Evolution of a Kitchen

Oh....the before pictures.....just awful!!

Prologue

When we first moved into our home, the kitchen was the very first room to be changed. It was awful; what with it's odd and primary-colored wallpaper, disgusting linoleum, old appliances and outdated formica....this space needed a lot of work! Within a relatively short period of time, we had taken down the wallpaper, painted the walls red, replaced the formica with a newer, marble-looking version, put in a tile backsplash, and also replaced the sink/faucet. Oh, and Russ also installed a tile floor. While it's not perfect, I'm so proud that he did it on his own. However, if we had to do it all over again, we both agree that we would put in some sort of engineered hardwood, or a hardwood-look that would be safe and compatible for a kitchen area. So, fast forward 6 more years, and here we are...RE-updating the kitchen! :)

(Okay, well not really in this picture, but it's the quickest one I found that showcased the red walls to be changed!)

I've been working on updating our kitchen for the past 6+ months. Earlier this spring, my father-in-law and I began sanding, priming and painting our cabinets. Ohmigoodness, that was a job, and I am forever thankful that he was willing to do this with me. Russ helped me add moulding to the cabinet tops, to give them a more finished look. He also helped transform the space by adding some beadboard on the cabinet endcaps. What a difference! Oh, and before we began on the cabinet transformation, I painted over our dark red walls, and freshened up the space with a light blue-grey. (Color to come. I think it's Sleepy Blue by Sherwin Williams, but need to check!) And by the way, all of these updates were inspired by blogs that I read, like The Nester, 320 Sycamore, and Clarendon Lane. I love the look of their homes...clean, fresh, classic and simple.

After the walls and cabinets were complete, I worked on adding a little bit of decor to the space. I am nowhere near being done with this aspect, and this is where I always seem to stall. I don't quite know how to finish out a room with just the right accents and pops of color...so it's a process. But I did get some DIY curtains up, and added a mirror and small gallery wall to the eat-in area. I loved the way the black frames popped against the light blue, and so after much thought about how to change my kitchen table (and even after taking a survey from facebook friends!), I chose to stain the top of the table in a dark walnut stain, and paint the legs and chairs of the table black. I know that the white/dark stain combination would be beautiful, and it was originally what I had been planning to do, but after seeing how great the black looked in the space, and also after considering how dirty my white chairs might get, I opted to go with the black. Also, it was far and away the winner of my fb survey!

So, currently I have the 4 chairs painted. I hand-sanded them with a sanding block, primed with flat black spray paint, and then did 3 coats of Rustoleom Black Satin spray paint, sanding in between with a very fine sanding "sponge". They feel great, but I still feel that I need to seal them/protect them, so I'm looking for the best option, and hoping to get them completely finished by the end of the week. The table sits un-touched, but it should also be done (fingers crossed!) by the end of the week. I can't wait!!