THE CABINETS ARE HERE THE CABINETS ARE HERE THE CABINETS ARE HERE. Thank you Home Depot.
I'd show you a picture of them but they look like pretty much anything else in a cardboard box.
So NOW the work begins. Oh my God. I can't believe I just said "the work begins". The work has been going on since about last April. That's when this whole ridiculous fiasco began. With me deciding, pretty much on a whim, that I was going to rip up my kitchen floor and install radiant heating and composite tiles.
The kitchen has been a mess since then. And so have my nails.
Even though the cabinets are here, I'm not ready to have them installed yet. I want to wait until the sink, stove and fridge are here, plus I still need to rip out the rest of the old kitchen, repair the floor and paint and repair the walls.
I couldn't do any of that until I knew when the cabinets were coming. And, as is often the case with renovating, I had no idea when they were coming until the delivery people called to tell me they were on their way.
One of the walls I need to paint and repair is this brick wall.
It's only the slightest bit of a mess. Compared to say, a port-a-potty beside a Mexican restaurant beside a construction site, it's positively pristine. I found the brick wall behind my old pantry. Well, behind the drywall that was behind the pantry actually. If you missed it, I highly suggest you watch the video of my mother Betty ripping out the drywall in her Fitflops.
My house was built around 1840 (I wish I knew the exact date and everyone who lived here and all that stuff, but I don't), and every 50 years or so someone puts on a little addition. Because of that the house has several brick walls inside, all which were the home's exterior wall at some point.
When we first unearthed, or unsheetrocked I suppose, the wall I was hoping I could maybe strip it and leave the brick. It's partly painted, partly stained and has big chunks of missing bricks. All the better to hide a body in I suppose. Or body parts at least.
After further consideration and consultation with my psychic, my social worker, letter carrier, neighbour, plumber, counsellor, councillor and cats, I've decided to paint the wall white. It will go better with the Scandinavian feel I'm going for AND it'll be easier. Pretty much everyone agreed, except the cats, but they're assholes.
My interior designer Carol Reed and my sister with the pink suede tool belt are walking me through the disaster of the brick wall.
Carol sent me these inspiration photos of a variety of painted brick wall finishes. Because there's more than one way to piss off a cat.
This wall is straight up, painted white. No distressing, no whitewashing. Just a beautiful, clean, white, brick wall.
And here, ladies and gentlemen, we have various brick walls in various stages of distress. I really, really love the middle one, but again, it isn't quite right for the space I'm envisioning. "The space I'm envisioning" Hah! I sound like a snot. The point is, I want it a little cleaner looking, something closer to the wall on the right. That wall looks fairly solid with a bit of shading and shadowing which looks very natural and authentic.
The wall on the right here is nice, but it's completely whitewashed and I can't really do that without stripping my entire brick wall. The one on the left looks pretty good though.
And this final wall is O.K. I'm not in love with it. I feel like I can actually see the person standing in front of it deciding which bricks to paint over and which bricks to keep natural. If I can actually see the thinking process in something that's a bad sign.
The cats liked it. They really are assholes.
The other problem I have to figure out is the big mess at the top of the wall where the bricks hit the ceiling. Or rather don't hit the ceiling. There's about a 4" strip between the bricks and the ceiling that's just a mishmash of wood. The crown moulding I have right now is no longer available so I have to figure out a way to disguise the wood near the ceiling or replace ALL of my crown moulding. Which I will fight doing tooth and nail. My sister with the pink tool belt came up with a partially ingenious, partially insane solution. I'm going to try it and if it works, I'll let you know.
So tonight and tomorrow I'll be tackling the brick wall with a can of paint and a paintbrush. I have a little bit of a plan in my head about how I'm going to go about it and how I want it to look, but for the most part I'll just start painting and figure it out as I go.
And when I'm finished no one will be able to see my thinking process. I think.
Cathy
Looking at the wall where bricks are missing makes me think of cubbies, or [since you are such "a snot" now (HEY! You said it!)], a niche where one of your fabulously eclectic items could reside.
I like the idea of a wood shelf at the top too. Something dark and rustic for contrast?
Nikki C
We had an exposed brick wall in our last house and did remove it
All back to the natural orange colour but we also sealed it in to keep the dust at a minimum seeing our house was built in 1880
You could always get some of the vintage brick tiles for the top row
Christy
Yep, you're right. Cats are assholes. If they get too sassy, put them to work. I hear cat tails are the perfect texture for painting brick. Not sure how you'll get them to paint and stop giving out their opinions though but your clever. Good luck!
Nancy Blue Moon
Didn't you just show us your thought process?? Don't you know that cats rule..they just keep us around to fill their dishes..lol
Edith
That would make a great art feature wall. Maybe let a graffiti artist at it, right over the brick. I think something edgy and abstract would look great. I visualize something in bold strokes - white, black and red. Something dramatic. Then put a frame around the whole thing covering up the wound on top.
