard Seed milk paint behaves on raw, previously unfinished, wood. Today, I'm sharing the first one which I painted using milk paint in "kitchen scale".

Holiday Home Tour Day 1: French Farmhouse Kitchen

Welcome to my French farmhouse kitchen finally dressed for the holidays! I've kept my holiday decorating simple this year.

DIY Holiday Peppermint Wreath: Dollar Tree Craft

Nothing quite says, Merry Christmas like a grease spatter screen... truly. When I thought about holiday decorating as I found myself wandering through the Dollar Tree on Monday night, I knew almost immediately that I was going to need a grease spatter screen.

French Farmhouse Update: How to Clean A Dishwasher and Crawl Space Excavation

Just a quick hello to let you know that I'm still alive and that I continue to be amazed (and sometimes disgusted) by the things that I uncover here at the French Farmhouse.

Take for example, my dishwasher. Specifically, the inside  of my dishwasher.  How in the name of heaven does the inside of a dishwasher get this dirty?!  

French Farm House Kitchen Progress: Paint and Light Fixtures

The first room on my long list of rooms that needed painting at the French Farmhouse was the kitchen. When we took possession of the house, the walls of the kitchen and the adjacent hall which leads to the back door and basement were painted a very dark red which reminded me of tomato paste....dark red and a little shiny.

My Kitchen Back splash: Hand Painted Ceramic Tile

Have you ever seen something so lovely that it "haunted" you for a year afterwards?  Well, that was the case when I found my hand painted kitchen back splash tile; proving, once again,

that, Good things come to those who wait work their butt off and don't take "no" for an answer!

I had seen it in a local tile store.  All they would tell me was that it was hand formed and hand painted by two ladies that had a small tile company some where in Canada.  That's all I knew...for a year...that and the fact that I had to have it in my kitchen.

A year later, we began construction of our home and, when it came time to design the kitchen, I knew that the tile was going to play a central role. I chose cabinets and counter tops that would coordinate with the tile that I had seen.

Everything was progressing smoothly...until my tile source went out of business. Our home took just over a year to build and I spent that time looking for another tile that I would love as much as the one that I had seen nearly two years earlier.


I found....nothing.  Nothing would compare to the crackled glaze and hand formed tiles....nothing came close to the range of color found in raku.  This tile haunted me!  

We moved into our home and the kitchen was without tile for nearly two years after that (for those of you keeping track...this is nearly four years from the first time that I saw this tile)

Over the next several months, I scoured the Internet, searching, in every conceivable way, for hand painted, hand formed, ceramic back splash tile....then, one day, I found it! I called the lovely ladies in Canada and explained my situation and they agreed to work with me.

It took nearly another year before the tile was finished and installed. Each time there was a revision to the colors or to how I wanted it painted, it took 12 weeks for the new sample of the tile to leave Canada,  clear customs and make it to Illinois.

After all that, I can still say that I love this tile!  So much, in fact, that I decided that I'd like to install something similar in my new kitchen...different colors, of course, and a slightly different pattern, but I want to work with these ladies.

So, you can imagine my disappointment when I realized that I've lost the name and address of the company!!!!!

If any of you happens to recognize this tile or knows the name of the small, Canadian, tile makers that this may have come from....please message me....otherwise, I'll be searching the Internet...again...

No, I don't have a new home chosen...yet.

I do know that it will likely be a rehab and that it will involve a new kitchen....and hand painted ceramic back splash tile...from this company...if I can find them.  You may wonder why I'm looking when I haven't even found a place yet... Well, this time, I'd like to have my tile installed in less than five years....that seems reasonable, doesn't it?

xo,

French Rooster Kitchen Lamp Chalk Paint Makeover

I like to think that I usually have a pretty good eye for detail but sometimes,  I've got to admit that I'm completely oblivious.

Take this lamp, for example.

Cookie Cutter Wreath and Mason Jar Candles

Happy Sunday after Thanksgiving! I hope that you had a wonderful weekend. I know that I did.

Do you feel like you spent a bunch of time in the kitchen over the last week? I do. First it was  cooking and baking in preparation for hosting family for the holiday.

Then, since Thursday,  I've also spent a fair amount of time in the kitchen mainly eating leftovers...for every meal.   Mainly leftover pie.

So much so that I've decided to go on a diet.

It's a new kind of diet. I invented it this morning.

Yes, I know, those of you who have been reading my status updates on the Serendipity Refined Facebook Fan Page   can stop laughing now.

I know, you're probably thinking to yourself  

                                         Yeah, right. She's going on a diet AFTER she ate pie for lunch.

Actually, it wasn't the pie for lunch yesterday that did me in. It was the pie for breakfast this morning that got me thinking...

about Christmas cookies...and how they're right around the corner.

I was considering the fact that I bake batches and batches of cookies in the weeks before the holiday

                                                                                                ...and how most of them never last 24 hours.

Having young men and their friends in the house virtually guarantees that a batch of cookies can be finished (along with the gallon of milk that was supposed to last for three days) in under ten minutes.

Trust me. I've timed it.

So, I decided this morning, (while I was all hopped up on the sugar rush following eating a piece of butterscotch pie for breakfast followed up by a cup of really strong coffee),

that I should probably resist the urge to bake Christmas cookies, at least for a few weeks....
                                                                                         you know, until closer to the actual holiday.

After careful consideration...while my heart rate returned to normal after the caffeine and sugar wore off. I decided that it's kind of like doing everyone a favor.

...At least everyone who lives at my house and would like to wear pants with a zipper in them to family gatherings or to mass over the holidays.

I'm going to save everyone a few pounds...I'm using the cookie cutters for a WREATH...in the kitchen!

Don't worry, I didn't ruin them.  They're just tied on with waxed twine.  They can be carefully removed, when the time comes, to bake batches of all of our favorites.

 In the mean time, however, they're safely above the stove...on a wreath.

Above the stove, hanging in a place that would take me, standing on  a ladder to reach..

A ladder that I'd have to go outside, into the cold garage to get. 

 Above the stove, on a shelf with these adorable jars that I filled with "snow", tied with twine, added some berries and a piece of fir to.  Glass jars...that I'd have to move while standing on the ladder.

So for now, the cookie cutters are safe. 

Safe from me...and any chance of spontaneous cookie baking.

Safe from anything but a well thought out effort to go to the garage, get the ladder, take down the wreath, untie the cookie cutters, wash them and then  bake cookies.

It'll be a couple of weeks but it'll happen....because me and the gingerbread man have a date...

and I'm pretty sure we'll be joined by a gallon of milk.


xo,


I'm sharing this post at:
 Between Naps on the Porch
Debbiedoos
Embracing Change
Jennifer Rizzo
Stilettos in the Mud
Thoughts From Alice