BEFORE:
Just in case you weren't certain which room you'd entered, the little old lady from whom we bought our 90-year-old house had filled the kitchen with helpful hints. Before we overhauled this approx. 110-sq. ft. kitchen, it was filled with vegetable print curtains, vegetable still-life paintings, decorative jars of vegetables floating in mysterious liquids and ceramic backsplash tiles featuring vegetables. The paint color, I could describe only as "flavor-blast." It was a lot of look. One year later, we managed to achieve the simple, bright and airy, easy-to-clean kitchen I always knew we could....
AFTER:
This, dear readers, is what I wanted. I told the contractor "I want it clinical. Like someplace you'd conduct a chemistry experiment."
While we would never invite the contractor-who-won't-be-named back into our home (his personality, planning and professionalism were lousy), we were eventually able to enjoy the fruits of his (flunkies') labors.
We swapped out the stove for the fridge because my husband wanted to "triangulate" the room better. I have to give it to him; I didn't know what he was talking about, but I'm glad he won the argument.
We got rid of the dark wood that was crowding out the windows and went, instead for floating shelves. That, in combination with bright white paint and new non-jalacy windows, make for a room that seldom requires overhead lighting during the day. Oh, and, we scrapped the lower cabinets and finally got a dishwasher! Wonder of splendid wonders!
This wall was a mess. It was just some hack-sawed salvaged cabinets that were tacked onto the wall and they weren't even cabinet-depth. As for the fridge, it was pushed back into a random hole that was hastily carved into the wall. We had to eat up a portion of the bedroom closet on the other side, but it was worth it in order to get actual functional cabinets and countertops.
This hollowed-out non-cabinet...well, I don't even know what this was ever supposed to be for. We installed a lazy susan cabinet and some functional utensil drawers.
As for the floor, I assume they were originally trying for a camouflage effect with this janky vinyl tile they had. I don't know about you guys, but I like to clean up dirt, not hide it. So, we went with this slate gray ceramic tile, laid subway style (I know; so trendy!).
We got rid of the awful ceiling tiles and the eat-in banquet that was over-sized and covered in lead-based paint. We swapped the noisy "overhead fluorescent office light of doom" (husband's words) for recessed cans and pendant lamps. We have a garbage disposal now. Also, there's tons more room for humans to actually hang out, cook and not be visually assaulted by overbearing tackiness.
It took about a month, I cried a lot, we had to prepare our meals in our in-law kitchenette (then, eat them on a make-shift table) and the whole affair cost gobs of money. The end.
I wish I could give one of those Apartment Therapy-style lists of all the resources we used. Alas, the entire process was so fraught with customer service snafus, botched orders and careless craftsmanship, that I don't even want to recommend half the folks we used.
I can, however, nudge you toward Overstock; they offered our lantern-style backsplash tile for a small fraction of what the nearby tile shop quoted. And, overall, I guess I can't really complain about Ikea. They were having a big sale, which was where we purchased much of this stuff: Cabinets, sink, microwave hood, and our Caeserstone counter, which is sooooo much nicer and easier to clean than the old tile counter. It's just the random stoners who Ikea sub-contracted to install the cabinets that left me a bit sour.
As for decor, we're still working on it. Not for nothin', we actually have sprinkled a fair amount of our own food-related art about the room, including a tiny Wayne Thiebaud print, some veggie doodles by UK artist, Kate Wilson, and a soon-to-be-hung Marimekko textile.
Now, ask me questions and/or give me praise!
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