When we first moved into our new house, our kitchen was missing a few of the necessities you could say. As in, ALL appliances - stove, dishwasher and fridge. (Our house was also missing the washer and dryer, all light fixtures, and a slew of other small misc items.) And, although we didn't notice initially, the upper kitchen cabinets had been missing, too, but the bank that sold us the property replaced the upper cabinets to match the lowers....or so we all thought. It was a very nice gesture by the bank, but because the lower kitchen cabinets were no longer available, they had to purchase what they considered to be the next closest thing. And, they did a pretty good job....I realize that most people wouldn't even notice the slight differences in stain color or the cabinet trim details...but we knew they were there and that we wanted to replace or update the cabinets eventually. And the blue Formica counter tops....while they weren't my fave my husband detested them and we agreed it would be something we would start stashing our pennies to replace as soon as we were able to do so. But first things first. We needed to get some appliances into our kitchen (and we needed to purchase and install our stove prior to being able to close on our house with our particular mortgage).
So, here is our kitchen back in April '10 right before we closed on our house:
And here it is (pics taken in Dec. '10) with our new appliances (and paint, light fixtures and a patched ceiling)!!!
I still can't believe the difference that a quality stove will make! For one, it is able to preheat with lightening fast speed!!! Now to some, this may not seem like a big deal, but back in our city apartment, our ol' stove would take forever to preheat. I'm so not exaggerating here. And many a time, it simply wouldn't reach the desired temperature, period. It was so frustrating to prepare a lasagna or other dish, only to wait several hours for the oven to preheat and eventually give it up when it wouldn't go above 195 degrees. I heart my new stove!
Stay tuned for more posts on our kitchen......which now has matching white cabinets!
So much more cheerful. Brighter, lighter, airier. Love it
ReplyDeletePam
Kitchen renovations are a nightmare -- when my mom had hers redone last year, she set up a new 'kitchen' in a spare bedroom, complete with microwave, toaster and mini dorm fridge. She ate up there for months, but it was worth it once it was finally finished.The progress on the kitchen looks great. I was reading a great discussion on kitchen colors the other day on another blog. You should check it out here. They also have some great DIY tips. Good luck, it’s fun to track your progress.
ReplyDeletebuild on your own lot
Love both your cabinet and your butcher block projects- turns out your blog was the answer to all that ails me and my funky kitchen. I wanted ways to spruce up what I have without breaking the bank. I hate waste and I do have great quality maple cabinetry and (potentially beautiful) butcher block. I'm literally copying your exact kitchen give or take a few details!
ReplyDeleteCould I know the name of the gorgeous blue paint you used on your accent walls in the dining area? They look so soothing!