KP DUTY part one

As promised, I am posting today about the recent, dramatic re-decoration of our kitchen. Dramatic in the sense that it is like night and day when you look at the before and after photos. While we didn’t take the room back to the studs, we did rip things out and sling a lot of drywall around. You will see where we left the original tile counter tops and splash back, not to mention the 1970s stainless steel main sink. I did stalk some sites featuring porcelain farm sinks and subway tile but we had to stop the bleeding somewhere. Someday we may tear down our 1930 storybook-style house anyway and build anew so this seemed like a good compromise. Maybe not good. Maybe more like “I can live with it until we find cash buried in the backyard”.

One other thing to consider before you start scrolling: you may ask yourself why our kitchen looked like it did in the first place. The hideous, torn blue and white linoleum, the horribly yellowed icebox, the 1970s bar sink and so many other missteps and affronts to “HGTV” and “This Old House” (it’s old alright; just not quaint New England-old). The answer lies in my misguided attempts some years ago to give the kitchen a more rustic feel by first stripping (yes, I said I do a lot of that) the woodwork and doorframes and then waxing them. I also liked the idea of contrasting blue and white linoleum and that the bar sink should stay for practical purposes. I should just mention that my mission at that stage was to try and fix what I inherited when I bought the house in 1994: Mylar wallpaper, rectangular fluorescent light boxes (no one looks good under fluorescent lighting, no one), yellowed linoleum that surely came out of Shawshank Prison, and scalloped wood trim over the sink. Oh, there was also a recessed fluorescent light there, too. Somewhere I have more photos but this will give you a feel for just how bad it really was...


BEFORE...




This photo does not do justice because of the absence of the mylar wallpaper and fluorescent lighting.

After viewing the "way, way back photo", please continue to scroll down past my first remodeling attempt and then, finally, to how it looks now. It is no coincidence, mind you, that HGTV is one of my “favorites” buttons on the remote control. I can blame my sad attempt at remodeling back in 1994 on not having access to these types of shows. As mentioned, past episodes of “This Old House” don’t count.



The flooring was the first thing to go. We had been tripping over it for 10+ years.

 

 


I forgot to take an official "Before" photo so these will have to do.

AFTER...

Yes, those are indeed silver-plated forks and spoons cabinet pulls.

   


Command Central, where I blog, shop and run my Empire.

Since this is a two-part series I will stop here and invite all of you to return in a few days to see a few more photos (this is what they call a "teaser"). I will also include some how-to tips and what we did to save money instead of pouring it down the 1970s-style stainless steel sink.

chairs,
Gigi