My Kitchen

Some of you have kindly asked me to stop talking about my kitchen.  You will soon get your wish.  Right after I force you to look at pictures.  But first, lower your expectations right now.  Design*Sponge this is not.  I was just trying to make my dysfunctional kitchen slightly more appealing to the eye while on a tight budget.  Okay?  Are you ready?

Here’s what it used to look like. 

As you can see, the previous owners had a country kitchen thing going on, which really isn’t me.  But after stripping wallpaper off of every other wall in the house (and me being pregnant with the Preschooler at the time), we were too exhausted to do anything except plunk all of our stuff in there and start cooking.  Notice the lovely fruit border?  That image fueled me through the six hours it took me to strip it off.  (Curse newfangled adhesive technology.)  As you can see, I was also in the midst of ripping down the gingham shutters on the windows.  That was quite satisfying, actually.

Here’s what it looks like now.  And, swear to god, if you say it looked better before, we’re through.

 
The yellow paint is Broadway Lights by Benjamin Moore, which may be the first time I’ve ever diverged from my irrational obsession with paint colors named after food.  I was back to my usual tricks with the trim and cabinets, though (Vanilla Ice Cream, also by Benjamin Moore).  The paintings are by Chicago artist Mark Zapf. 

Now here’s the cooking part of the kitchen before painting: 

Notice how I didn’t really bother to tidy up too much?  I thought about not cleaning for the after picture, too, so we can compare apples to apples, but let’s not automatically assume I’m going to revert back to my old housekeeping ways.  Why be cynical?  People can change.

All of my cooking takes place on this beautiful strip of countertop you see here.  You may notice that it’s not a very large space for doing all my cooking.  This is why I fly into a rage when non-cooking-related items get placed on it.  Things like cell phones and wallets and keys and mail and hammers and weed-whacking equipment.  Put them Somewhere Else.

Here’s a close-up of what the cabinets looked like before, as you may recall:

Any better?

God, I hope so.  It seemed a little stark at first, but now I’m used to it.  What you’re looking at here is part of the “butler’s pantry” between the kitchen and the dining room.  Unfortunately, the previous owners ran off with the butler.  He would have come in handy. 

I just have to mention that the cabinet doors took two coats of primer and two coats of paint ON EACH SIDE.  That’s eight coats per door for you math geniuses.  And I only had room to paint them in batches of five or six at a time.  So I guess what I’m trying to say is—cut me some goddamned slack.

Oh, did I forget to show you my refrigerator strategically blocking the doorway?  Silly me.  Here it is:

See?  There are a good two and a half feet over there to shimmy your way in.  Good enough, I say. 

So there you have it.  Would I do it again?  Probably not.  Was it worth wasting my entire summer to get it done?  I guess it depends on how much you like summer.  Although I did have the foresight to pick the rainiest one in human history, so that’s something.  I will say that my kitchen is much cleaner now.  And even though I liked cooking in my kitchen back when it was ugly, I like cooking in it even more now!

Comments

[Vicki]

It's beautiful! Did you sand the cabinets before painting? Mine are due for some rework...

[April in CT]

It looks GREAT! I love that color on the walls and the white cabinets are beautiful. I say well worth the effort for all the use and enjoyment you'll get from it..of course I didn't have to do all that painting so I can say that!

Thanks for sharing. :)

[Husband]

You forgot to show before and after versions of the ceiling fan! The "before" version was exquisite in its hideousness. AND I installed the new one. Woo hoo! My only contribution!

[Marianne]

LOVE your new kitchen! You did a really great job! Good idea with this little shelf for spices over the work-bench!

[Sis]

Looks great. Good job.

[What A Card]

Very nice work, and a huge improvement. Although I do like those fruit borders...NOT! (Yes, I just flew back to 1989 in my head :)

Seriously good work! Enjoy!

[Kelly H]

Wow!!! I'm inspired to do something with my own kitchen.

[Mary]

I think the kitchen looks 100 times better than before. Yellow is my favorite color, so my kitchen got painted "butter up", but after seeing your kitchen I like the darker yellow better!

[Erin]

It looks amazing!! I haven't done anything to my 1977 kitchen except make it dirty and break the cabinet door on the lazy susan. My excuse is having such an ambitious plan for the redone kitchen, we will NEVER have the money or time. So, congrats on actually getting it DONE!

[Robert]

You've done a good deed for humanity by ridding this world of one more fruit-patterned border. Having dispatched at least 8 of them myself in two different houses, I can sympathize with the six hours you spent. The new kitchen looks fantastic!

