Another Kitchen Update - Just the Beginning...

If you've been stalking following me on Instagram you will already know my Kitchen is mostly back together. By mostly I mean that we still have to install shelf liner in the cupboards and drawers (the liner I liked on Amazon takes 3 weeks to get here....boo. so we put almost everything back in the meantime for some normalcy), replace the switches and instal the new light we bought above the sink.

Here's what it looks like this morning (we're not sure about all of the stuff above the cupboards yet - might change, might get vitto'd completely).

Just to remind you, here's the before.

It really is amazing what some sweat equity and 4 gallons of paint will do for a space. It's like a whole new kitchen. I, for one, couldn't be happier! I love to cook and the old kitchen made me depressed. 

So now we're on to phase two of the kitchen remodel. We're replacing the countertops, the flooring, knocking down a wall, moving some electrical and building an island. I know it seems a bit ass backwards to paint and then remove the countertops, but I didn't really have The Boy on board when I started painting, I just did it expecting it would stay the way it is right now for another 5 years. I didn't expect him to get really excited and start picking out flooring and light fixtures with me...not that I'm complaining! ;)

Most of you who've been hanging around for a number of years might remember how our living room and dining room look and when I redecorated those rooms a few years ago. 

more living room posts and pictures here

more dining room posts and pictures here 

These two rooms pretty much look like those photos today - even my still unpainted dining room table and chairs...this is what happens when I leave stuff up to The Boy....lol.

So, to give you some geography of our space - when you sit in the floral chair in our living room you face a dividing wall between the kitchen and these two spaces. It's hideous - because we've never painted it due to the fact that we have planned all along to knock it down, so I've never posted it on the blog.
Until now!!! Complete with my pile of donations from the kitchen and my painting supplies piled right there.

Yup. Right behind that ugly wall - The Boy likes to call that colour 'Dirty Old Bra', our entire house was painted that colour when we moved in - is my pretty kitchen. And that walls days are numbered my friends.

I'll be sure you keep you all updated as the kitchen progresses. I'll be busy in the next week painting another room in our house that the fish tank will be going to live in. We figured it would be better to paint it now rather than have to move it twice, moving a fish tank is A LOT of work.

Then, wall knocking down time. hehe...I can't wait.



Lisa.xo

Kitchen Update

Four years ago I posted this picture of my kitchen, along with my plans for a light reno involving paint, some new hardware, light fixtures and flooring.

Things happen slowly in this house and it's taken that long for me to get around to putting those plans into action. Last Monday I finally started emptying out the cupboards and on Tuesday night I started to paint. 

It's not finished yet. It's not even half finished, but I thought I'd stop in and let you know what I've been up to this week...and probably most of next week. It's a big job! I won't bore you with the details, but basically everything needs a coat of paint from top to bottom. 

So here are a few pics to tide you over. Follow me on Instagram for daily updates on the reno! I'm posting pics there while I work. 

Our house was built in 1976 and this kitchen is original and as you can imagine needs some love. This is a before of one of the cupboard interiors.

Here is how my kitchen looks as I write this post. Two coats of primer on the cupboards (a painter friend told me two coats of primer instead of one would help my actual paint go on better) and ready for paint. 

I'll be sure to post some after pictures when I'm finished!


Have a great weekend!

Lisa.

Kitchen Dreams

Well, quite frankly this post has nothing to do with fashion. I am just as smitten with decorating as I am with fashion and living in my first home has had my mind racing with projects and improvements for the past 6 months (and maybe forever!!).

I am currently dreaming about updating our sad 70s kitchen with retro charm! Here's what we're starting with:

As you can see, my cupboards are quite ugly in their current state. My appliances however are on the newer side and white. Which is perfect! I don't really like stainless appliances and won't be buying any.

This spring/summer we'll be painting all the walls and cupboards. What colour ask you?  Well let me tell you!

Please Note: This is not my photo. I found it on a Google search because the colour samples on Behr's website look nothing like the actual paint colours! Shame on you Behr!!

My living room and hallway, as you've seen in previous outfit posts are the top colour: Asparagus. The kitchen wall colour will be the next one down: Scotland Isle. (Please note: this photo is showing the colours a little dark!) The bottom cupboards, doors and all will the the third colour from the top: Moss Landing. The top cupboards will be a crisp white.  I'm not using the bottom colour, It's too dark I think.

While painting the cupboard doors we'll be removing the old hardware, filling the center hole and drilling new ones in the bottom corner for new hardware.This is similar to the hardware we have picked out:

We decided to go very plain with a retro twist for budget's sake. I wanted glass, but I lost the battle to The Boy so I could get the floor I wanted: Classic Black and White Check!

I would also love that vintage stove, but that will never happen! I'll just be happy with my floor thank you!

I've also picked out a very similar light fixture to the one below at Home Depot to hang over the kitchen table. The one I've picked out is also brushed stainless steel with the adjustable pulley. It's also a great deal at $99!

The Boy is an ironworker and we love the idea of this well known black and white(to help tie in the floor of course!) picture taken in New York from the 30's hanging over the kitchen table.

La piece de resistance of my kitchen will be my kitchen table: It was a Christmas present from The Boy. It belonged to his opa and oma and had been sitting in thier laundry room. The chairs have been recovered, but I think the whole set is just perfect! I think the pink table will look great with the green, black and white in the rest of the kitchen.

You can see how bland my kitchen currently is here as well. That flooring is older than I am and has seen better days!! I can't wait to see it go!!

Here's a close up of the table top:

And a recovered chair. I was told the old vinyl matched the tabletop, but it was in bad condition. I think they're pretty spectacular anyway!

 

To tie the table into the rest of my kitchen I plan to accent the kitchen in various shades of pink and red. Some dishes on a shelf and a window curtain with a retro green and pink pattern (I have a vintage table cloth in my possesion that would be perfect, but I'm still not sure if I want to cannibalize it for drapes. We'll see what happens...)

So that's my soon to be kitchen! I'm pretty excited to have it all come together! I'm not, however, looking forward to all that painting, but I know it will be worth it in the end!

What about you? Do you have a retro kitchen? Or retro kitchen dreams like me?

Lisa.xo