Our Waterfront Cottage ~ 2 Years Later

What a crazy adventure the past two years have been!  On June 24, 2013 we closed on our 1980s waterfront cottage and on June 27th we rented a jack hammer to start work.  It has been non stop projects ever since.  Our house has transformed into a beautiful home and I can't wait to get it finished!


To read a detailed list of what we did the first year in the house read my post from last year.  Here are a few before and after pictures.

DIY Kitchen Makeover

Photo Credit: After picture taken my Ever & Anon

My Current Kitchen & Dining Room Crush

Y'all.  I have found a new favorite kitchen and dining room.    

Many of you know, I have an unhealthy strong obsession with the beach and water and the NEED to live there.  I love where we live now, but my dream is to live on a small, sleepy island with gorgeous blue water and white sand.  Blittle hears it all the time.  Running a bed and breakfast is part of that dream.  He can be a fishing guide and I can run the B&B and the dogs can have free run of the property and greet all the guests (in a perfect world)  I have it all figured out.  :)

I came across the show, Bloodline, several months ago and it is set in the Florida Keys (yes, please) and the family runs a pretty B&B (yes, again).  As usual, I got pulled in by the set.  I can't help but notice the design and furnishings on TV and movie sets.  Of course there are the popular ones and they are all gorgeous...

Country Living Magazine Feature

Let me just say, I will never, and I repeat, NEVER get used to seeing my name and my home on other people's websites or in magazines.  Never.

The surprise and shock is always genuine and it usually takes a while for reality to set in.  Anyone that takes the time, effort and money to design a space in their home then update it, loves the result most of the time.  When we bought our outdated, waterfront cottage 18 months ago, our goal was to create a space that represents our personal style, that is comfortable and cozy, and is what we feel is beautiful.

The Coastal Kitchen Makeover - One Year Later

One year ago today, I revealed the first DIY kitchen update.  One year.  Where did it go?!  There have been many exciting things happen over the past year because of the kitchen.  Things that I never thought would happen to me.  Things that I didn't even think to think of.  Sometimes life is weird and crazy.

In late May, right before the magazine feature was out, I posted new pictures of the kitchen.  That post was to show the small details and decor I was added to give the space a little more character and the polished, finished look.

White Bedroom Set & Some Updates

Hello y'all.  I hope everyone is having a great week!

This is my third attempt to write an update and post for this week.    I have been a little stressed and all over the place the past few weeks.  I think I am finally getting focused again.

Things have been quiet on the blog but they have not been in my life.  I told y'all about taking a day off to bring my parents to the airport and spend the rest of the day with my best friend and her family.   After that, the week got a little crazy and ugly.

On Thursday of that week, two of my nieces were burned in a cooking accident and were brought to Shriner's in Galveston for treatment.  We spent a lot of time at the hospital over the next week.  My BIL and SIL have 6 kids so we helped take care of the other 4 children along with BLittle's parents.   Our 7 year old nephew stayed the weekend with us and he had a blast.  He loved fishing, taking boat rides, and sleeping in his own bed.  :)  Thankfully, the girls were released late last week and only come back for bandage changes and check ups once a week.

A Year Later....

Today marks one year in our waterfront cottage.  June 27, 2013 was the first night we spent in the house and the next day we rented a jack hammer and started the updates.  It has been 12 months of work.  A LOT OF WORK.

Blittle and I were sitting on the dock the other evening baffled by how we did so much in a year.  No wonder I am so tired!  Once I am done with the dock furniture, we are taking a break from DIY for a while.  People have repeatedly said, it doesn't have to all get done right now.  I know this. But I want it done right now.  When I am home there are constant reminders of what needs to be done and I have a hard time ignoring them.  I get anxious.  If I am not crossing things off the to do list, I feel like I am wasting time.  The past month has shown me it is time for a break.  My body is tired, exhausted, drained, done...I can't really find a word to describe the level of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion that I am on.  It is time to rest and slow down a little.

The next few months are for working on client furniture and saving money.  There are some HUGE projects on the list for 2015!

DIY Coffee Bar

I have an obsession with coffee.  It could also be called an addiction.  An unhealthy dependency. Whatever.  Point is, in the mornings, I love drinking coffee.

