Before and After - Kitchen

We have had a mini kitchen makeover in the works for awhile.  We have been living in this house for about six years, and the kitchen, literally, started falling apart.  We would love to rip it out and start over again, but decided to just paint, tidy things up, and install some new hardware until we can save up for a full reno.  This was done over a period of years - it took ages.  We painted the cupboards about a year after we moved in, and then had a new sink and countertop installed a few months ago.  Anyhow, without further ado, here is the after....

This photo was taken from the exact same angle.  The Chinese lantern was a gift from our neighbors when they went to New York.  We have it there to distract from the horrible lighting fixture that we haven't got replaced yet.  As you can see, there are still a couple of little jobs left to do (naked plugs need a cover!) but overall, a big improvement.  Oh - and I almost forgot to talk about the floor!  Those are peel and stick tiles.  They are not the typical shiny vinyl ones though - they are a bit thicker and have a duller finish.  Kind of a fake slate.  My mom and I installed those over a weekend.  I didn't want to take the quarter round up - so it was torture!  We had to try to cut the tiles to fit exactly.  My advice - take up the quarter round.

 Here are the open pantry shelves.  I love having all of my flours and things visible.  I keep adding jars as I get more grains.  The "backsplash" is paintable wallpaper.  I painted it semi-gloss white, and then painted it with a special roller that only paints the raised bits.  I painted it to match the walls in Martha Stewart's "Spring Melt" paint from Home Depot.  I am planning to trim out the edges with some white trim - but I haven't got around to that yet.  It is surprisingly wipeable when I've splashed things on it.

This is the stove area.  Previously, the fridge and stove were just kind of "floating", so I rescued an old steel lab table from the University where I work and painted it white.  We have a lot of bottles and cans stored under it, and the large basket in front holds things like foil and plastic wrap.  The old laundry cart is our recycling station - I put papers and bottles in the wire baskets underneath.  The chalkboard wall is always the first thing people comment on when they come in - we use it to write shopping lists, menus and "welcomes" to friends that come by for a visit.

 

We put these little floating shelves up above the stove to store odds and ends - pretty things that I don't want to keep tucked away.  

This is the area above my dishwasher where I keep some of my cookbooks (yes, this is just some of the collection!) and our fruit bowl with it's little wicker hat.  The cookbooks are where the previous owners had their microwave, but I vehemently anti-microwave (I know, it's weird - but don't even get me started), so we use this nook for cookbookery.  As you can see, there is a sneak peek into the dining room, which I'll talk about in an upcoming post.  

All in all, I'm happy with the improvements to the kitchen.  Looking at the before, I'm amazed at how far we've come!  But - there is still room for improvement.  Because I love to cook so much , I need a space that is a bit more functional with more storage and a better work triangle.  But, this will come with time.