[Adele]

Nice job!

I'm still working on stocking my kitchen before I do anything decorative. Kitchen equipment is turning into a money pit of terrifying proportions. I'm starting to think that there could be an advantage to getting married: someone else might buy me baking dishes and a stand mixer.

[andrea]

At first glance and without reading, I thought the first photo was going to be the finished kitchen. I was trying to figure out a tactful way to respond:
"Nice try!"
"It's the thought that counts!"
"A fruit border - interesting choice."

I'm so relieved to see that it was just the before, not the after and I can truly say - Great job! The size may not have changed, but it must be so much nicer cooking in a bright and cheerful space. It actually reminds me of our kitchen face lift when we moved into our house. Out with the brown and off-white wallpaper and on with a hot chile red paint! Enjoy your new space.

[anon]

such a photo-oper. I love how the watermelon appears in the 2nd picture but it wasn't in the first. Great renovation!

[sarahj]

strong work tammy!

I can't wait to have another meal over there. Hey wait ... it's my turn. Next week we will be celebrating our new deck and Jasper's 4th year with drinks and a spiderman pinata. details to come.

[Tammy]

sarahj: New deck already? Wow, you guys work way faster than me. Anxiously awaiting the party specs!

anon: Caught! (I was pissed I didn't think of that cute watermelon the first time around.)

andrea: I know, what can you really say about the before picture: "Well, maybe that giant shelf thing will topple over onto you someday and put you out of your misery."

Adele: That's why I got married. I needed a stand mixer bad.

Robert: Agreed. Fruit, good. Fruit borders, bad.

Erin: I know. It's so hard to have dreams you can never fulfill. But congrats on making your lazy susan even lazier!

Mary: Thank you. Yellow is so hard. I must have tried out 7 or 8 of those tiny paint samples, but it's still a gamble when you do a whole room. It somehow can look totally different than the swatch.

Kelly H: Are you sure? Might I suggest the wintertime for such a project!

What a Card: Who doesn't love memories of 1989? Where's my curling iron and Aqua Net?

Sis: Thanks. Have you recovered from your visit?

Marianne: Yeah, that spice shelf is handy, though I can't claim the credit for it. Unless nobody else is going to.

Husband: And an important contribution at that. I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of the old ceiling fan. It was a piece of work.

April in CT: Wow, all these nice comments have totally made my day. It's funny, though, I haven't heard anything from my troll. I wonder what he thinks about my design sense?

Vicki: Yes, I definitely sanded, but I'm wondering if I did it enough. There are a couple of trouble spots near the hinges, but luckily you can't see them when the cabinets are closed. We'll just pretend everything is just fine.

[katie]

I love your kitchen it looks much better so much more bright and happy. You have good taste.

[melissa]

"Put them Somewhere Else"

Yes, please.

I love the new look, in every way. Begone country look, hello minimal, bright and spacious look. And the cabinets look a lot like mine and I ended up really liking them as white as that.

Congratulations on the new heart of your home.

[Alecto]

Absolutely fabublous. Makes me wish my dark little kitchen had a bit more light.

[nowstarter]

I like this Broadway lights color by Benjain Moore

LINK TO COLOR:
http://www.myperfectcolor.com/Benjamin-Moore-298-Broadway-Lights-p/mpc0006228.htm

did you know you can also have this site make it lighter by percentage, for example ou can do the same colro 50% lighter for an accent wall in the kitchen for some variation. just a thought

[Sally]

Oh, my! Absolutely gorgeous Tammy! Good job. I love the color. I'm going to be painting my cabinets white too. It really lightens up a small kitchen. I love it!

[Ann]

It looks fabulous! Your cabinets do NOT look repainted-- they look brand new. And the walls are wonderful-- such a great color and a perfect backdrop for the paintings. Lovely!

But now I feel the need to re-consider my kitchen walls. I went with a sage green as a compromise to raspberry (don't ask, I was having a crisis of taste), but really prefer yellows. Plus I haven't finished the tricky bits and I have these ugly cabinets... so maybe I should start all over again?

In any case, your kitchen looks wonderful. Except for the fridge. Which I love because it makes me feel a little better about the fact that you have those great floors and I have grey/green linoleum. I won't even mention my antique (but not in a good way) BROWN stove.

[PepsiGirl]

FABULOUS... Mr. PG...aka The Professional Painter needs to see these pics! He thinks I am about to indulge in sacrilege because I want to paint similar cabinets in a pristine Benjamin Moore (his favorite paint though). glad to see the white appliances, which I am getting regardless of the *hype* for stainless.