Wednesday, March 3, 2010

A Little Love For The Kitchen

When we were house shopping most of the kitchens we saw needed to be ripped out and redone right away. So I was happy to see that our house had a kitchen we could live with for a while. It had your basic 90s oak cabinets and laminate countertops but the layout was good. This is our kitchen today after it got a little love. Now let's back track to see how we got here.





This is right after we moved in and opened up the small doorway between the kitchen and living room. You can see the living room redo here.



Another view of the kitchen and a peek into the dining room. The previous owners were using that room as their family room.


This is the kitchen after the dust settled. We installed laminate flooring in the dining room to match the kitchen. It stayed this way until I took on the job of painting the cabinets.



I primed and painted the cabinet boxes and had the doors sprayed by a painter. Hardwood floors, new hardware and appliances finish it off for now. We saved a lot of money buying the fridge and stove from an outlet store.

I thought we would install new countertops after the cabinets were painted but I think we are going to wait until we do new cabinets. I am not in love with the shape of the upper cabinet doors and they are not worth putting new doors on them.

For now our kitchen is a much happier place to be and I will continue to collect inspiration pictures for the future. I have big big plans. I know those words make my husband cringe sometimes. Gotta love it!

Linking this to domestically-speaking

37 comments:

  1. The changes you made are fantastic. Great way to live with it to decide if you need to change anything. I like how you incorporate different pieces in the kitchen, like the island and server, that are not so "kitchen normal." They give the space a good vibe and coziness.

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  2. i love it! it turned out great! good for you! i like the island, would you be able to replace the top to have the hangover you want? just a thought! i want an island so bad but i dont have the room! i am doing a tour of my "forever" house and i am about to do the kitchen. of course, it will include an island and a window above the sink!

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  3. great job!! looks like you have been having lots of "fun"! we have that kind of fun at our house too!!

    come visit me and follow to see my renos too!
    (love the island!) i am in the process of making an island/cabinets from a piece of furniture! SOOO fun!

    http://missbblogs.blogspot.com/

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  4. Love what you've done! :)
    I just wanted to invite you over to my blog for a party! :) I'm having my first ever Treasure Trove Thursday and thought you might like to put in a link to something you love!

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  5. Love love love it. The island... adorable! Of to read some of your past posts...
    Have a sweet day!
    Saskia

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  6. That is quite a transformation...way to go!!!!!

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  7. Wonderful changes! It looks so much more contemporary...isn't it amazing what some paint will do?!
    Julie

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  8. I LOVE your island! Isn't it so satisfying renovating a kitchen? I think it's probably because we spend so much time there :) I wish I had room for an island like yours.

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  9. Bravo! It is one thousand times better than before!

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  10. WOW! Super transformation! I am in LOVE with your island...it has so much charm. Can you take the top off and put a new one on that is extended? You can even extend it further if you find pretty legs to hold it up or old corbels maybe. It really is just so pretty! Thanks for your sweet comments about my kitchen! You are too kind!

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  11. Love it! I wanted to ask you, if you don't mind...was having the doors sprayed by a painter expensive? Were you happy with the results? I have thought of doing this before and I would love to know your experience.

    Amanda (Casa Brasi)

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  12. Paint is such an amazing and wonderful tool! I would love to share a cup of coffee with you in that lovely kitchen. You have come so far my dear..and I can't wait to see where you go.

    Cheers~
    e

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  13. Amanda,
    We are very happy with the results! My husband knew someone that worked at the company who sprayed the doors so we got a good deal. If you have the room to lay out all of your doors you could rent a sprayer and diy. I bought one on Craigslist and can't wait to try it out on some furniture I have waiting.
    Hope this helps.

    Thank you everyone for the wonderful comments!

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  14. It looks like a totally different kitchen! I love, love, love it.

    I really want to paint my cabients but I haven't been able to talk my hubby into it - yet(I think he is begining to weaken)

    I'm totally going to show him your photos!

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  15. The kitchen looks wonderful! I need to paint my kitchen cabinets too, but keep finding other projects to distract me. It just seems like such a big job! So thank you for inspiring me to start tackling it! It makes such a big difference!

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  16. I just adore what paint can do, it looks fabulous. still love the island.

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  17. Thank you for visiting me..your kitchen is so lovely. I love that island of yours. xo

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  18. I can't stop staring at your island, and am pretty sure I got goose bumps. :)

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  19. I really love the kitchen now. The flooring is beautiful. But that island is to die for.

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  20. Just goes to show that a little paint goes AALLOOONNNGGG way! Great job!

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  21. I love your reuse and recycle mentality. It's gorgeous. Bright and happy. New and old. Warm. We recycled our kitchen cabinets, too. Original 1950's metal cabinets! LOL But they're white and they work. I keep telling myself, "You're saving trees!" Cheers. xoxo

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  22. Great improvements...it's amazing the difference a bit of paint can make! Tracey xx

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  23. oh.my.word. i love your island! great job with the kitchen!

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  24. That island is fantastic and really is perfect for the kitchen. What a transformation in there! Wow.

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  25. What a beautiful kitchen! You have an eye for good design!
    ☺ Celeste

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  26. I love your kitchen!! The Island is my favorite.

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  27. You've done a great job with your kitchen Londen! The cabinets looks great with the white paint and hardware. Your island is incredible too!

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  28. What a pretty kitchen!! I am especially loving the island! :) Wow, that's gorgeous!
    Blessings,
    Stacey

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  29. Wow! I was just flipping through some of your old posts, and I can't believe what you've done to your home - and all on a budget! This kitchen is amazing! I'll have to look through for more inspiration. You're going on my reading list.

    And thanks for your comment at my place!

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  30. I just love your kitchen! And that island is fantastic! I keep debating about one for our kitch. So good to find your blog!

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  31. adding - laminate flooring, not counters. thx.

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  32. wow what a difference. Can i ask what laminate you used because it's really pretty!

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  33. Sheri,
    The after pictures show hardwood floors. We installed a laminate floor in the dining room just to get rid of the carpet and blend with the kitchen that already had laminate. Later we installed hardwood for the entire house.
    Thank you!
    Londen

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  34. What a difference the white paint made... love your flooring and your island too... GORGEOUS! Thanks for linking up at the POPP.

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