Kitchen Update

Finished off the upper cabinets,
I'm really pleased with the color,
and loving the trim !
(sorry, the picture got kind of dark)











Its hard to get a camera to get a picture of a true color.  But you can see by this one that the lower cabinets are much darker than the original color.


Worked extra hard today to get the lower cabinets done as well.  Insides are painted, doors are sanded, just need to get the hinges stripped, and coat the doors and rehang them.

But what I really like a lot is this shelf...
an eye popping red to match the trim
this extends just beyond the kitchen.

It sure shows off my antique kitchen
gadgets well! 

If you're thinking of painting --
don't be afraid of color!
Be Bold!

Kitchen update

I've been working on my kitchen, attempting to upgrade it to something a little more ... fun. bold.  less  boring.  Whoever painted here last used a sprayer, didn't move anything, just sprayed inside and out.  After pulling out shelves, you could see the lines where the shelf had been sitting.  *sigh*  Only people in a hurry paint like that.  

So here's an updated picture of the upper cabinets painted, the trim is "flaming red hot", and the cabinets are a warm "tempting toasted coconut".  

I know the colors are hard to tell from just pictures,  While the depth of shade is nearly the same as it was before, the old color was a beige with blue undertones, and the new color has red undertones, and feels much warmer.

In this picture, you can see the difference in the color splotch I slapped up to see how I would like it.  And with a little careful taping, I'm able to spray paint the center of the already existing knobs to match the red :)

Kitchen Update

I took myself shopping today at Lowe's, our local do it yourself hardware kind of store and invested in a new kitchen sink faucet.  The old one was worn, and beginning to leak.  It was also difficult to move to the left and right, I believe the o'rings inside were corroding.  (The house sat empty, unused for about a year before I bought it.)  After getting by with it for two years, it was time!  

Installing this brushed nickel Moen faucet wasn't too bad.  Taking the old one off was harder than putting the new one in.  

In the upper right portion of this picture, you can see the main dishes cupboard was painted today.  Originally there were only two shelves in this cupboard, and frankly, in order to put away dishes, you were constantly restacking them.  So we picked up some boards today to add two more shelves in this cupboard.  I think it will help the organization of things a lot. 

But it looks great :)

As far as the kitchen cupboards, its a process to the whole painting, but this is one section that's relatively finished.

This will be my Pyrex cupboard.  

I love finding old Pyrex at 

Goodwill or thrift stores, 

even antique stores if I'm out that way. 

Still debating about leaving the cupboard door 

off or not to show off my treasures. :)

Still a long way to go on finishing the kitchen, 

but it will be worth it in the end!

Kitchen Paint

With a couple days off work, I decided to try out a color in my kitchen.  I follow a blog called "moon to moon" , and she wrote 

"Be bold. Don't be afraid of color."   

And my kitchen, being that its 25 years old and mostly pressboard type units attached to walls....  well, its never going to look .... what would be the word, fashionable?  elegant?  pretty?  They're plain, and the layout isn't inspiring, merely functional.  Which is ok, I'm not complaining, because it works.  But its boring!

So... I decided to use "flaming red hot" as an accent color....  the cabinets themselves will be an earth tone tan, as is most of the decor in the southwest. 

It's an interesting combination, but painting red isn't easy! It tends to leave streaks, so extra coats required to get an even tone. But that's ok, all good things take time and patience!  

Lift a glass of cheer, for its Friday!

Kitchen Changes

After living in my house for more than two years, I am finally at a point where I want, and need, to decide about the kitchen cabinets.  The baseboards and kitchen are the two things that didn't get painted before I moved in, and lately have begun to paint around the baseboards.   Funny how you don't realize how many there are until you are down on your hands and knees, getting them painted!

My kitchen is L-shaped, and yes, somewhat boring and awkward in its placement, so the color scheme can't be too far off the rest of the look of the house.  The open ceiling plan means the rooms need to flow together, as there are no good breaking points for paint colors to stop and start.  It's taken me forever to find an idea on how I want to do this.  And after hours and hours of perusing the internet, I think I've finally stumbled on to a plan.

As you can see in this picture, 
the lower cabinets are darker 
than the upper cabinets. 
I like that a lot.






Here's my kitchen as it looked before I moved in... the main back wall is now a creamy beige.  (Isn't it funny how it looks so much bigger before all your stuff is there??)

Here are the colors I'm leaning towards right now.  The darker tan on the bottom, the lighter on top.  The red is an accent color that may or may not fit in to the scheme, depending on how it looks after the cabinets are painted.  there are some very small half inch trim boards across the top of my cabinets that may look good with that red trim across it....  Gotta love experimenting!

 

 Thoughts?  Ideas?  Opinions?

Treasures

"One man's trash is another man's treasure."  ~~~ That much is very true.  And the evidence can be seen at any local Goodwill store.  When was the last time you shopped in a Goodwill store?  I never tire of going in and looking at all the things people don't want any more.  And if you have an eye out for things, you never know what you'll find! 

Over time, I've collected a lot of different things.  Lately, I'm more interested in things that I can actually use.  I always look for PYREX  brand glass bakeware -- they work well, they stand up to the tests of time, and frankly, I love how they look!  I'm not sure it matters to me if its old, or new.  However, I do have some pieces that I know are very old  (Scalloped handle 1926-1939)  -- an inheritance thing, you see.  :)  Here's today's find:  

I also collect antique or unusual kitchen gadgets, like this one:

Not sure what specific use these tongs are made for, 

but seems like it would work well for olives, 

given the rounded shape and 'fingers'.

If you haven't shopped a Goodwill store in a while, maybe you should give it a try again!  You never know what treasures you'll find in there!