Clover House's Top 15 Posts of 2013 - A Year in Review

WOW! What a year 2013 has been! We've done so much but still have so much to do! It took a bit of gathering of information, but here's our top 15 project posts of 2013.  Just click on the link below each picture to be taken to the original post and all the good information!  Enjoy! :)

#1 HOW TO CLEAN AN HE WASHER

#2 A CLEAN SINK'S FRIEND

#3 RV FLOOR UPDATE

#4 RAISED BED GARDEN PART 2

#5 RAISED BED GARDEN PART 3

#6 RAISED BED GARDEN PART 1

#7 LAUNDRY ROOM REVEAL

#8 RV CABINET UPDATE

#9 CROCKPOT CREAM CHEESE CHICKEN CHILI

#10 FENCE PICKET A/C UNIT COVER

#11 TILING THE KITCHEN FLOOR

#12 DIY TACO SEASONING

#13 ORGANIZE AND BEAUTIFY YOUR CABINETS

#14 KITCHEN CABINET PART 3

#15 EASTER EGG WREATH

I hope you've enjoyed browsing our past year of the top 15 posts!  Did you get some good ideas?  I hope you pinned them! Thanks to all of our readers for making it such an awesome year!  Keep watching in 2014 for more great ideas, recipes, tips and tricks!  :)

It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!

I'm Linking to:
Sunday
Under the Table and Dreaming by Stephanie Lynn
The Self Sufficient Home Acre 
The Chicken Chick,  Sew Can Do
Monday
Craft-O-Maniac, 
Between Naps on the Porch
DIY Home Sweet Home
Keeping it  Simple 
The Dedicated House
Skip to my Lou
Home Coming
Tuesday
Not Just a Housewife
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Sugar Bee Crafts 
New Nostalgia 
It's your Life
BeBetsy
Fluster Buster   
Confessions of a Plate Addict
A Stroll Thru Life
Wednesday
Clean and Scentsible
Lady Behind the Curtain
Family Home and Life
Ducks n a Row
VMG206
Herrban Momma 
Family Home & Life
Oh My! Creative
Thursday  
Bloom
The Taylor House
52 Mantels
Domesblissity
4 You With Love
Sweet Haute
Artsy Fartsy Mama
From My Front Porch To Yours
Friday 
Lil’ Luna
Tatertots and Jello
Five Simple Things
Craftionary
Diana Rambles
I Heart Nap Time
Crafts a la mode
Saturday 
Angels Homestead
Positively Splendid,
Or So She Says
Your Homebased Mom
What's Cooking with Ruthie
Made From Pinterest

read more

Installing A Farmhouse Sink

Farmhouse sink? Yes please! I was all about a farmhouse sink for our newly remodeled kitchen, my honey was a bit skeptical on how he was going to get this monster installed!  But he did it and he did a fine job!

It was a bit more than cutting a hole in the counter top and dropping it in.  These things are HEAVY!  Ours is a Kraus stainless steel sink so its not near as heavy as the Firestone sinks, but its still very heavy.

This is our old harvest gold porcelain coated cast iron sink.  She served us well for the past 2 and 1/2 years.  I even showed you how to make her look new again HERE.

Here's our new beauty!  She's a Kraus Handmade 16-Gauge Double-Basin Apron Front Stainless Steel Kitchen Sink from Lowe's.com.  They do not offer these in store at our local Lowe's so it was a shot in the dark that we were going to love our sink when it arrived.  No worries! We loved it!

This is our old counter top and sink one last time.  It's a good thing I snap pictures of everything because until I looked at these pictures again, I had already forgotten what it used to look like.

On to the install of the new sink.  Note: throughout this post when I say we, I actually mean my honey.  (Love you baby!)  First, we disconnected the plumbing from the old sink.  Be sure to put down an old towel for the water that will leak out of the plumbing pieces.

Next, we removed the old counter top.  Remove brackets holding the counter top to the cabinets and it should just lift up and out.

We had to cut out the front of this cabinet so it could accept the new apron front sink.  We've found that our shop vac is our good friend during all the cutting going on inside the house.  This helps to keep things as clean as possible.

Next we built the support for the new heavy sink.  We used 2 x 4s to be sure it was going to be sturdy for the long haul.

