Let me preface this post by saying, I love our kitchen. It really doesn’t NEED any additional work. It has always been a favorite room in our house with the minty walls, white cabinets, and our huge island. If you are a regular reader, you have already seen this room go through various stages of change while we updated the back splash, added barn wood to the island, and switched out the island top and brought in bar stools. This room gets so much use. We are in here constantly cooking, using the breakfast bar, hosting gatherings and displaying my favorite plants and artwork.

 

 

So, I maybe have still not changed this chalkboard since the bridal shower I threw months ago. Congrats Sam & Ethan!

All photos above courtesy of the lovely Callie Williams of Jolly Muse Photography.

What these pictures don’t show is that the cabinets were painted before we bought the house and are really showing their age with chips, grunge, and wonky hinges. The ceiling plaster is also looking very yellowed and cracking a bit. We have some ideas for updating the cabinets as well as the ceiling to really make it a room we’re proud of. Here is our to-do list:

• Build a fridge surround to make better use of the upper cabinet
• Switch out cabinet doors for new ones like these (painted white) and add crown molding to top
• Replace cabinet hinges and knobs
• Incorporate microwave into island and add vent hood above stove top, removing the empty cabinet above
• cover existing plaster ceiling with wood paneling

I love this idea for the ceiling, but it may be easier to go with a painted version to hide any imperfections

Image found via pinterest here.

We actually got started on the fridge surround this weekend when my Dad graciously gave up his Saturday to give us a hand. Here’s how the fridge has looked since we moved in (sorry for the grainy cell-phone pictures):

 

From the day we walked into this house, I thought the fridge looked lost here on the end of the row of cabinets. The small cabinet above has been essentially useless mounted on the wall where we can’t reach it. Here’s how it’s looking now…

We still have some caulking and painting to do when we eventually get the new cabinet doors ordered, but this is a great step in the right direction. We floated the cabinet away from the wall so it’s flush with the front of the fridge and we can actually use it! and gave the fridge a little cubby to sit in so it looks like it belongs there. I may add a narrow shelf and cork board to the left side of the enclosure to make it a bit more useful (we lost all of that magnetic fridge space for cards, coupons, important phone numbers, etc).

We can’t wait for the rest of the kitchen refresh to happen, we just need to save a bit more money… we will keep you posted!