My wife and I really wanted to do something with our eat-in kitchen, but we didn't have much of a clue. All we knew is that it was probably nice when it was originally done, but that time has long since passed.
Here's what the eat-in kitchen looked like before we moved in. All of the furniture and decoration belong to the previous owner.
![[Image: untitled1cv3.jpg]](http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/8950/untitled1cv3.jpg)
It doesn't show up very well in this picture, but the paint was a sort of off-white peach colour. That and the leafy crap stuffed in the window treatment above the blinds caused me to hate it.
![[Image: untitled2mn3.jpg]](http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/3224/untitled2mn3.jpg)
The thing I hated most about this kitchen before we moved in is that it is full of FRIDGE! We relocated the placement of our fridge to make the kitchen much more open. The cabinets might look okay in this picture, but they are really made of some fairly cheap particle board with a wood veneer.
The thing that touched off our need to redecorate this room was the fact that we bought a pretty nice dining table, and it really did not go with what was there. The table wasn't going anywhere, so the rest of the room had to change.
We repainted the whole room in this colour.
![[Image: wallsqe7.jpg]](http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/4228/wallsqe7.jpg)
(that's a close approximation based on what my monitor shows)
My wife did the cabinets. She sanded them down, primed them, and laid down three coats of paint. It was her first time painting anything. I think she did a great job. Here's the colour we chose.
![[Image: cabinetssv7.jpg]](http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/3281/cabinetssv7.jpg)
It's in the same colour group as the walls, but a shade or two lighter.
Here's the "after" pictures, beginning with the dining table.
![[Image: 1004181kb8.jpg]](http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/5338/1004181kb8.jpg)
The table is about 3' x 6' to put it in perspective. The artwork on the wall are a couple of watercolours my grandmother did about 10 years ago. We found a couple of suitable frames for them. The light fixture used to be a ceiling fan, but it hung down too low. I'm not a really tall guy (6' 0"), but it was enough to make me duck. We switched it with something more sleek. The new fixture didn't make it into this picture.
And the rest of the kitchen.
![[Image: 1004185ph4.jpg]](http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/5338/1004185ph4.jpg)
The round thing on the end of the counter is a clock I have yet to mount. We ditched the frilly curtains and went with roman style blinds. All of the cabinet hardware has been replaced by simple brushed aluminum knobs.
We also replaced every light fixture. They used to be hanging "brass and glass" type things that annoyed the crap out of me. The new fixtures are sleek ones that hang tight to the ceiling and are predominately frosted glass with brushed aluminum fittings. We also had to replace the doorbell (which was in our kitchen and looked awful), the switchplate and outlet covers, and the floor heating register covers.
We would have liked to also replace the flooring and countertop, but that is something we need to budget for. Floors and countertops are expensive.
Here's what the eat-in kitchen looked like before we moved in. All of the furniture and decoration belong to the previous owner.
It doesn't show up very well in this picture, but the paint was a sort of off-white peach colour. That and the leafy crap stuffed in the window treatment above the blinds caused me to hate it.
The thing I hated most about this kitchen before we moved in is that it is full of FRIDGE! We relocated the placement of our fridge to make the kitchen much more open. The cabinets might look okay in this picture, but they are really made of some fairly cheap particle board with a wood veneer.
The thing that touched off our need to redecorate this room was the fact that we bought a pretty nice dining table, and it really did not go with what was there. The table wasn't going anywhere, so the rest of the room had to change.
We repainted the whole room in this colour.
(that's a close approximation based on what my monitor shows)
My wife did the cabinets. She sanded them down, primed them, and laid down three coats of paint. It was her first time painting anything. I think she did a great job. Here's the colour we chose.
It's in the same colour group as the walls, but a shade or two lighter.
Here's the "after" pictures, beginning with the dining table.
The table is about 3' x 6' to put it in perspective. The artwork on the wall are a couple of watercolours my grandmother did about 10 years ago. We found a couple of suitable frames for them. The light fixture used to be a ceiling fan, but it hung down too low. I'm not a really tall guy (6' 0"), but it was enough to make me duck. We switched it with something more sleek. The new fixture didn't make it into this picture.
And the rest of the kitchen.
The round thing on the end of the counter is a clock I have yet to mount. We ditched the frilly curtains and went with roman style blinds. All of the cabinet hardware has been replaced by simple brushed aluminum knobs.
We also replaced every light fixture. They used to be hanging "brass and glass" type things that annoyed the crap out of me. The new fixtures are sleek ones that hang tight to the ceiling and are predominately frosted glass with brushed aluminum fittings. We also had to replace the doorbell (which was in our kitchen and looked awful), the switchplate and outlet covers, and the floor heating register covers.
We would have liked to also replace the flooring and countertop, but that is something we need to budget for. Floors and countertops are expensive.