Of course, your measurements will more than likely differ from ours so before you start, make sure of where you'd like your sink to rest permanently.  With this style sink, you can mount it under the counter top or above.  We chose above.

This final piece was to make sure the whole cabinet was sturdy and would support the weight it was about to receive.  I sat on it to make sure! LOL!

Next is the test fit.  Believe me, we held our breath because it was a snug fit. YAY! It fits!  You want it to be snug so its sturdy though. Great job Honey!

After we installed the new counter top, it was time to mark the spot to cut the hole for the new sink.  I taped around the top edge of the sink with frog tape to prevent the black sharpie marker from getting on the new sink, we wouldn't want that...oh no!

With the sink upside down and in the correct position you intend on installing it, mark your cut line with a marker.  FYI:  Measure, measure and re-measure and then cut!

We used a jig saw to cut the counter top.  It seemed to be the best choice for a more steady even cut.  It's also easier to see where you are going compared to using a circular saw which was the other choice.

At the corners we used a drill to make a hole so it was easier to turn the jig saw and keep the corners crisp and sharp.  Remember a shop vac comes in handy while the cutting is going on.  The person cutting can see where he's going a bit better and the mess stays lower.

Next, you say a little prayer, hold your breath and fit the new sink into the freshly cut hole.  YAY, it fits!  We used clear silicone around the sink to assure no water could get down to the exposed wood of the cut counter top.  This also adds to firming up the sink in its final resting place.

This is where we are now.  Since we didn't really know where the cabinet doors would be before we installed the sink and faced out the front of the cabinets, that chore (building doors) is still left to be done.....along with a good dozen more things to do before we're done!

It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!

I'm Linking to:

Sunday
Under the Table and Dreaming by Stephanie Lynn, The Self Sufficient Home Acre , The Chicken Chick,  Sew Can Do 

Monday
Craft-O-Maniac, Between Naps on the Porch, DIY Home Sweet Home , Keeping it  Simple , The Dedicated House, Skip to my Lou
Married Filing Jointly,  Home Coming,  The Princess and Her Cowboys

Tuesday
Not Just a Housewife, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia,  Sugar Bee Crafts,  New Nostalgia,  It's your Life,    Get Your Crap Together  ,  BeBetsy,  Fluster Buster  Confessions of a Plate Addict

Wednesday
Clean and Scentsible, Lady Behind the Curtain.  Family Home and Life,  Ducks n a Row,  VMG206.  Herrban Momma,  Family Home & Life  ,Oh My! Creative

Thursday
Bloom,  Two Yellow Birds Decor,  The Taylor House.  52 Mantels,  Domesblissity,  Redfly Creations,   4 You With Love,  Sweet Haute
Artsy Fartsy Mama
 From My Front Porch To Yours

Friday 
Lil’ Luna,,  Tatertots and Jello,  Five Simple Things,  Craftionary,  Diana Rambles,    I Heart Nap Time

Saturday 
Angels Homestead,  Positively Splendid,   Or So She Says ,  Your Homebased Mom ,  What's Cooking with Ruthie

read more

Freshening Up Under the Kitchen Sink

As part of the kitchen remodel we of course wanted to make sure we repaired all the problems in the kitchen that we happened on. One of these problems was a yucky floor under the kitchen sink.  There was once a pretty bad leak and the floor was particle board.  That equals a giant mess.

The picture above was before and after.  The before was actually an after of what we started with though.

The was all that was left after we took out the very uneven and brittle particle board.  Yuck!  I cleaned really good with the shop vac and then I mixed some bleach and water to spray the area with just in case anything like mold might be growing.

Look how gross of a mess it was!  It was sagging under the weight of all I keep under our sink and it really didn't smell very nice either.  We were glad to get that out of there!

Here's the new floor my honey installed.  He used a piece of the decking from the cabinets we removed to install the stove.  It was just almost a perfect fit, just a little trimming and in it went.

Next it was time for a fresh coat of paint.  I just used the mushroom color we painted the cabinets with.  Aahh, so much better now!

