It looks like HOME! A fresh spiffed up home at that. I love the tea room, the rooster plates, Sean helping out, the range with the cake on it, Grandma cabinets for sure, and most of all, the family gathering!!!

At last we'll be seeing more photos from you. :)

Well done Drema !

Drema, it look super! I love the '40s wallpaper, too... I know just what you meant when you said you wondered how it used to look. :)

Sean is long drink of water, and you have so nice, high ceilings. I love your dishes, too...maybe you'll inspire me to get more of the cool stuff I have up on the walls and out of corrugated cardboard coffins.

We have a really nice compound mitre saw that scares the hell out of me. But I bet we could figure it out if we put our heads together.

It looks great! What a nice family-gathering place!

We have a 'manual' miter box and saw that works nicely. It's a wooden box that just has a bottom and two sides. It's about 12" long and maybe 6" wide. The sides have slits that line up at 45, 30/60 and 90 degree angles. There is a wide, flat saw that fits through the slits. You lay the piece of wood across the bottom of the box, align it with the angle you want to cut and then insert the saw. The box frame keeps the saw from straying and it's easy to cut the wood without endangering bits of your anatomy! Ours is a wooden version of the one linked below.

Here is a link that might be useful: miter box

Fabulous update Drema. I love the grandma cabinets and am so glad you kept them. They add so much character. It looks like a warm, wonderful family gather place. When we removed wallpaper from our office which was at one point the kitchen in the house we found about 7 layers and on was large red roosters, very cool. I'm guessing 1940's.

Michelle

We have the miter box like Woody's and it is a breeze to use...even for me! In fact, we also have a silly one which is used for slicing French Bread!

Thanks for the kind words guys. Skip said the angles are not standard, and that I can't do it.... I have the wood all stained waiting. I think the molding is going to grow it's leaves back before it gets up there. Maybe I should go to Michaels and buy one of those silk leaf traily things (can't remember what they are called, senior moment) and staple it up there before TGiving, lol. If he doesn't do something before Christmas, I am going to paint reindeer up there... He has been working like a crazy man ever since March when he got the new title.

It'll get done Drema! You know what they say, don't sweat the small stuff. That happy family of yours around the table trumps finished moulding any day. I understand what Skip's saying. In old, crooked houses, it takes lots of work to make things like moulding fit. I live in one too. Brad has one of those compound saws like Chelone mentioned. The ones in the wooden box aren't precise enough for my "skilled tradesman". I love your kitchen, exactly my style, warm, comfortable and homey. Great job!

Eden

Excellent link and thoughts of mitre boxes. The devil is in accurate meassurements and then keeping your wits about you and angling the cut the proper direction. Inaccuracies are the reason they invented fillers and painter's caulk. :) And "mood lighting"!

The noise of the power saws bothers me. Probably the ear plugs and some practice boards would make me less nervous around saws in general.

I like the grandma cabinets, too. They've seen some livin'and there is an "honest" air about them that says, "home". I'm glad you saved them, I would have, too. How cool to have old wallpaper to discover, what a fun way to uncover the style of your home over the years.

Oh, these are great pictures Drema, and I so wish I had your ambition for this kind of renovation! Love the cabinets...a Tea Room, how cool is that!?

I have to come back and take a closer look when my eyes aren't drooping from fresh air and exercise. Thanks for sharing!

Just perfect for your family, Drema! Caulk works wonderfully when mitre cuts don't, BTW. LOL What a job, but what satisfaction with having it done.

Martie

I have absolutely no advice to give, but I like what I see. I would call the Tea Room a Breakfast Nook. I used to collect plates, and have the tops of my kitchen cabinets lined with them. Many are antiques. There is no way I can get up there to tend to them, so they are in very bad need of cleaning.
As for grandma cabinets, I would like to have the one that my mother had. It was a cabinet base and a cupboard top, with a flour bin in the cabinet. I have no idea what became of it.

What a great job, Drema!!! The first word that came to mind was "refreshing"!

I always want to know what old wallpaper looked like when it was new in the room, too. My last house was last decorated in 1968 and the owner kept house immaculately - it was like a museuem in the bathroom with the flower power wallpaper :)

Saucy

thanks for the nice comments everyone.

Saucy, when we moved in, the foyer had tulips as tall as me which were purple and yellow. the carpet was purple and green shag... yep.Perfectly color coordinated. No idea where they found it. Bathroom had flocked wallpaper.

Marian, my grandmother had that same cabinet. It seems like it was called a Hoosier cabinet or something. I think it had a flour sifter build in or something. They made a lot of biscuits, so probably had to put in a 50 pound bag of flour. I learned how to make them from my mom and grandmas. No measuring, just know when they are right. Did you ever have blackberry jam, made quick on the stove? More like gravy. I loved it when I was a kid, and made some for Devin last year. He ate it up.

What a pretty makeover, Drema -- and such a great family kitchen and tea room. You're to be commended on pulling the show and tell togeher - almost as much work as doing the kitchen too, LOL. I too love those cabinets. I love collecting porcelain/china too -- it's a hard addiction to break (no pun...) -- I think the idea of a plate border is lovely.

--cindy

I like the painted ones where the MW oven is ,

This looks like a dream home and its really exciting to applying removable vinyl wall decals, stickers or appliques to walls can change the decor in an instant.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen Renovation Contractor

Love, love, love it Drema! what a huge amount of work! good for you the renovated Kitchen is warm, invting and beautiful!

Deanne