Kitchen: Phase 2

The Hubby and I have now completed Phase 2 of our kitchen update. As you recall we left you with new countertops, some paint on the walls and hope, a whole lot of hope. As you can see, we have made some dramatic changes in both decor and now functionality.

I didn't realize how ugly the before was until we got going on this project. I designed the color palette for the before....Hubby is responsible for choosing the colors in the after. Let's face it, Hubby has much better taste than I do and I have no problem admitting that.


As you can see we painted the lower cabinets and added hardware, installed upper cabinets on both sides of the window, painted the window, installed new curtains, installed a new tile backsplash and installed the microwave into a hole we (meaning of course Hubby) cut into the wall.

Cutting the hole in the wall should have been an easy task, and I blocked out a 2 hour time frame from our busy day for it, but being that this house was built in 1921 and added on to numerous times there is no such thing as either standard lumber sizes or standard building materials. I often joke that this house was built from lumber that fell off the freight trains as they traveled through town. Our 2 foot, 2 hour hole it the wall took 5 1/2 hours. I know what you're thinking, what crazy person decides it's a good idea to cut a hole in a wall 24 hours before they're about to have a house full of company? I do. I had faith that Hubby could get it done...and he did!

Considering all that Hubby had to cut through-drywall, wallboard, a pine board and some paneling to get this done I think he did an amazing job! And yes, the cord hanging out there is a bit of an eyesore, but I have an electrician that will be coming to do some work at a later time and he can put an outlet on the back side of that wall which is the inside of a shelving area we store some of our many small appliances and Tupperware in. I have too much of both. Or at least that's what Hubby tells me.


You know you drink a LOT of coffee when you have dedicated a corner of your kitchen to it!

I fixed up our "Coffee Center" a bit by reusing the shelf that used to hold the microwave. I painted it with the same chalk paint as the lower cabinets and gave it several coats of wax.
See my KitchenAid mixer hiding out down there? During the holiday season the coffee center becomes the baking center which is why my canisters live on the built in shelf on the left.


Hidden behind the microwave wall is our laundry area:

As you see Hubby put up a wall cabinet. I hasten to call it a laundry "room" as it's just a little space on the inside service porch. See the built ins on the left of the upper photo-that's where I keep, hide, okay, HOARD my craft supplies so there was no room in there to put laundry soap, cleaning supplies, etc. We've only had the cabinet up for 2 days and I already love it to pieces! As for the Gingham Curtains, I've been hesitant to change them so I've decided to leave them for now. The new kitchen curtains I made have a tiny touch of gingham check in them so I'm using that to justify leaving the gingham ones up. Work with me on this, pleeeeaaaaase!!!

I took my daughter's suggestion and painted the fronts of my cabinets using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint using Pure White and clear wax. They came out looking not like brand new store bought cabinets, but more like a hand-crafted, hand-painted cabinet, which is the kind of look I was going for. When your house is pushing 100 years old, brand spanking new looking stuff can look a bit out of place, plus I like the more vintage look, it suits my personality better.

I have to say I am very happy with how it turned out. And yes, that is a package of Red Solo Cups on the counter, I always have them on hand...just in case a party breaks out! What? Like that never happens at your house? Okay, so they're really there to hide the fact that we haven't put the faceplates back over the outlets yet, as is the roll of paper towels. Hey, I had to stage for the photos so don't like judge me, okay!

There is still my food pantry to deal with, so there is a Phase 3 in the planning phases. It still looks like this:

What I really want to do is to frame it in and add shutter doors to match the utility closet, but my dear, sweet Hubby needs a rest after all the hard work he's already done. In the meantime I'll finish touching up the paint (I have a few "oopsies" that I didn't see until I had a kitchen full of company yesterday!), and hunt down a set of matching shutter doors- I think I saw some at the Habitat For Humanity Re-Store last time we were there. I love that place!

Hope you've enjoyed this makeover as much as I have! Watch for Phase 3 in the near future.

Until then,

Laters!

Updated to add: It occurred to me that I forgot to take photos of the new light fixtures we put in. Suffice to say they are flush, round and brushed nickel with bulbs in them! :-D I'll get the photos up when I have a chance...I'm such a blonde!