You can see a lot of "before" house pictures here to see what the entire house looked like before we did anything to it. I'll re-post some "before" kitchen photos though to show you where all the paint had to come in...
The two pictures above are even after we switched out the light fixtures over the island... I didn't get a great picture of the two HUGE chandeliers that used to be there except for this pic I snapped with my phone as Caleb and his dad were taking them down...
And the small eat-in area...
Soooo pumpkin orange and brownish/purple really weren't doing it for me... here's the now...
I choose black for the cabinets because I wasn't about to do four coats of white to try and cover the previous colors. Two coats of black did the trick! I also choose a flat black paint to get a matte look... maybe that wasn't very smart of me since semi gloss is traditionally used for cabinets. Only time will tell... right now my Norwex cloth wipes little marks off just fine.
I'm still a little unsure about the floors, I really don't like the color. Too reminiscent of the previous colors I guess. It's not in the budget to replace them, but maybe a heavy duty deck/porch paint? Some people think I'm crazy when I throw out that idea... again, time will tell.
I've constantly been on the hunt for a small antique table to put in this corner with two or three chairs. Hoping to hit that jackpot soon.
We had to do some cabinetry changes to get started... the previous owner had the dishwasher raised up so that you didn't have to bend over as far when loading and unloading. I wasn't a fan because it took away from useable counter space that I already don't have a ton of. So we lowered it down to normal height, which meant we needed to get a new counter top because the granite stopped and there was just a stainless steel counter over the dishwasher. Fine with me... I didn't really like the granite anyway. A local company made us a new cabinet for the opposite side of the dishwasher that matched the cabinets for about $150.
The new counters are birch butcher block from Ikea. I finished them with a coating called Waterlox that lots of other bloggers with Ikea counter's had used. I'm not sure I'd use it again... I would be interested to see what someone who just used the tung oil that Ikea sells thought about their finish and durability. The Waterlox is just a lot of work to apply and it does bring out a very warm tone in the wood {which I don't necessarily dislike}. But maybe since I have butcher block next to my sink it's necessary to use a Waterlox-like product, I don't know. It does cause liquid to "bead up" when it gets on the counter, which is good.
This picture really shows some of quirks of the cabinets, they definitely aren't perfect. There are also two styles of cabinetry in the kitchen. It has a very cottage-like, mismatch quality to it. This "reno" is all about embracing that and making it look as good as possible without replacing much. :) The drawer pulls and knobs are brass... duh. Who doesn't love brass right now?!
The pendants, also brassy, I bought long ago when we first moved in. Love them.
The sink is new, and no it's not under mount... obvi. An under mount sink would have meant really perfect cuts made in the butcher block {by us, we installed it ourselves, with help}, plus sanding the cut edges with a tool we don't have, and extra treatment of the Waterlox stuff... like 6 layers of it... so I read. No thanks, I think the over mount looks fine and putting it in with the counters was much easier!
The wall behind the sink desperately needs tile and open shelving... that's on the to-do list, maybe this summer! Once I have open shelving I can clear my counters off! Plus my everyday dishes are plain white, so they can go up there too!
 |
| the writing on my glass containers is a product of a long nap by Reid and a new chalk marker for myself :) |
I do love how some of my dishes stand out against the black...
One thing I desperately need to do is put fabric or something under the screen that is the top half of our pantry door. I mean...why? Why would a person make their pantry door see through...? Also, too bad I didn't organize my pantry before I took this picture. Real life people.
Well that's the progress folks...
Sources:
Wall paint color: BM Classic Gray {mixed in SW paint}
Trim paint color: SW Simply White
Cabinet pain color: BM Black Panther {mixed in SW paint}
Counters: Ikea birch butcher block
Brass hardware: Martha Stewart line at Home Depot {online}
Recipe box: Rifle Paper Co.
Brass Pineapple: antique
Stools in kitchen: antiques
White cast iron sink: Home Depot
Glass containers: Target & Hobby Lobby
Colored bowls: Anthropologie
Island pendants: Etsy
