A surprise brick backsplash and some curtains!

Our kitchen BEFORE (one year ago)

Our kitchen AFTER

I changed out the flourescent light for a pretty crystal chandelier, painted the island and lower cabinets (Latte from Sherwin Williams), put chalkboard paint on the pantry, painted the walls an earthy green called "Lion" from Behr (you can't see the walls in this picture), did a brick veneer on the backsplash and changed out the outlet covers, and VIOLA! Here is the new kitchen. It took some time, but now it feels more like mine.

I have rec'd some comments about where/what kind of brick veneer this is, so I looked it up and here is the info:

It is Robinson Brick thin brick/thin veneer

color is Peppermill and the mortar color is Tobacco Brown

I got it from a brick yard in my area, but you can search "Robinson Brick". They have a website with pictures and you can search a store nearest you, or have it shipped to you.

It was not hard to install although we did not do it. Our contractor laid it just like tile on top of the sheetrock using a thinset. He used a tile saw to cut it. There are installation instructions on the website too. Hope that helps! You can email me with any other questions.

I was not expecting to get my brick backsplash so soon! I mentioned it in this post, and a few weeks later, the Lord provided me with one literally. My friend Elise over at Nest Sweet Nest
reminded me that God gives us the "desires of our hearts" and He did just that. I was blown away that God even cares about those little things that mean so much to me! We had hail damage on our roof, so we got it replaced after approval from the insurance company. The roofing business is very competitive, so our roofer agreed to do the backsplash and some painting if we let him do the roof (apparently roofers make good money). So his labor for the extra work was part of the price of the roof. We just had to buy the supplies. What a deal, huh? God is good! I love how it turned out!

The inspiration for these curtains came from here. The sun is not shining today, so this picture is not the best, but here are my sunroom curtains that my talented friend Elise came over and helped me with. I lined them with burlap the first time, and did not like how it looked so I did red ticking the second time and it is perfect! I love how the ticking looks from outside too.

Here is closer, but poor quality picture. These curtains are just rectangles that are lined with a coordinating fabric, folded over the clipped with cafe rings. You can turn it over and use the other fabric for a different look. I just used upholstery tacks to hang them up. I just got this new sign too at one of my favorite shops. I know, summer is about over, but it has been calling my name for months. I love it so much, I might just leave it up all year!

This is a close up of my living room curtains. I debated between the gingham and the houdstooth for a long time. EVERY person I asked said go with gingham, but I decided on the houdstooth just because I loved it (and it was much cheaper). They ended up being too long so I folded them over then clipped them with cafe rings, an amateur seamstress' best tool!

They really warm up the room, don't you think? I did both panels for $37. Not bad huh?