Karen
Yes it would. I love the graffiti idea. But it wouldn't work well with my general plan. :) ~ karen
Stephanie Hobson
Whatever you decide, please let us in on the "partially ingenious, partially insane solution" your "sister with the pink tool belt" came up with. Being as how she's your sister I'll bet it rocks.
victoria
i would just clean it and seal it! everything else will be new in the kitchen i assume? so why not leave some funk. .. put something weird in the crevices where the bricks are missing. .... Sorry, I'm with the cats and a total a-hole. .!
kaela
Well, as a Boston native for many years, and the renter of many a charmingly tiny exposed-brick-wall apartment, I will share with you one advantage of painting the wall: brick dust. With the amount of brick dust that comes off of an old brick wall on a DAILY basis, you would think the entire Northeast would have fallen into ruin by now. While I always loved the look (the warmth! the charm! the excellent way of hiding that I couldn't afford artwork!), that dust was a serious bane. Paint, however, seals it all in. It's a mercy. The cats would thank you if only they knew.
As for the top bit: it's hard to get a sense of your kitchen from the picture of the brick wall, but would a shelf section at the top work? Maybe for cookbooks, or wine storage, or even just knick-knacky things? Then you could just back the shelving with something cool and ignore the whole 4 inches of schmutz problem. Or, even simpler, a great piece of weathered board or beam might look fabulous. Of course, my construction skills suck, so my primary strategy tends to be camouflage & distract.
Irene
Well, there you go; Kaela posted *exactly* what I was thinking already; *both* the ideas she suggested came to mind. :-)
Irene
Oh ooooh! My husband just came up with a nice idea; how about gorgeous wood built into a box shape, with the wiring for down lights inside. Lights shining down, and big lovely (maybe antique) hooks to hang pots and pans?
Of course, all of this depends on whether you will be placing cabinets there or not. I assume not, seeing as you want to show off the brick?
theresa
oooh I like this idea! especially with the fully painted brick wall--loved loved loved the first picture--but I would want a dark stained floor and palest grey walls.
Emily
Karen, I second what Kaela suggested... as that was what I was going to suggest. I have shelves in part of my kitchen then going on to my dining room... LOVE it for knick knacks and such.
Can't wait to see the finished product !
Marna
Wow you have a lot ahead of you, good luck! You can find the whole history of your house if you are up to do a lot of research. You can go back to when the land was first purchased, settled, original owners and on forward. You have to find the previous owners and work backwards, check land deeds, etc. Could be fun if you have the time. It would be really interesting with such an old house. You may even find some old documents as you tear things down! :)
Karen
Yeah ... lol ... I definitely do not have the time. :) Well. That's not entirely true. If I were to give up bathing and sleeping I could squeeze a bit in. ~ karen!
shuckclod
I would go for the plain white. Make sure you seal it. I love the distressed ones, but in a living room or bedroom. You can always add to it if you think it is to plain. :)
Corinne
Can't wait to see it finished. As for the brick wall, why not treat it like a work of art and add a wide frame around it as you would a painting. Just a thought. But I am sure whatever you choose to do will be beautiful.
Best of Luck!
Jasmine
If the cats are assholes, can't you call them assheads? Please?
Susan Preston
They all look great but the completely painted wall with a washable paint looks best to me if you ever want to clean any kitchen cooking smoke, grease or grime off it. That's the practical side of me coming out. On the other hand if you just want to look at your kitchen and not use it any one of them will look good. But really just do what you want. I'm sure the cats will like getting the house back to normal one way or the other! Good Luck!
Karen
Sue - I also have brick over and around the stove. It's painted in a semi-gloss which wipes well. This other brock wall is on the other side of the kitchen so it'll be fine. For the first time in my life I'm going to have a range hood! So that baby should suck up pretty much everything. ~ karen!
Tash @ The Dreamhouse Project
OH Karen I love Love LOVE an exposed brick wall. I was hoping for one of those in our home but unfortunately when we 'unsheetrocked' (I love that word and am stealing it btw) the walls in our Dreamhouse, it revealed a mishmash of plaster, poorly constructed wood framing, & some random things like lottery tickets & tongue & groove hardwood flooring...but I digress...
Happy painting. I can't wait to see how your brick wall turns out. I think white is the right choice as well so tell the cats to piss off & do it your way! :)
Karen
Those cats. Bastards, the whole lot of them. As an fyi, I thought when I did a quick glance of your comment that you found a tongue in your wall, lol. How your blog/dreamhouse project is coming along! ~ karen!
Tash @ The Dreamhouse Project
LOL! No, no tongues. But apparently we have a pet cemetery somewhere in our backyard. Like seriously - a metal box full of dog remains - at least that's what our neighbour told us. Awesome right!?
Cynthia Jones
Consider using a large sea sponge instead of a paintbrush. The technique is.....dob,dob. If that idea seems worth a try, you will need to put a little paint in a large shallow tray to dob the sponge in. As I have no idea what look you are going for, this idea can be trashed after reading the first five words.
Karen
LOL. No trashing necessary. But sponge painting isn't the look I'm going for. I'm not sure what the look I'm going for actually is, but a little playing around and I'm sure I'll figure it out. ~ karen!
Jamieson
Looking forward to seeing the results! How's about I take pictures and bring them to show you whenever I visit you at the looney bin you may wind up in when you're done?
Karen
"... may wind up in"? See now that's what I love about you Jamieson. Your unabashed optimism. ~ karen!
Amie Mason
Super, super exciting! I love the first photo from Carol; no overhead cupboards either. Can't wait for the big reveal!
Jane
Well, they all look great and I think your plan is best.....just start and see what happens! If all else fails....the solid white still looks fantastic!!
Ella
You go, girl!
Carla
Kitchen porn before bed time, I love it!