kitchen redo

the kitchen wasn't the first room that we tackled in the renovations.  it was definitely the room i waited on to be complete before i moved in in march.  so it took a solid 4 months of renovations before i actually lived in the house. it was an excruciating time.  knowing that i could move out of my parents house but couldn't made it all the more miserable.  but we made it.

BEFORE

BEFORE

the kitchen before had faux brick back splash.  linoleum flooring. tan counter tops. brown cabinets.  not pictured is a door next to the cabinet by the stove that led in to the old garage now bonus room.  my dad spent many hours prying that brick off the walls.  the boyfriend and i spent many daaaaaaaaaays stripping and painting the cabinets black.

stripping cabinets made me the most suicidal.  there were many days, moments, minutes i wanted to pile those cabinets up and burn them down.  maybe even burn the entire house down.  we purchased paint stripper, slapped it on all over the cabinets and then attempted to scrape the gunk and paint off.  some of it came off OK but what was stuck in grooves wouldn't budge.  we bought stripper remover - nope.  tried cleaning it off with water and vinegar - nope.  used an electric sander and many sand papers to sand the gunk and paint off to the original wood.  daaaaaaaaaaaaays of work that brought me to tears and many curse words.  but - and a majorly big but - i am very happy with the results.

the start of stripping the cabinets

we painted the cabinets black.  when we got the front of the doors of the cabinets completely stripped and clean, we didn't have it in us to do the insides of the doors.  my bright idea was to use contact paper on the inside of the doors to avoid stripping and painting them.  however, this old ohio home had another idea.  as i carefully measured, cut and placed the contact paper on the back of the doors i realized that the doors aren't perfect.  so in certain places the contact paper showed on the other side.  i literally bawled in frustration in the middle of the kitchen.  my boyfriend kindly told me to go take a walk.  and i did.  gladly.  mind you this was day 7 out of 8 - working from sun up until sun down.  i was OVER IT.

new paint and details

we decided - or my boyfriend decided - to paint the edges of the inside of the doors and place the contact paper and cut to size.  this left a nice black edge and kept me from losing my mind.  to add a little more personal touch, we put the contact paper on the sides of the drawers so that when you pull out the drawers you get a pretty little surprise.

cabinet doors

cabinet doors

 in addition to painting and contact papering, we also purchased all new knobs and pulls.  we went with modern pieces to help bring these old cabinets in to the new era.  and i think they look great!

we updated the counter tops from tan to a grey marbley counter top.  not exactly sure what material it is, but i know it wasn't terribly expensive.  trying my best to keep cost down in my starter home.  we also put down tile to replace the linoleum floors. however, old home threw a curve ball.

hello dirt!

when pulling up the linoleum, we found a beautiful hole in the floor that lead to the dirt under my house.  perfect.  apparently, the bath tub on the other side of this wall leaked and left a not a so pretty result.  once the rotted wood was replaced, beautiful tile was laid.

the door that lead to the bonus room by the stove was dry walled.  the fridge was moved from the dining area over to the new dry walled area. in place of the fridge, a dishwasher was installed, a small pan cabinet was added at the end and two shelves were built under the small cabinets to help blend in the space.  a new tiled back splash was installed.  walls were painted a light grey on top and a dark grey under the chair rail.  we also purchased a stand alone pantry to put our food in since no pantry existed before.  old home = very little storage options.  a Broyhill drink cabinet was found at a local liquidation business and made for a great "bar" area on the opposite side of the kitchen. finally, both light fixtures were replaced.

the end results are gorgeous.

AFTER

AFTER

AFTER

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