We moved to a new house about 2 years ago. I love the house, it is a 250 yr old colonial. The house itself fits us and our lifestyle. But then there was the kitchen.
The previous owner put in a very green 1990's kitchen. It fit her and her lifestyle but not the house. Dark cherry cabinets, dark green and gold striped wallpaper, hunter green countertops, a huge gilded mirror on one wall, an extra large dark light fixture over the narrow table that was twice the size of the table and we constantly hit our shoulders on it, the token bit of black granite on the too large for the space island in the middle of it all. The island was so large that when you opened the dishwasher it touched the island. When they designed this kitchen they forgot some basics like insulation. Also the skylight shines sun right onto the fridge which not only blinds you when you go to open it but makes the fridge work harder. We would love to gut it but that is out of the budget for now.
About 2 months ago I pulled out the mirror and started painting the walls a bright yellow. I still have to paint the trim but it makes such a difference. My mom came and said "gee your kitchen looks bigger". My husband then admitted the painting was worth it. Up until then he was like "why bother we plan to gut it". Yeah in like 5 years. He is at work all day, I stare at the kitchen.
We then sold the very large light fixture and bought something to fit the age and style of the house. Something small that no one runs into. I also realized with a couple of modifications the kitchen could be more useable. It took me a month to convince DH to go for it but finally this weekend we did.
We pulled out the floor to ceiling built in pantry cabinet in the corner and put that into the mudroom. We cut the granite overhang off the island and moved the island and granite into that corner. This makes the room appear larger without a heavy floor to ceiling cabinet there. Plus more counter space. I am also half pushing for a window there so I can look out at my horses. That may be pushing it because once DH breaks into a wall he will not want to stop. So I took a sharpie and drew a window with my barn on the wall for now
Then we hauled our old island into the house. It is a plain wood island that is narrow and long. It is a piece of furniture I love and have used in our last 2 homes. I have missed it. It is also much taller then a normal counter so I do not have to bend over things when making dinner. (DH & I are tall) We put it in the kitchen longwise and it really makes the kitchen look much longer. This all took a lot more work then it sounds and I still have slurry splashes on the wall from the granite cutting. DH also installed an ice maker line to the fridge and it broke overnight and I will just say the floor is very clean
When all was said and done the kitchen looks completely different. Brighter, larger, easier to get around in. It feels more like an old colonial in there with a more mismatched unfinished look. My 8 yr old son actually walked into the room and commented on how much nicer it looked.
I had to share as I am very excited
The previous owner put in a very green 1990's kitchen. It fit her and her lifestyle but not the house. Dark cherry cabinets, dark green and gold striped wallpaper, hunter green countertops, a huge gilded mirror on one wall, an extra large dark light fixture over the narrow table that was twice the size of the table and we constantly hit our shoulders on it, the token bit of black granite on the too large for the space island in the middle of it all. The island was so large that when you opened the dishwasher it touched the island. When they designed this kitchen they forgot some basics like insulation. Also the skylight shines sun right onto the fridge which not only blinds you when you go to open it but makes the fridge work harder. We would love to gut it but that is out of the budget for now.
About 2 months ago I pulled out the mirror and started painting the walls a bright yellow. I still have to paint the trim but it makes such a difference. My mom came and said "gee your kitchen looks bigger". My husband then admitted the painting was worth it. Up until then he was like "why bother we plan to gut it". Yeah in like 5 years. He is at work all day, I stare at the kitchen.
We then sold the very large light fixture and bought something to fit the age and style of the house. Something small that no one runs into. I also realized with a couple of modifications the kitchen could be more useable. It took me a month to convince DH to go for it but finally this weekend we did.
We pulled out the floor to ceiling built in pantry cabinet in the corner and put that into the mudroom. We cut the granite overhang off the island and moved the island and granite into that corner. This makes the room appear larger without a heavy floor to ceiling cabinet there. Plus more counter space. I am also half pushing for a window there so I can look out at my horses. That may be pushing it because once DH breaks into a wall he will not want to stop. So I took a sharpie and drew a window with my barn on the wall for now
Then we hauled our old island into the house. It is a plain wood island that is narrow and long. It is a piece of furniture I love and have used in our last 2 homes. I have missed it. It is also much taller then a normal counter so I do not have to bend over things when making dinner. (DH & I are tall) We put it in the kitchen longwise and it really makes the kitchen look much longer. This all took a lot more work then it sounds and I still have slurry splashes on the wall from the granite cutting. DH also installed an ice maker line to the fridge and it broke overnight and I will just say the floor is very clean
When all was said and done the kitchen looks completely different. Brighter, larger, easier to get around in. It feels more like an old colonial in there with a more mismatched unfinished look. My 8 yr old son actually walked into the room and commented on how much nicer it looked.
I had to share as I am very excited
