Friday, November 22, 2013

House Tour: Kitchen

I was on such a roll for awhile with my House Tour posts. I'd taken you through the foyer, the living room, the dining room, the sunroom and the family room.

Then I sort of pooped out. And, I've been feeling guilty and like a bad blogger.

So, today I'm alleviating my guilt and resurrecting the House Tour series with the next room, the kitchen.

This is how the kitchen looked when we bought our home six years ago...




It would have been a deal breaker if we didn't totally love the house.





At the time, we were living in a house where we had just made over the kitchen into a light, airy space with new appliances and granite countertops. So, dark wood, 20 year old appliances and floral wallpaper wasn't exactly on my wish list.




But I had fallen hard for this house, and knew that a few cosmetic changes would make a world of difference.


Here's what the kitchen looks like today...




I've written about our kitchen before, as it is a perfect example of the power of paint. The only changes we made to this room were removing the wallpaper and painting.




The walls were painted Sherwin Williams "Comfort Gray," and the wood trim was painted white to match the trim in the rest of the house.




We still have the dark wood cabinets, 20 year old appliances, and the barstools the previous owners left here :)


I've added a few accessories. I framed some of my favorite pics from my trip to Germany and France. I like to look at them while I'm cooking, and they serve a purpose of hiding wires… unless of course you're zooming in on them at eye-level to take a picture. Then they're not hiding the wires too well :)




I love having a table lamp on the kitchen counter. I picked this one up at Target. Our kitchen has about 800 canned lights, which is helpful for seeing what's on the stove or landing small aircraft, but sometimes I just want a soft light. If you don't have a lamp in your kitchen, I highly recommend it.

Maybe I'm strange, but the soft glow of lamplight makes me happy.




Our old farmhouse table stands up to all kinds of abuse. We've had it for more than 10 years, and it may have been the wisest investment ever. The kids have added lots of "character" to it over the years. If it ever starts looking too beat up, I lightly sand it and apply a little wax to the top and we're good to go for a few more years.




A new light fixture is on my wish list. I've never really been crazy about this one, but it hasn't been a priority.




We removed the carpet from the back stairway and stained the treads. We also painted the handrail black.




See that dinosaur in the island?...




Can't lie and say I love the stovetop. But, I have to say the Corian countertops have been a breeze to care for, and the simple white stands the test of time.





So, there's the kitchen for ya! A remodel will take place at some point in the future, but for now, it works for us. Even if it does take 30 minutes to boil a pot of water.

Thanks for coming along on the tour. I'll try to get the next room posted soon.

If you missed the other rooms in the House Tour, you can click on the links below:

Family Room
Sunroom
Dining Room
Living Room
Foyer

Have a super fab weekend!!

5 comments:

  1. I just like so much reading about your house and how far you've come. I find it interesting how back in the day, the way you bought it...was someone's DREAM....anyway...love the place!

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  2. Oh- The only thing I would have a problem with is the electic stovetop- I love my gas for cooking...and I am always cooking for a crew. Other than that I think the kitchen is really pretty...not that range top is NOT pretty, you understand!;>) Acrually, dark wood cabinets are making a return and I saw thenm in the showcase of homnes this year in about 60% of the homes....so-you are really AHEAD of the trend.

    The kitchen looks light and airy and that, to me, says a lot. Great job. I wish now I had put white countertops in- I wanted to and got talked out of them-xo Diana

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  3. You've created a warm and lovely kitchen for your family Carolyn. Can't beat that! :)

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  4. Carolyn, you have no idea how much your kitchen inspires me!!! The power of paint and wallpaper removal is unbelievable. I need to send your kitchen before and afters to my friends who are looking for a new home and are having a hard time seeing past the cosmetic issues. You have transformed your kitchen and your home and it is indeed a gem - I can see why you fell in love with it!

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  5. This turned out beautifully! I'm so glad you kept the original cabinets. Painted or not, I really like their unique style a lot! The paint color is perfect and really gave the room and whole new look! Hugs, leena

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