And the best part is installing the peel and stick tile on the floor.  If we ever have any spills it will be easier to clean up and hopefully the under board will not get damaged again.  I used some of the tiles we had left over from our camper floor update to cover the floor with here.  They were a tiny bit shy of a perfect fit so no cutting needed.  Oh and I didn't bother staggering them like we did in the camper, just stuck them down.  I saw this tiling idea on Pinterest and remembered it when this whole freshen up took place.

It looks so much nicer now.  Next weekend we will install the new sink and the lower cabinet doors.  We're getting there little by little!

It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!

I'm Linking to:

Sunday
Under the Table and Dreaming by Stephanie Lynn, The Self Sufficient Home Acre , The Chicken Chick,  Sew Can Do 

Monday
Craft-O-Maniac, Between Naps on the Porch, DIY Home Sweet Home , Keeping it  Simple , The Dedicated House, Skip to my Lou
Married Filing Jointly,  Home Coming,  The Princess and Her Cowboys

Tuesday
Not Just a Housewife, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia,  Sugar Bee Crafts,  New Nostalgia,  It's your Life,    Get Your Crap Together  ,  BeBetsy,  Fluster Buster

Wednesday
Clean and Scentsible, Lady Behind the Curtain.  Family Home and Life,  Ducks n a Row,  VMG206.  Herrban Momma

Thursday
Bloom,  Two Yellow Birds Decor,  The Busy B's,  The Taylor House.  52 Mantels,  Domesblissity,  Redfly Creations,   4 You With Love,  Sweet Haute

Friday 
Lil’ Luna,,  Tatertots and Jello,  Five Simple Things,  Craftionary,  Diana Rambles,    I Heart Nap Time

Saturday 
Angels Homestead,  Positively Splendid,   Or So She Says ,  Your Homebased Mom ,  What's Cooking with Ruthie

read more

Kitchen Cabinet Makeover - Part 3

Last week you saw us plan out our cabinet makeover and then as I said at the end of the post, we've been working on the cabinet doors.  Not only did we change the whole look of the doors, we also changed the number of doors from what we had.  Where there were two doors in some places, there is now only one door.

This little collection of doors is almost all of them, two of them were already painted by this time and didn't get to be in the picture.  We realized after we were done assembling all the doors that these "new" cabinets are truly custom for sure!  There are no two cabinet doors the same size. Is that bad? LOL!

We wanted a shaker style door so my honey went to the internet to see how to build them.  There were several different methods.  I also founds lots of ideas on Pinterest...of course I did! Ha ha!  My honey chose to use a Dado blade to make the grooves and then connected them with little wooden biscuits he made.  I'm not really sure, but I think he put two different methods together to suit what we needed to do.  In the end it worked out well for us and they are very sturdy!

When we assembled all the pieces together, we made sure to use plenty of wood glue to assure a good strong hold.  The pieces were a tight fit so my honey used the rubber mallet to tap them into place. 

Next we made sure they were all square and then we put a clamp on them until the glue dried.

And just for a little extra assurance (maybe a little overkill, but it makes us feel better) he added a few nails to each corner where the biscuits joined the two pieces of wood.  This was done on the backside of the doors only.

Wood filler is your friend!  Next I filled all the holes and extra spaces with Elmer's wood filler.  I found that to get a good smooth look, you just keep pushing the filler into the hole until it doesn't accept anymore.  Let it dry and then sand smooth.

The next step was painting.  I'm using the same mushroom colored paint I used in the laundry room.  This took me a while because I had to paint one side and let it dry really well and then flip the door over and paint the other side, let that dry and then paint all the edges.  Each door gets two coats of paint, so that's LOTS of steps! I still have to add the stain and sealer! Sheesh!

Although building these doors took lots of steps, we love how they turned out and it was well worth the amount of time it took to complete them.  We're saving the final look for later...sorry!  Hopefully the next time you see our kitchen it will be closer to being done than it is now.  We have a long way to go!

It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!

