A Kitchen Transformed

I’m so excited to show you all an actual decorating post today!  It’s one I am very proud of!!

My Mom and Dad had a little problem back in August that turned into a pretty big redo.  The refrigerator they had broke and needed  to be replaced immediately.  The problem was that the fridge was inset in the wall surrounded by cabinets on both sides and when the house was built in the early 80’s refrigerators were a lot smaller! Once I stopped by to look at the options I suggested a few more cabinet tear outs that turned into a pretty big deal! Sorry Dad!! I know it was pricey. Your welcome Mom!!

The kitchen was stuck in a bit of an 80’s time warp. Here are some of the before pictures.

You can in the top two photos how the fridge was sandwiched between cabinets on the right and a wall & desk area on the left.  The easiest solution was to bump out the wall and loose the desk and cabinets on the left side and since there would demo work I suggested that the upper cabinets over the bar area be taken down to open the kitchen up.  It meant losing some cabinet space, but it would make the room feel bigger.  My Mom wanted to paint the cabinets anyway so now was the time.

Once they bought that I really got going and suggested that since the bar cabinets would come down pendant lights were necessary, and if you are going to add lights you should replace that fluorescent light and add a light over the sink as well.  And then of course since the ceiling was a popcorn ceiling we all thought that should be scraped and repainted.  Of course with all these changes new wall paint would be in order and maybe just maybe new countertops, which lead to a tile backsplash, and a new sink.  It was all worth it! Check out the after photos! 

Wow! What a difference!  Lighter, brighter and bigger.  I love it, the colors, the tile and I really LOVE the granite.  Oh and that new refrigerator is HUGE! It is truly a transformed kitchen. 

My Mom and Dad did most of the painting themselves and they had some help with the cabinetry work and installation of the lighting.  It was a long process but worth it, they got it all finished just before Christmas.

Take a closer look at the changes.

Over the sink the cut out at the top of the window was removed and replaced with a more modern look.

Obviously they bought a new fridge in stainless steel and added an over the stove microwave since the last one sat on the countertop, freeing more space.

New lighting to replace the fluorescent light as well as adding pendant lights over the bar and sink.

And notice that beautifully scraped ceiling…Why on earth was sprayed popcorn ceiling ever popular? Why?!?

My Mom was 100% sure about two things throughout this process.  She wanted blue/aqua colored cabinets on the bottom and she loved the glass tile as soon as she saw it.  Everything else took some convincing ;)

New cabinet hardware was added to match the finish on the new lights.

For the new tile backsplash this area is where they now use the coffee maker.  It is a good space for a bar area, buffet, or coffee station for everyday and we wanted to do something special with the tile and show more of the glass here. 

For the majority of the backsplash we used a white 3x6 with glass as the accent.

Check out that granite!  It is called Vintage and it is gorgeous!

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We also painted some furniture for the new space.  They have a bakers rack and we thought it would look better to update it with a new coat of spray paint and some chalk paint.

The contractor made some wood shelves to replace the glass shelves they had and we stained these a dark walnut.  The paint used was ASCP in Duck Egg.

We also painted a table my Mom found at a thrift store that had been used as a work table we think, it was pretty beat up but after she applied Bondo it was ready to paint.

We used ASCP in Old White for the base and Graphite (with dark wax) for the top.

Just this past weekend she scored a deal at Marshalls on some chairs and so now the set is complete.

I didn’t really take a good picture on the before and after of the breakfast nook but it looks a lot different too.  They added bead board wallpaper and chair rail molding in the whole kitchen and you can really see a big chunk in this space.

It was really fun to see my childhood kitchen change.  It looks so great and I can’t wait to see all the final touches my Mom puts into it.  She has some pictures to hang and is planning on new bar stools eventually but it really has come a long way!  Bravo!!

 

Material Sources:

Lighting: Lowes Home Improvement, Allen & Roth

Cabinet Paint: Top, Behr Swiss Coffee  Bottom, Benjamin Moore Gossamer Blue

Cabinet Hardware: Lowes Home Improvement, Allen & Roth

Wall Color: Benjamin Moore Bleeker Beige

Trim Paint: Behr Swiss Coffee

Bead Board Wallpaper: Lowes Home Improvement, Allen & Roth

Granite: Cosmos Granite, color Vintage

Backsplash Tile: Best Tile, 3x6 white crackle subway & Martini Glass in Matte Finish

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How do you like these lighter colors?  What have you done to update your kitchens?

 

April