Little kitchen remodel, or if you give a mouse a cookie

Birthday Bear arrived at my door the night before my birthday bearing goodies from Mrs. Fields via Glen Jay who had something very nice printed on the card.

(It's on my bulletin board if you want to check it out on your next visit.)

My birthday came this year right in the middle of a kitchen in disarray for two weeks so that it might shed some of it's old age. My friend told me that any remodel is a bit like the book, "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie." She was right! Mouse joined Birthday Bear for a cookie so . . .

If you find the perfect sink at Ikea, that means that you will have to reconfigure the cabinet so the sink will fit. It will also need two sheets of underlayment to make it work out.

But that's okay because the counter was a bit low for all the tall people when you put in the wood floor 8 years ago.

If you add two layers of underlayment, then you will have to stain some molding to cover the gap where the bull nose edge on the new counter top will not cover.

It will take a careful mixing of two different stain colors to get just the right match and you will need to borrow a miter saw and your daughter's husband to install the molding.

If you find the perfect Silestone counter top, also at Ikea, price check because it might be $11 less per square foot at Home Depot. They will special order a sample so that you can make sure it is indeed the one that will make you very happy. BUT when you walk down the tile row at Home Depot you just might see the perfect glass tile trim to match your sample which will look fabulous with the amazing sink.

Of course, you can not paint over old wallpaper, so that will require an afternoon of peeling and spraying diluted vinegar water until the old wallpaper is all gone.

You must then go shopping for the perfect paint to go with the wonderful glass tile which you will finally find at Lowe's. Of course, it takes two coats, a base and a glaze to get the wanted effect.

You will also realize that the old switches and switch plates will just not do with new counter tops.

If you are getting new switch plates, they should be brushed nickel so that they look fabulous with the new kitchen faucet which also looks fabulous with the amazing sink that you found at Ikea.