I'm Linking to:

Sunday
Under the Table and Dreaming by Stephanie Lynn, The Self Sufficient Home Acre , The Chicken Chick,  Sew Can Do 

Monday
Craft-O-Maniac, Between Naps on the Porch, DIY Home Sweet Home , Keeping it  Simple , The Dedicated House, Skip to my Lou
Married Filing Jointly,  Home Coming,  The Princess and Her Cowboys

Tuesday
Not Just a Housewife, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia,  Sugar Bee Crafts,  New Nostalgia,  It's your Life,    Get Your Crap Together  ,  BeBetsy,  Fluster Buster

Wednesday
Lil’ Luna, Clean and Scentsible, Lady Behind the Curtain.  Family Home and Life,  Ducks n a Row,  VMG206

Thursday
 Bloom,  Two Yellow Birds Decor,  The Busy B's,  The Taylor House.  52 Mantels,  Domesblissity,  Redfly Creations,   4 You With Love

Friday 
Tatertots and Jello,  Five Simple Things,  Craftionary,  Diana Rambles

Saturday 
Angels Homestead,  Positively Splendid,  I Heart Nap Time,  Or So She Says ,  Your Homebased Mom ,  What's Cooking with Ruthie 

read more

Kitchen Cabinet Makeover - Part 2

As I was saying last week, we are a lot closer to painting the cabinets.  However, before we got to that point, my honey did lots of planning to get the set of cabinets over the stove area just right to house the 30" wide microwave.

These are his plans, not professional, but very helpful to him.  Remember, he used our existing cabinets and cut them down to fit our needs.  This was lots of work for rookies!

The section of cabinetry that's missing above was basically all one piece.  It was a booger-bear to get down, but we did it without harm to us or our "beautiful" stove top, wouldn't want to hurt that little lovely! Ha!

Talk about recycling!  He took all the cabinets apart, piece by piece, trying not to damage the wood in the process.  Using his well thought out plans, he cut each piece to size.

Then, one by one, he started reassembling them to get ready for hanging again.  There are so many steps and lots of measuring for each cabinet, this equals lots of time of course.

Remember back HERE when we showed you how we built the corner cabinet?  Well, that was the basis for all the rest of the cabinets that still had to be re-worked and rehung, so we got it up first.

Then we hung the cabinet that is to the right of the sink, but to the left of the corner cabinet.  This is where we found out that our walls are not standing up straight and true!  We had to use our level and some shims to get a true straight fit.  Now we were prepared for the big set of cabinets over the stove.

Onward to the final piece of the puzzle. This is where the plans came into play. Everything had to be a perfect fit so the cabinets would accept the microwave's 30 inch wide greatness!  See the plug cover peeking out from the cabinet my honey is holding? Keep reading!

A little side story: We save lots of stuff for "just in case" and this time it came in handy and saved me from a trip to Lowe's.  I am fond of the over sized switch plates which is all we had in the "new" white version. The outlet for the microwave plug-in would not take one of the larger plates, so I improvised!  I took an old yellowed plate cover we had saved and painted it with bright white paint made just for plastic. Problem solved, pennies saved! YAY!

Here's our progress for now.  All the upper cabinets are hung, primed and ready for doors and paint.  We are working on the doors now.  We chose a shaker style door with bead board inserts.  My honey is building them from scratch...he's cool like that!

It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!

I'm Linking to:

Sunday
Under the Table and Dreaming by Stephanie Lynn, The Self Sufficient Home Acre , The Chicken Chick,  Sew Can Do 

Monday
Craft-O-Maniac, Between Naps on the Porch, DIY Home Sweet Home , Keeping it  Simple , The Dedicated House, Skip to my Lou
Married Filing Jointly,  Home Coming,  The Princess and Her Cowboys

Tuesday
Not Just a Housewife, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia,  Sugar Bee Crafts,  New Nostalgia,  It's your Life,    Get Your Crap Together  ,  BeBetsy,  Fluster Buster

Wednesday
Lil’ Luna, Clean and Scentsible, Lady Behind the Curtain.  Family Home and Life,  Ducks n a Row,  VMG206

Thursday
 Bloom,  Two Yellow Birds Decor,  The Busy B's,  The Taylor House.  52 Mantels,  Domesblissity,  Redfly Creations,   4 You With Love

Friday 
Tatertots and Jello,  Five Simple Things,  Craftionary,  Diana Rambles

Saturday 
Angels Homestead,  Positively Splendid,  I Heart Nap Time,  Or So She Says ,  Your Homebased Mom ,  What's Cooking with Ruthie 

read more