Just keepin' it real here peoples. I was thinking about it last night, and if you're anything like us, renovating your home room by room (by ourselves)(on a budget) then you know it takes time. And rooms can't look perfect all at once. It takes time, patience, and well, money.
Since the kitchen is one of those rooms that needs a lot of dough, we haven't touched it yet. When I say we haven't touched it, I mean we really haven't touched it. The walls are dingy. The cupboard doors and drawers have knicked, dented, and peeling paint. The hardward is old-fashioned (and not in a good way). The 25 year old wheel-to-the-sink dishwasher is broken. The fridge sits on a completely empty wall with no cupboards and looks like a monstrosity. The vinyl flooring is starting to break off in places. The ceiling is cracked. The outlets have about 20 layers of paint on them. The trim is yellow, not white.
Just. Plain. Narsty.
Here are some photos but keep in mind these are conveniently disguising the hideousness.
After repainting some other rooms on the main floor I decided to use up some extra grey paint and give the kitchen walls a fresh coat of paint.
Why oh why did I wait so long to do this!?!?!???!?!?! The walls look so much better. So much better that I have to paint all the trim now too 'cause it looks extra dinged up, and yellow next to the freshly painted walls.
But, even a little bit of paint can't create the Country Living kitchen of my dreams. You know the one: white shaker cabinets, hardwood floors, brushed nickel hardware, pendant lights, apron sink. Dreamy.
So yeah, that's our ugly kitchen. For now. How's your kitchen treatin' ya?
Honey, you have no idea what ugly is! Check out the state mine before we renovated. Now that`s FRUGLY!!!
ReplyDeleteHang in there, your day will come :)
S
xo
I don't think your kitchen is that bad at all! If we were in a contest, mine would beat yours for ugliness! We have a tiny 8 x 8 (feet that is) galley kitchen in our little townhouse. It is stuck in 1985 with cheap, fake wood cabinets (brown) and two different colored countertops, gold and beige. It has a florescent tube ceiling light, dingy beige walls, popcorn ceiling and sheet vinyl flooring that is buckling. But I have plans to transform that ugly duckling on a tight budget. We are going the IKEA route for cabinets and a farmhouse sink plus beadboard walls, planked ceilings, tile on sink wall etc. We hope to come in under $4,000 with hubby and I doing absolutely everything. I can't wait until we gut that little kitchen!
ReplyDeleteHA! I consider our uggo as well...it has cupboards that are 30 years old (same as our home) and painted a fairly dark blue-gray. More blue than gray. ANd the best part is that the hardware is centered in the MIDDLE of the cabinets! Yup! Black ceramic knobs to boot. HAWT. The very first thing I wanted painted in this house was the cupboards and they are STILL not done...Sadly, I doubt they will be before baby comes in January :( I should post a before and after of what we have actually changed or are in the process of changing in there. Je detest! For what it's worth, yours looks much nicer in pics than mine! ;)
ReplyDeleteWell, my kitchen is treating me good right now, we are in the midst of painting the orangey oak cabinets Cottage White! Alot of work but so worth it, we already have a new floor but the old 1988 almond counters are going.
ReplyDeleteI think your kitchen looks great and I love how you have it decorated! I know what you mean though with wanting to do it the way you want, I can't wait to see it painted!
oh man, that linoleum was everywhere in the late 70s/early 80s. We had it in green too, and my grandma had it in brown.
ReplyDeleteI highly recommend just getting new hardware as a quick fix. If you pick handles/knobs you love then you can still use them if/when you replace the cupboards. Splurge, you'll be amazed at how much less you hate the cupboards with handles you like. At least that was my experience!
My kitchen before would make you feel 1000 times better! Check it out on my blog! And no...we weren't living in the house. The whole house got revamped before making it our home.
ReplyDeleteWe have a rental kitchen with a bright blue feature wall and floral curtains.....
ReplyDeleteoh, sarah. i so have you beat. my kitchen is not even oogly. it is downright ugy. wood cabinets that i plan to paint... browinsh/once cream linoleum, mustard yellow formica countertops AND backsplash... oh and let's not forget the peninsula that is at a slant, with 4 stools they left us that have been chewed by a dog. we are hoping tax return time will be kitchen redo time!
ReplyDeleteLooks great! My kitchen needs some lovin'. I still like the paint color, but it's pretty beat up and greasy in places. Plus, our cabinets are a mix of maple and painted beadboard (because they were taken from someone else's house) and I really, really, want to paint them. All in good time, but I know I'll say the same thing: "Why did I wait so long?"
ReplyDelete:)
I think your kitchen is just beautiful as is! And your home is just perfect! But I know what you mean about: “white shaker cabinets, hardwood floors, brushed nickel hardware, pendant lights, and an apron sink.” *sigh* I am very grateful for what I do have, but I dream about exactly those things, too!! Guess I’m not the only one!
ReplyDeleteHmmmm... I think perhaps you have the same counter tops that we finally replaced after 5 plus years! Do yours have speckles? Ours did... except for where they were so worn that the speckles were even gone.
ReplyDeleteNow if we could just get the bathroom redone.....
~Chris
PS I DO LOVE the faucet that is wall mounted though!
So where's the after shot of the newly painted kitchen?
ReplyDeleteYour dream kitchen sounds like my dream kitchen. ;) Better to wait till you can afford it though that to go in debt. :)
ReplyDeleteCall me crazy but I think its country cute!
ReplyDeleteOurs is also pretty much the same since we moved in, 4 years ago. Stuck in 1981. I did paint the walls which made a huge difference over the wallpaper with cherries on it. Plan to paint the cabinets next!
ReplyDeleteI wish I could show you my last kitchen. It had those hideous chip board ( flaking) melamine almond coloured cupboards with oak trim. They weren't even finished on top so if I tried to clean the greasy dust that builds up up there , I ended up wih chip board sawdust everywhere. The shelves inside the cupboards were warped & sagging. The floor tiles were these 12 x 12 white ceramic monsters that turned into a surface more slipery than an ice rink at a tiny drop of water. ( And the white tile looked sooo goood with the almond cupboards ) & then there was the grout 600 + sq ft of grungy grey that defied all reasonable attempts to be white ( or even a uniform shade of grey)I tried grout whitener, grout paint, cleaners , sealers after the whitener & paint - nothing looked good ( or even okay) for ,more than a week - Sooo Glad we sold that house - my knees will someday forgive me for the 8 & a half years of grout cleaning. I actually think your kitchen is cute & really like your overhead light fixture.
ReplyDeleteJust so you know it is not as bad as mine was before we were able to remodel. Now I have just got to plug away at the rest of the house. Mine was dark, dark, dark! Looking pretty good from here. Jackie
ReplyDeleteK, so where's the pics of the newly painted kitchen, Miss? Chop chop, we all want to see...!
ReplyDeleteClaire,
your sistah from anotha mistah
This post is so funny! I have an oooogly kitchen too--stained, cracked linoleum, greasy cupboards, contact paper on the counters... I feel your pain.
ReplyDeleteGirl, your kitchen is beautiful! My kitchen is COBALT BLUE! Tiles, matching decorative tiles & wallpaper. And a wallpaper CEILING! Now go thank your kitchen. :)
ReplyDelete