THE KITCHEN: PHASE 1
I posted in Goals for 2012 that we will be updating our kitchen this year with a very small budget. Ya’ll know that I am all about getting high impact for next to nothing. Well, we are four months into 2012 (how did that happen?) & progress is being made one cabinet at a time. Literally. One cabinet is getting painted during nap times & in between other projects. This might drive some people crazy… but it seems to be working for us so far. Two down. Four to go. Luckily, for the painting aspect, our kitchen is tiny. It is an old, awkward galley kitchen that has to work for us. While I would love to rip everything out & start again, that just isn’t going to happen. This update is mostly involving paint, paint, hardware, paint, accessories, did I mention paint!? But seriously, I hope to show you throughout this process how much paint & hardware can do.
So here is the real life, dishes on the counter, letters on the dishwasher before picture. I am human.
The majority of our cabinets are white-ish… they need a new coat after who knows how many years. The upper cabinets are a dark charcoal gray. I did that the week we moved in as a temporary solution, & here it is five years later. You might also notice where we painted around things & later moved them exposing the lovely blue shade that was existing. That has been driving me CRAZY! Another thing that you can’t see is the fact that our cabinets have a life of their own. They open when they want, decide to hang to the right some days… so needless to say, everyone will be getting new hinges. Our laminate counter top is fine. At least it’s a neutral gray. Would I want stone or a quartz top? Yes. But again we are working with what we’ve got. Same with the back splash. It’s fine. But the coloration of the mosaic tile is a little blue for my personal preference. & I am not even going to discuss our mini blind situation. That will be remedied.
Well here is the game plan…
Paint: Mostly white. It’s light, it’s bright, it’s clean. There will be touches of gray & a pop of yellow.
Hardware: I’m jumping on the Antiqued Brass train. This is not the polished brass of the 80’s & 90’s. Yes, it is trendy right now, but it is also classic. It is warming up the kitchen & bringing in a bit of unexpected glamour. I am loving the idea of bringing some campaign hardware into our kitchen. I love me some campaign hardware!
Here is a sneak peek… The open cabinets have been painted & are now adorning their corner braces. It instantly added purpose to our open shelving, which before just looked like cabinets with the doors taken off.
Lighting: Well, this is another area I am working on. Due to the height of our ceilings & the layout of our kitchen all we are left with is the option of a flushmount. & you know how I feel about those boob lights. I have a couple of crazy (& not so crazy) ideas going around in my head… But for $13.99 (on sale) I am toying with the idea to add a pendant over the sink. $13.99 people!
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| { Home Depot } |
Similar to my dream kitchen… Oh, I would move in tomorrow if I could.
| { Image via Nest Egg } |
This is the plan. For now. If you need me I’ll be slowly painting our cabinets for the next few months π
I found your blog through a friend who pinned your "how to" on reupholstering a chair. LOVE IT! And it makes me feel like less of a freak when I see you say that the little things (Painting around stuff…things not matching, etc) drive you crazy–I'm the same way. Can't wait to see the kitchen redone. We just did our living room and I'm working away on the post….feels good to have it DONE!
OK! So LOVE the light fixture! Do they have that in brushed nickel or something similar? Sort of over my salad bowl light fixture in the kitchen…I have a vaulted ceiling, so I can support a light like this. And when you're done with your kitchen cabinets, you can head on up to Kennesaw and paint mine! I want to paint mine sort of a putty color, and paint the walls either a goldish brown, or maybe light blue. Thinking the light blue will look better with the putty, but am painting the living and dining light blue, so want to do something different in the kitchen. Might get you to come out here one day and give me a few tips on colors, light fixtures, etc. I really do value your opinion a lot, and think you might put me on the right track!
New follower, excited to see the final result. I love where you're going with this!!
I love your inspiration photos, and give you credit for having the patience to do it one cabinet at a time. ;-). I repainted our kitchen cabinets last year, and it was a labor of love, let me tell you. But I love the end result – so totally worth it. I used an HVLP spray gun, which fortunately, made the process a bit faster, although I spent a lot of time watching paint dry. π