You wouldn’t know it from this picture but I don’t have a green thumb. I have a bad habit of bringing plants to within an inch of their lives and then nursing them back to health every few months or so. These plants are all in my plant hospital and are doing better after some constant water and sunshine. For many it was touch and go there for a while.
You’ll notice that most of them are succulents (except the rose and the little orchid) which are supposed to be hard to kill, right? Not for me…
I have to admit, I like having a garden feel in the kitchen even if it isn’t all that conducive to cooking six nights a week.
Here’s how our sink area is holding up since the renovation. Since all of the kinks have been worked out, I have been really happy with it so far: The sink is nice and deep and hides all the dirty dishes I might not get to right away; The faucet is slowly getting some patina, functions well and no longer leaks; And the marble (which I was the most concerned about) has held up great. I’m sure I’ll have to be more concerned as the sealer wears off in a few months. You can also see from the above picture that we had the correct cabinet doors installed.
You may remember from my previous post about the kitchen reno that the neck of the unlacquered brass faucet (that I actually had the lacquer stripped off of) is really copper with brass plate–shhh, don’t tell anybody! We have been careful to make sure no one accidentally scours the neck or polishes it and I don’t think you can really see a difference. I may someday replace the neck with a solid brass one but for the foreseeable future, it’s staying put.
I also wanted to thank everyone for all the fantastic suggestions regarding my last post about needing inspiration for the old door we found. I knew I was asking the right group! Now the hard part is going to be deciding which idea to choose. Check out the comments section if you are looking for ideas for repurposing old doors. Also, thanks to Camille who sent me this incredible link with more door ideas than I could implement in a lifetime. It does make me want to head out to the salvage store though and come home with a bunch of old doors…
Superb, jaw-dropping photos, Lane!
Thanks Camille! I owe a lot of that to you and your blog…
Hello…lovely photos of your kitchen. I love your brass faucet (among other things in your kitchen). Can I ask how you went about getting the lacquer removed? Who do you go to for something like that?
I’m looking everywhere for unlacquered brass and can’t find it anywhere. Never thought of having the lacquer removed. What a great idea! Any info you can provide would be greatly appreciated!
Many thanks!
Hi Karen. Do you live in the SF Bay Area? If so, I highly recommend The Sink Factory here in Berkeley. It is a plumbing salvage shop and Ragnar here can do just about anything. There are links that take you step by step to do it yourself (Here’s one: http://www.ehow.com/how_4499916_remove-lacquer-finish-from-brass.html) but most require powerful chemical strippers. I have read you can use baking soda to do it too. Below are directions for tripping some copper and brass coatings using baking soda from http://fantes.com/copper-lacquer-removal.html:
Make a mixture of Baking Soda and Water (1 Tablespoon of Soda to each Quart of Water) and bring to a boil.
While still boiling, immerse the item. One half at a time if your pot of solution is not large enough to immerse the item completely.
After about 15 minutes of boiling, the coating will peel and lift off. Remove from the solution and wash with hot water. (Remember to protect your hands from hot surfaces.)
Use acetone (or non-oily nail polish remover) on a cotton or wool pad to remove any remaining stubborn coating.
I have never tried to do it myself (although I am tempted!) but I think for something like a kitchen faucet, I would have it professionally done anyway. I was told by some people that a “lifetime finish” on brass couldn’t be removed but Ragnar scoffed and said “nothing is Ragnar proof!” If you don’t live in the Bay Area, you may want to try local salvage yards or even body shops where they repair cars. I think they may have similar chemicals for stripping car parts.
Check out my other post on the kitchen reno for more details: http://www.urbanorchardinteriors.com/kitchen-renovation-breakdown/
Good luck!
Beautiful photos!! And I lust after your faucet btw.
love your kitchen. loved the bachelor apartment too!!!! your blog is adorable.
Thanks so much Joni! So nice of you to stop by and leave a comment. I look forward to your next post!
Hello! Would you mind if I share your blog with my twitter group? There’s a lot of people that I think would really enjoy your content. Please let me know. Many thanks