the kitchen before.

so tomorrow is like christmas at our house.  or i shall clarify, it's christmas for me.  i seriously doubt whether the girls, andy or either of the cats are as thrilled as i am.

let's start at the beginning...

 
this is my kitchen.  my very small kitchen.  my very small kitchen that's still bigger than my even smaller kitchen that i had in our previous house. 

this is the room that i spend the most time in.  each day.  every day.  when i'm bored, you'll find me here making something.  after having children, a good portion of my day is spent preparing meals and making snacks.

but as much as i love being in the kitchen, i don't actually love the space.  but little by little, it's coming along.  there's a fine line to making it an awesome space and making it a great place that will make a good impression on future buyers in a couple of years. 

tomorrow, my vision is coming one step closer to reality as a new range and dishwasher are being delivered.  beyond excited.  we replaced the fridge to a stainless model the year before C was born as an anniversary gift to each other.  the microwave was switched out a couple years later.  so these two appliances are the last ones to make the switch.

then the appliances got the ball rolling on other projects that will hopefully soon take place.  that green wall will soon become a slate blue grey.  (which means i'll need some type of new print to write our weekly menu on.)

the right side of the kitchen.  sianara old range.  i'm happy to say i found it a new home via craigslist.  i wanted to insure that it wasn't going to the dump as it is in great condition and works really well.  that space between the counter and the upper cabinets?  soon to be a tiled backsplash.  perhaps as soon as after this weekend thanks to my dear husband and my even dearer father-in-law.  (i think he likes my home improvement ideas as much as my husband does most days but is always willing to go along for the ride.)  thinking i'm going to spray paint the "eat" on the soffit with silver spray paint that i know i have from a previous project.

this is the beautiful FIVE burner range that should be installed by tomorrow afternoon.  it has a number of nifty features i can't wait to put through their paces.

and this would be the left side of the kitchen.  with more of the cabinets that will soon be painted a shade of grey.  oh how i adore grey.  we're still discussing what we're doing with those laminate countertops.  in my dream world, i'd go with quartz or concrete.  i'm 99% sure that's not happening.  maybe one day.  so i'm still mulling ideas.  another idea from my dream world?  replacing the floor with wood.

and the beautiful dishwasher that my dynamic duo of husband and father-in-law are slated to install this weekend.  it's a nod to the old days pre-children where we'd always have some type of job slated for andy's dad to help him with when they visited.  did you know they put in french doors where there was once only a window in our old houes?  and then built a deck to walk out on?  yes, i know i'm a very lucky girl.

so that's the before of everything that's going on.  feels good to be putting my interior design degree to work! 

Comments

[sarah]

hooray for a kitchen make over! i keep wishing my avocado green oven/range will croak and i'll get a new white one (i rent)...two years in and it's still very much alive (darn it.)

can't wait to see the new fun colors - it will be fabulous!

also? we're mixer twins. mine is black too, and at an angle to the left of my oven :)

[emily (justem)]

that is super exciting! :) we are getting a new mattress here today. funny how as you get older the things that excite you start to really change! ;)

[Carrie]

I totally feel the same way about finally getting some of my design sense moving, even if most of it is imaginary at this point.

I like the ideas that you have going on there! I hadn't realized that you use a print for your menu list. Do you use a dry erase marker on acrylic?

I think the one thing that I would have qualms about is painting the cabinetry. They look like they are oak? I guess my reluctance comes from dealing with painted woodwork all over my house. You can only add so many layers before you have to strip everything down. Would applying a different stain get you towards a similar feel? I guess its six one way, half a dozen the other. Still takes work to get done. Painting is probably the faster way to change the looks of your cabinets!

And for the countertop - I recently saw an ad for a rustoleum product to change the appearance of the counter top. Kind of like paint, I guess, but specifically for counter surfaces. Perhaps an option if Andy's not ready to go all out with new counters? Perhaps a stainless steel sink is in your future, too....

I look forward to seeing the work in progress!

[kate]

Well hey, now THAT is exciting :) And why not on the quartz? Your space is a size that shouldn't be a budget blower!!! And then tile up the backsplash after that. Yehaw on the new appliances, that's better than Christmas for me too :)

[brandi]

very excited for you! and, yes, still bigger than your last kitchen, for sure. ;) I know THAT for a fact!

[Polly]

Hi Melanie, I agree....that IS like Christmas! Our kitchen is similarly sized, and when we changed over to stainless appliances, I felt so...Food Networky. I know how exciting it is. Have a blast!

[susan weinroth]

we are in the process of slowly converting appliances too. you are WAY ahead of us tho, as we only have the dishwasher done here. ;) i cant wait to see your tile backsplash - that is on my dreamlist of home improvement projects as we have fugly fruit tiles now adorning our kitchen walls. :) and yes - can also SO relate to the 'slated projects' - sometimes eric and i marvel at what we used to be able to accomplish!!!

[Herb Koguchi]

A kitchen makeover is just one of the biggest things to happen in a house, especially for us who stay there for most of the day. I can't wait to see how your project turns out! It's about time to give your "happy place" its well-deserved transformation. All thanks to your design genius, your husband and your father-in-law.