This Post May Contain Affiliate Links. Please Read Our Disclosure Policy.
Friday, February 24, 2012

Our Kitchen {The Details}




Let's start at the very beginning...a very good place to start...
Photo via MLS listing
About 2 months after moving in, I stripped all of the wallpaper.  

(Tip-warm water in a spray bottle with a few drops of Dawn original dish soap is the best I've found to remove wallpaper.  Spray thoroughly, wait about 20 minutes, and start peeling.  If your paper doesn't come off easily or completely, respray and wait a little longer.  Usually if I had a problem I either didn't get it wet enough or didn't wait long enough.  Still, stripping wallpaper is the worst job ever!

I textured and painted the walls.  We also changed out the sink faucet around that time and switched out hardware, but no other major changes until about 3 years later.

Sometimes you just have to live in a space for a while and figure out what works and what doesn't.  I loved the island in the kitchen, and because of the layout, I did 95% of my work there.  On about 24" of counter space.  I really thought about the idea of enlarging the island.  There was tons of unused space at the end of the island, but the bar counter angled in towards the center of the kitchen.  If we lengthened the island, there would have been mere inches between the edge of the island and the corner of the angled cabinet.

Photo via MLS listing

I consulted my dad and a friend about what would be involved in slicing the sink counter where it started to angle and  making the angle wider.  They both seemed to think that wouldn't be too difficult.  A meeting with a contractor (didn't want to do this big of a project ourselves...we're not that good!) confirmed that this would be a relatively simple and inexpensive project, so enlarging the island was a go!  We had already planned to get new counter tops, so the timing was right to just do everything at once.   

Here you can see the footprint of where the cabinet base used to sit, and how much we swung it out.  Providentially there were exactly 
enough tiles found in the garage to patch the spot.



Here is the island with one end torn apart.  The plan was to add another 2 foot section to the end, where I had them install two pull-out drawers.


We added one big cabinet door to those pull-outs and that is where I keep my toaster oven and mixing bowls.  Very handy.  The workers had removed the end panel and trim molding, so they just replaced it after the additional section was completed.


For all of my cabinet painting, I've used the Behr paint with primer in it from Home Depot.  I didn't sand, just cleaned with TSP beforehand.  We removed all of the doors and drawers and laid them outside.  They were all painted with a foam roller and a brush for the corners.  I painted the fronts and backs of the doors but did not paint 
the insides of the cabinets.

Finished!  That entire right panel is the new section added, so you can see how much empty space there was before.



I added glass knobs and pulls here for a bit of sparkle and to lighten things a bit.

There was an opening left when we widened the angle, which they patched and I added some moulding afterwards to cover some seams.  If we would have thought a little more before hand we probably could have added another tall skinny door there or something, but didn't realize that there would be that big of a empty spot created.  Oh well, live and learn.


The white color was "Cottage White" by Behr with a glaze over it.  I sprayed (aack!) polyurethane over the glaze which set and sealed it quickly.  I've read that the spray poly that I used may have a tendency to yellow over time, but we'll see.  I believe you can just glaze and put nothing on top of it, but it takes forever to dry and cure.


My hardware was fairly new and I still liked it, but it was an antique-brass.  I spray painted all of the knobs and pulls with Rustoleum's Oil-Rubbed Bronze (ORB).  It has a really pretty slightly sparkly finish.  The paint has held up well in the 1 1/2  years since we've done this, although I have noticed a knick on 1 pull that I need to touch up.  

I purchased an in-stock sink from Home Depot.  One bowl is slightly bigger than the other, and that larger side is HUGE and DEEP.  Love it.  Only drawback-I can pile way too many dishes in there before they make it to the dishwasher!  It's a composite granite sink and I've been very pleased with it.  I've always had a white cast iron sink before, and this one really resists markings and is easy to clean.  


The kitchen was already wired for fluorescent under cabinet lighting, but Ray took those down and installed halogen spots that we found at Home Depot.  He also put them on a dimmer switch and the glow is nice and warm.  We used these little boxes to contain all of the cords.  I intended to paint the cords the color of the cabs, but just realized seeing these pictures that I forgot.  We never see them-out of sight out of mind!


The pantry doors were large and plain, so I bought some trim that matched what was on the rest of our interior doors and added those boxes before painting the doors.  I also sprayed those knobs with the ORB paint.


We already had done some backsplash work that I'll talk about in another post, but these are the tin-looking tiles that are really plastic that you can purchase at Lowe's or Home Depot.  They are also spray-painted in ORB.  We re-used them for now but may do something different for the backsplash in the future.  




