The Kitchen Is Finished (Almost)

Who's ready for summer??  My goodness I sure am!  It's March and there is snow on the ground here and I just find the whole thing ridiculous.  Bring on the flip flops and warm weather already.

Well, I have finally finished the kitchen updates.  At least I have finished my parts.  I say that because the kitchen still has maroon countertops.  When we move out of this house my parents are going to update the countertops with one of those kits and put in a new sink.  It's best to wait until we are no longer in the house so the countertops do not get messed up and they'll look new for when they sell the house. 

So for now just imagine the countertops white with gray mixed in there.  Let's start with the ugly before pictures.

I had already started painting when I remembered to take a before picture.  These are real wood cabinets.  Not the cheap builder grade cabinets.  After years of use they were just gross and dirty. 

The cabinets above the stove have always been in the way when trying to carry on a conversation with someone sitting at the bar.  You would have to bend down to see them and talk.  It was just annoying and weird. 

After much convincing and begging to my mom she finally let us take down the cabinets above the stove.  Our plan was to take the cabinet on the far left and move it beside the cabinet on the far right. 

This is the view from the other side of the cabinets.  See how they were just blocking everything off.  Piece by piece we tore down the cabinets.

Holy wow!  What a difference it made by taking the cabinets down.  Yes, we lost a little bit of cabinet space but it is worth it for the openness it gives to this small kitchen.

Are you ready for the after pictures?

Now all the light from the bay window shines in and you can speak to someone without bending down to look at them. 

I painted all the upper cabinets just plain ol' regular white.  The bottom cabinets are painted in Light French Gray from Sherwin Williams.  I also painted the window ledge white to match the cabinets.  I will paint the wood in front of the bar stools but that will be done shortly before we move as well.  I don't want the boys kicking and scratching up the paint. 

Did you notice the lighting was different too?  We took the bronze light fixture in the center of the kitchen and moved it to another spot in the house.  The brass light fixture over the sink was turned into a recessed light and we added more recessed lights over the bar and in the kitchen area.  Now there's 7 lights in this area instead of just 2. 

To save money I spray pained all the knobs and handles brushed nickel on the cabinets.  I had planned on painting the hinges as well but they were beyond gross so we replaced them all.

That about does it for this room.  Now on to the next project.  We still need to paint all the doors and trim, paint bathroom cabinets in both bathrooms, paint the walls in the boys room, and paint the mantel around the fireplace. 

I better get busy!