Splintering spindles was the first step to making our home feel like we were breathing life back into her. There was a lot of sadness in her past and in the lives of the previous owners, but we are determined to make her smile once again. One step toward that was giving the kitchen a facelift.
It became necessary to paint once we splintered the spindles in the wall dividing the kitchen and dining room. Ben warned me that the fallout of removing the spindles would be like a snowball rolling downhill. And away we go...
Usually I have to tell the whole story and get you baited before showing the final product, but I couldn't wait this time! Now this is just cosmetic. Same countertops, same appliances, and same flooring. But it's still a huge breath of fresh air. Plans down the road will lead to bigger and better changes, but we just bought a house, so we're plum out of cash.
Different angle. Like how I left the 'before' picture looking like a hurricane (typically I'd say tornado, but we live in Florida now) went through? Well, funny you should say that because one did tease us right in the middle of painting. I was positive it would sweep us away after I finished painting the last back breaking angle.
And one more angle.
When family and friends would ask what color I was painting my kitchen I braced myself to say, brown, dark brown. Most people did the stuttered, "Oh ... I can't picture it, but I'm sure it will be nice." I couldn't really picture it either, but I kept seeing photos of dark brown walls with cream everywhere else. No, none of those pictures were of kitchens, and yes, that made me nervous, but no, I didn't change my mind. I got worried after we painted the walls and Ben came in and said, "Why is it so dark in here?" Uh oh.
Things got a lot better and brighter when I started painting the cabinets. First, we took down all the doors and pulled out the drawers. Then I painted just the fronts of the cabinets because this is a cosmetic upgrade, not a forever upgrade. We'll pull out all the stops next time.
I sanded the fronts of the cabinets slightly before painting, but didn't dedicate any real time to it. I've read both ways of doing it online, so I think it depends on what your cabinets are made out of. Also, a helpful tip, put your cabinets in the same order as they are in the kitchen. Some of our doors would only go back on to their original locations.
The hardest part for me was picking out new hardware. We have 46(!) cabinets in our kitchen! 46! That meant my budget for hardware was about $0.75 a handle. They don't make nice handles for $0.75. They make ridiculous handles for $80 if you are into 14k gold plated ones or the $95 ones I found bedazzled with Swarovzki crystals. And I thought we broke the budget when we splurged on utility pulls. They may not be dazzling, but I love them! Bay did, too.
We still have a few small details we want to implement soon like curtains over the window and a backsplash. My dad is visiting soon and said he'd put one in for me (he lays tile for a living)! I told him he wasn't supposed to do that on his vacation, but he said he wanted to. Best dad ever! I'll be sure to post pictures of that project as well.
Thoughts on how to make the black appliances not POP so much (and don't say buy new ones)? What do you think should be Ben and I's next big project? We're thinking a gut-it-and-make-it-new project :) Name a room in the house and we're probably going to breath a little soul into it as well.
Keep it pretty,
Karina
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