Its not just about the need for caffeine by 8:30 am or my head will explode and I become a not so nice person.  Its about my waking up process.  My routine.

The sun is just rising and the house is quiet.  The birds aren't making tons of noise yet.  The water outside is peaceful.  It is my favorite time of day.  Just me on the couch, with my coffee and sometimes a dog or two, mentally prepping for the day and slowly waking up.

We bought a Keurig 3 years ago and I love it.  The only problem is, ours is one of the bigger models and takes up too much counter space in my small kitchen.  I decided to use my grandparents' dresser I refinished as a buffet and coffee bar in our dining area.

It has tons of storage for baking dishes and other pans I don't use often plus our nice utensils and coffee supplies.  The refrigerator is just opposite of the buffet so it is not a far reach to get the creamers out.

Many of you saw it in the dining room reveal  and saw the buffet but I didn't share any details yet.

Photo Credit: Ever & Anon

DIY Kitchen Reveal Update

January 2016 Update: Visit our new blog www.brianandkaylor.com  


It has been over 7 months since I revealed our kitchen makeover.  It is hard to believe it has been that long and I am speechless about all the opportunities and attention that came with this experience.  I never thought I would be doing anything other than teaching much less having a blog, guest blogging on Remodelaholic and being featured in Better Homes & Gardens Kitchen and Bath Makeover Magazine.  How is this even my life?

When I first revealed the kitchen in October, it was bare bones.  Just finished and barely used.  Naked.  Nothing on the counters, no curtains, nothing.  Now it has some personal touches, curtains and it is definitely more lived in.



To see the first reveal click here.


Here is what I started with.

Here are the updated photos.  Thanks again to Jessica of Ever & Anon Photography for taking the amazing pictures.

Photo Credit:  Ever & Anon Photography

Photo Credit:  Ever & Anon Photography

Dining Room Reveal

January 2016 Update: Visit our new blog www.brianandkaylor.com  


The day is finally here. Eleven months after moving in, I am finally showing you our dining area.

Over the past year, y'all have seen most of the room.  My DIY lantern, DIY dining table and my grandparents' dresser that I now use as a buffet have all been shown in earlier posts.  There have been many sneak peeks in pictures but I have never shown everything.

All of our hard work has paid off and the house has transformed.  The sad, dark, orange-y house we bought a year ago is gone.  It feels bright and airy and comfortable.  We LOVE it!

This is what I started with.

All of these beautiful after shots are the work of Jessica of Ever & Anon Photography.  She did an amazing job!  Thanks again, Jessica.  

And now,  this is what my dining room looks like. 

Photo credit: Ever & Anon Photography

The Better Homes and Gardens Feature

Happy Monday!  I hope everyone had a great weekend.  My original plan was to do nothing since Blittle was gone on Saturday but I ended up giving the dogs a hair cut and bath,  planted plants in my planter in the front of the house and stained most of the fence.  Sunday we worked on the dock and it is almost ready for stain as well.  Overall, it was a very productive weekend.

I have had an overwhelming amount of questions about the magazine feature lately.  It is supposed to be out next week so I would like to clear up a few things and answer some of the common questions.

I am being featured in the Better Homes and Gardens Kitchen and Bath Makeovers Summer 2014 magazine.  Here is the cover of Spring 2014.

FWF's Year Review - 2013

What a difference a year makes.  This has been a huge year for Fisherman's Wife Furniture and for me personally.  This marks one full year out of the classroom and being a full time business owner.  Somedays I still can't believe it and I am waiting for someone to come take it all away.

Over the past few months, many new followers and readers have come along so I want to do a quick review of my favorite and/or most popular posts from 2013.

An Update, an Announcement and a Video

Happy Saturday, y'all!  I hope everyone had a great week and has a fun, relaxing day planned.

I am off to spin class this morning then working the rest of the day.  I know the blog has been quiet the past few weeks but I have been focused on furniture (and boats) and I have been exhausted.  Last week, I only made it past 8:30 PM one night...embarrassing I know.  All the other nights I fell asleep watching TV at some ridiculously early time.  Another reason I haven't posted much is because several of my current projects are Christmas presents and I can't show them to you yet.