So, that's about it!  Way more information than I'm sure you wanted.  But, if there's anything I didn't address that you want to know feel free to 
leave a question in the comments.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Linking up with Thrifty Decor Chick



Would you like to comment?

  1. Wow! Your kitchen looks fantastic. My hubby painted our cabinets when we moved in but didn't put that spray coat on top. Just from experience--it makes a BIG difference as to whether or not it will chip. Aw well. Live and learn.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It is so beautiful. What is the name of your granite? I love the island a different color. Getting ready to do that myself.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Genius idea to swing the cabinet out, what a huge difference! It's gorgeous and so much more functional without spending $$$!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jennifer, your kitchen is gorgeous! I love that you painted the island black in contrast the rest of the cabinetry, and your granite is SO pretty! What a difference it made to open up the angle of the counter. As always, I love your style and how you've pulled it all together!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love the transformation! Those glass pulls and backsplash are so elegant! You have great posts on your blog, overall! New follower right here! Keep up your amazing work!!

    Caroline @ Double the Decor

    ReplyDelete
  6. This was an amazing transformation and well executed. I love the transformation. Thank you for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I had to check out your kitchen too! Amazing transformation!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Found you from Thrifty Decor Chick's link party. Your kitchen looks wonderful. I also linked up my kitchen - am thinking to change my black cabinets to white and seeing yours just reinforces how much I like the white cabinets. Feel free to check out my blog if you'd like.
    http://adventuresindiy1759.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  9. Found you at TDC linky party! Your kitchen is gorgeous! It just reinforces why I need to make my cabients white! Trying to talk my hubby into letting me do it myself instead of paying someone :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Beautiful kitchen! Thanks for the tip about the glaze and poly. We will be painting our soon so thanks for the encouragement too!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Amazing kitchen redo! Thanks for the encouragement to keep at mine (slowly but suerly crossing things off my list).
    Do you by chance remember the name of the brown paint that is on the walls? I've had a hard time finding a brown I like and your color looks like exactly what I've been looking for!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wow, what a gorgeous kitchen! I would love to know what glaze you used on the cabinets. I also love the wall color, do you know what it is? Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wow!! Amazing and beautiful! What color did you use on the walls? It gives it a rich finish! Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Holy renovation!!!!... Where did you get the crystal hardware. No offense i hated your kitchen in the before pictures now I am jealous.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Just found your blog over at (Carmel's) Our Fifth House and I'm so glad I did! Love your style and your beautiful home!! Your newest follower :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Just stumbled across your blog, and so glad to see your kitchen makeover. We are closing on a house next week, and we're already lining up someone to paint the cabinets and walls in the kitchen. I'm also going with the white cabinets/gray wall trend. Did you say what color is on your walls? Sorry if I missed that. Your kitchen looks gorgeous!! I'm nervous but excited to see how ours turns out.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Great kitchen redo!! Areyour ovens a gold or bronze color? If so, could you provide details because I'm looking for antique bronze appliances, not the brown ones that Jen Air does.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Anne, No, they are just regular stainless steel. Antique bronze sounds like it would be beautiful! Good luck on your search.

      Delete
  18. Great kitchen redo!! Areyour ovens a gold or bronze color? If so, could you provide details because I'm looking for antique bronze appliances, not the brown ones that Jen Air does.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I am about to paint my cabinets too--same colors as yours. Great minds think alike-LOL!

    But my question to you is how is the spray poly holding up?

    ReplyDelete
  20. Your cabinets are beautiful! Love them. :)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Beautiful!!! What a transformation. What color is the wall paint?

    ReplyDelete
  22. Could you tell me more about the glaze? Like what color is it and how do you do it? Thanks! Love your kitchen!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Beautiful! I am in the process of redoing my kitchen. Would you mind telling me what color/kind of granite yours is? It looks close to saint cecelia? I love it, and would love to have some like it! Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Hi, I just love your home! I would like to know the color of your walls in the foyer. I went to the link you provided but it is not available. What brand and color of paint for the walls and trim, and what brand of paint for the black doors. Thank you!!

    ReplyDelete
  25. I love your kitchen! How well have your painted cabinets held up over the past couple of years? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  26. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  27. What paint color did you use on the walls?

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for leaving a comment, they make my day! If you have a specific question, please make sure to check back here as I will respond in the thread, or leave your e-mail so that I can respond personally. Or, email me directly to address in "Contact" section at top.