Well, its another snowy morning and I'm loving it!! Two days ago we were told there was an update for our delivery date but as of this morning it is still no earlier than 25 Feb. Yes, it may even be 1 March before our household goods are delivered. So in the meantime I am requesting your assistance...
See the kitchen is a bit bland for our tastes. I mean you all have seen my red kitchen in Alaska so having a beige kitchen is, well, kinda vanilla but without all the yumminess. And as we all know I am all about the yumminess.
The kitchen is seperated from the "dining" room by two walls the depth of the kitchen cabinets. I love the color of the laminent floor but am trying to tweak cabinets themselves. Once our stuff gets here I do have large glass jars, mixing bowls, and white serving platters which will be placed above the cabinets. We just changed out the hardware (outlet covers to be changed soon) but are stumped on the cabinets, walls and island.
Any ideas? Please give me any that you can come up with!! Maybe a Tuscan paint treatment? Glazing the cabinets? Pinstriping the cabinets? Thin insets w/ chalkboard paint on doors? We are looking to keep it pretty inexpensive but I do have a couple of gift cards which can be applied towards this project. OH what about a window treatment? I absolutely LOVE all the cabinets and countertop! Speaking of countertops... Does anyone have any experience using a stain or glaze on a countertop? Otherwise I guess we will be buying some bleach to help combat the stains. It's pretty amazing how quickly a beige countertop can get stained when you use it a lot! Ha ha, so maybe that's an understatement. Aren't patterned countertops great for hiding a multitude of sins?! Well, before I overwhelm anyone I guess I ought to be signing off as the boys are raiding the refrigerator and cabinets as I speak!
I look forward to hearing all and any input you can give! As time progresses I will be posting more pictures as the rooms are completed. In the meantime, thank you, thank you, thank you!!
You could try whitewashing them? And keep an eye out for pretty vintage tea towels or kitchen towels at second-hand shops - or a table cloth, even. I actually made a super fun, super inexpensive, BEYOND easy window treatment for my house years ago with 3 kitchen towels I fell in love with at Target. No sewing, even - I used a hot glue gun to get the shape I wanted and even glued on some fun wooden buttons I found at the craft store. Used thumbtacks to hang them by pushing them in underneath where I'd glued part of the towels up. That window treatment actually lasted the full 5 years I lived there and the buyers asked me to leave it as well. (Which was just as well since I made it specifically for the window and it was, well, just glued-together towels! LOL)
ReplyDeleteHow fun - a blank canvas!!!! I'm sure you'll come up with something delightful soon. :-)
I love color too, we just mostly finished our kitchen and I posted pics on my blog to show the difference. Go to the paint section of the hardware store and grab a cream colored paint swatch, and hold it up to swatches of color that you like to see how they coordinate and if you like the way they look together. We put up a vinyl border in ours which looks fantastic and is fairly simple to do as well. Your old kitchen could actually look fairly similar to your new one with color, the difference being the color of your countertop and appliances. Personally I like the oak cabinets but what really matters is what YOU like :)
ReplyDeleteLittle things such as fancy outlet covers make a big difference as well (we are doing that after we get taxes done and back)
You did a great job on your old kitchen, you will do a great job on this one as well- Cannot wait to hear what you decide to do and see pics :)
Oh, and then after you've chosen a color, grab a fabric that coordinates and cover those chair cushions to match :)
ReplyDeleteI am rather stumped too, and I usually LIKE to give my opinion on this type of thing. Maybe change out the hardware on the cabinets, and add your own "general store" on top of the cabinets- I'll not even try to explain that one- go here to see what I mean, and how to make it http://www.homesteadblogger.com/HoneyHillFarm/153753/
ReplyDeleteIf that sort of thing is your taste.
Maybe group together baskets and/or crocks. Hmm. I'll keep thinking.
Hi there! Sorry for the late comment...
ReplyDeleteYou have such great cabinet and counter space! If you don't like your counters, you can go to oursuburbancottage.blogspot.com - she has a tutorial on how to paint laminate countertops. I have also seen in some magazines putting a large piece of marble or butcherblock right on top of the island to add some color and texture. I don't know about the cabinets - it will be better once you have all your stuff in there. I think they look good!
Can't wait to see more pictures, and hope you can join in the party!!
Danielle
I am SO bad at this sort of decorating. I think it must be because we have rented our entire lives and were never allowed to ADD color to anything~I just had to make do with what there was (and that has almost ALWAYS been WHITE WHITE WHITE.) If that white was NICE looking~awesome. If it was not---too bad for us.
ReplyDeleteYour kitchen looks great right now. But I can see how color would add some flavor~especially if you have white dishes to put on top of those cabinets.
I WOULD say~ if you do end up painting the cabinets I would strongly suggest painting those chairs to coordinate. And stitch up some cushions and curtains to coordinate.
Sorry for my lack of suggestions...
I WILL say: I am JEALOUS of your dishwasher AND of that awesomely huge jar of dehydrated bananas I spied in your old kitchen. YUM-O...one of my FAVORITE treats!
Hi there, thanks for stopping by my blog and saying hello...and that fabric you asked about is a red polka dot (my favorite) called a full moon dot by Amy Butler. I got them both on etsy, type into the search lotus by Amy Butler and you'll find lots of sellers I'm sure! Ok so now your kitchen.....I would paint the cabinets a ivory white but then distress them by sanding the inner and outer edges and wiping on (and off) a wood stain. Then paint your walls a pretty bright green, or blue, or yellow...and for the curtains do a 50's style (now I can't remember what they're called) where you start the curtains halfway down the window and its so cute! Can you tell I'm a crazy house project person? Yes...crazy. GOod luck and love the layout! OH and I would add cheap mouldings to the top of the cabinets...also white of course. :)
ReplyDeleteI loved the red in your old kitchen! I've been wanting to put some red in mine. Did you have to prime it with something special first...I've been told it can turn pink if you don't. Your new kitchen is really pretty too...Before long you'll have it looking all dolled up ;) Have fun!!
ReplyDeleteJerelene,
ReplyDeleteWhen I painted the old kitchen red I did NOT use a primer but probably would next time. The primer to use isn't anything special, it just has a gray tint to that vibrant colors stay vibrant. The color is called Tomato bought at Lowe's. I can't remember if it was the Valspar signature collection or not but they can look it up.
Allison,
I ended up painting the kitchen a shade of brown. It really made the countertops and cabinets pop! I was shocked to see the difference. My husband put his foot down when I mentioned some other more "colorful" options... but this way I can change out accesories at whim! ha ha!! I love your ideas though and am adding them to my "wish" list of projects... We own a 1840's farm house in New York state and oh the ideas!!