1 Year Blogiversary

Happy Birthday, Blog!

I can't beleive it has been a year already.  So much has happened and changed in our lives in the past 12 months.  Most mornings I wake up in denial that this is my life.  One short year ago, I was living in New Orleans, teaching high school geometry and refinishing furniture at night and on the weekends.   Now, we are back in Texas and I live in a great little waterfront house (has been our goal since we got married), I am my own boss and I am working from home.  Wow.  I might be the luckiest girl in the world.

Painting Kitchen Cabinets

When we bought the house I was really worried about the kitchen.  There is no where to expand to make it bigger.  There is no space to really change the layout.  We were stuck with the U-shape kitchen.  The space was really dark.  There is only the one little window over the sink and all other natural light comes from the bay window in the dining area.  I knew I had my work cut out for me which is scary when you are deciding to buy a home.  But I knew I could transform the room and took on the challenge.  One of the most important choices for the room was paint color.

Kitchen Reveal

UPDATE:  Click here to see the most recent pictures of the kitchen.

Hi, y'all!  Reveal day is here!  Finally!

Glass Tile Backsplash

January 2016 Update: Visit our new blog www.brianandkaylor.com  


Hi all!  I can't believe it is already Thursday.  This week has flown by.

I finished up our tile this week.  Tiling is a lot like painting....many stages and waiting for things to dry. I am not going to write a tutorial on tile because there are so many amazing ones out there on the blogosphere and I don't think I can write a better one.  My favorite tutorial is from Pretty Handy Girl.  She even posted a video.  Check out Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

I am going to tell you a few things I did that wasn't on a tutorial or I figured out as I went.  This was my first time to tile so I learned a lot!

• Glass tile MUST have a glass certified tile blade

We rented a wet saw and I asked the guys at the store what kind of blade it had.  They all assured me it would cut glass even though it wasn't a "glass tile blade".  They had some name for the the blade I had not heard of and said it was the best.  Alrighty, I guess they know what they are talking about.  Well....they don't.  At least not with this.  We used a the sample tile to test it and the blade tried to eat my expensive tile.  Of course the rental store closed at noon on Saturdays and was closed by the time we tested the tile.  We went to HD and Lowes and neither one of them had a 10 in glass blade for the saw so we were stuck.  To make a long, dramatic story short, we ended up buying a wet saw.  It was about $50/day to rent a saw and on that day the rental was useless.  Even if we found a glass blade for it we would need it for a few more days just for the backsplash project.  A small new one at HD was $130 and they had a glass certified blade for it.  We will be tiling our bathrooms over the next year so we felt it was a good investment compared to renting.  Here is the one we bought.

Design Doubt

Happy Thursday!

Do you ever doubt your design plan?  Or you start putting your pieces together and things just aren't working for you?   Sometimes I visualize a design and I am so confident in it.  Example:  The outdoor seating area.  I saw those pillows and knew that the green door left by the previous owners would make a great table and the rug I saw on overstock.com would be a great base to bring everything together.   And I love that area and the colors.

DIY Lantern

Photo Credit: Ever & Anon

A few months ago I wrote a post named "Let's Talk Lights".   Its kind of funny so if you haven't read it, I recommend you do.  :)

 I mentioned in that post that I was putting the same light fixtures up through out the main living areas.  You saw the new lights in the hallway and now you can see the new kitchen lights.  No more ugly florescent!!

Before

DIY Butcher Block Countertops

January 2016 Update: Visit our new blog www.brianandkaylor.com  


In yesterday's post I talked about how we came to the decision to have butcher block countertops. (Read about it here)  Today I am going to tell you how we did it.

This is a really long post but if you are considering doing butcher block countertops yourself, it is worth the time.

Our New Countertops

Let me start this post by announcing butcher block was not my first choice.  It wasn't really my second or third....because I didn't have a second and third....LOL.  I was head over heels in love with a beautiful countertop and there was no other that could live up to it.  If you remember back in my Kitchen Inspiration post I talked about a dream home that had my close to perfect kitchen.  Here is a reminder.