The Power of Paint: Kitchen Before & Afters

Making the kitchen feel like us had been our largest project to date. We were lucky because it wasn't in bad shape when we closed on the house - everything worked - but it just wasn't our style. Here's the before:

So much oak.

The only item that needed to be done was to refinish the hardwood floors in here. I don't think they'd been refinished in the entire lifespan of the house. You can't really tell from the pics above but there were spots so worn down that the finish was gone. We ended up replacing them because they were engineered hardwood (and not refinish-able...learned a good lesson there) and love the look of them now. We painted the cabinets and replaced the hardware as well. It's so light and bright in the kitchen! We did this project ourselves and it was a labor of love. It took about two weeks including paint curing time. The majority of the work was done in 2-3 hours bursts on the weekends and after work. Our diligence totally paid off though and the finish is durable and, dare I say, semi-professional! We also put in a stainless steel sink and new faucet.

When we had our first floor repainted, the kitchen got a new color too. The blue is so fresh and I think the cabinets really pop now. The old chandelier hit Craigslist and we added a new fixture that is not only brighter, but lower profile. It works a lot better in the space and it's now centered above the kitchen table.

We have plans to update all the appliances to stainless steel this summer. We've only replaced the dishwasher so far and already the stainless on that side of the kitchen blends SO much better with the cabinets, hardware and overall feel. Down the line, I'd love to try my hand at a DIY backsplash and maybe under cabinet task lighting. All in due time. :-)

Spout It Out

This post is about faucets. :-) I got a little creative with that title.

Much like many home projects, our kitchen is a work in progress. When we moved in, we transformed our totally 90s cabinets into a brighter and more modern look with paint and new hardware. We replaced the floors too - from a beat-up light engineered wood to a medium brown real wood. These changes alone made a huge difference.
 

Kitchen before. Hello oak wood.

Sorry for the dark pics - these are from my iphone!

Ahh so much better. Even with the old appliances.

Phase 2 of the kitchen involves a new sink and faucet. Our shallow, grody white sink is out. As is its best pal - a leaky, dirty, cracked faucet. Thanks to my sister's wonderful BF, we have a new, shiny, deep stainless steel sink to install! We are trying to decide on a faucet. We want something that

1. Fits our modern taste
2. Is sleek with clean lines
3. Will last - we are looking at quality brands since the sink gets the most use out of anything in your entire kitchen

We've narrowed it down to three options. Which do you like best? Have you owned any of these brands?

Kohler Simplice

Delta Trinsic

Moen Reflex

 
Phase 3 will be new appliances (praise stainless steel!), paint, under cabinet lighting and a tiled backsplash which we'll attempt to DIY!