Kitchen Progress

When we moved in last weekend our kitchen looked like this:

. . . and today it looks like this:

A big step in the right direction, that's for sure.

We spent THE WHOLE WEEKEND sanding, priming, and painting the faceframes and doors to the cabinets.

I used a combination of oil-based primer and latex interior paint for the cabinets.

We used a 6" soft roller for the primer and a 2" or 1" Purdy angled brush for the paint.  The color I ended up going with for the cabinets was Behr Ultra Premium Plus Silky White UL170-12, because the color I originally selected was a Sherwin-Williams color, and being the total control freak that I am, I don't always trust the color match machine, so I selected the closest color they had.

Creamy yet true white.

I decided we were going to paint the soffits above the cabinet the same color, rather than doing a different wall color, to give the illusion of cabinets going to the ceiling.  A little trick of the eye to help us out with our low, ranchy-house ceiling.

Taking out the scalloped valance above the sink really opened that space up, allowing more light to come in.  Our old kitchen had one too:

The Jasper House

And just think, those were probably super trendy at one time . . .

I bought hardware from Home Depot, although we are going to let the doors dry a little bit longer (giving them a full 24 hours to cure) before we put them back on.

I finally decided to just go with brushed nickel afterall. 



Source



Source

The look is more traditional than I originally thought I was going to go, but I just can't say no to a sparkly crystal knob.  I liked the cup pull's shape - not too angular, but not a hemisphere shape like some others I've seen.

I did find a crystal knob in a really dark oil-rubbed bronze finish, and a cup pull in a matte black finish, but I just didn't want to risk the colors being too far off.  Because even though no one else may notice, I'd always know they didn't REALLY match.  And then I wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

We had to fill the holes in the drawer fronts and on the doors, because the previous owners had handle pulls on the doors (there were two holes and we only needed one now) and the new cup pulls are 1/2" smaller than the old ones.

I've got it down to two choices for the ceiling light fixture.  They're both from Home Depot, and both about the same price and size.



Source



Source

I think I like the top one for the kitchen (I really like the way the shape echoes the crystal knobs), and the bottom one for in the mudroom.  I like how they both are semi-chandalier / semi-flushmount styles, and have a bit of Old World, carriage house feeling.  Plus, they both go with this chandalier I found for the dining room:

Source

And thank goodness, they're all affordable options.  I can't tell you how disappointing it is to finally find what you're looking for and see that it's going to cost you $300+ to get it.

I'm still trying to decide what to do on this wall:

It's only 6 3/4" deep, so I can't really do shelving there.  I was thinking about doing my gallery wall with the photo ledges there, but I also keep thinking about how much fun the hubs and I would have with a chalkboard wall.



Source



Source

Either way, the register and the wood moulding are going to be coming down this week.

The HVAC guys are here today and tomorrow installing our central heating and A/C.  This girl doesn't do window units in the humid southern Ohio summer, plus the old fuel-oil boiler system is loud and costs a fortune to fill the giant tank outside.  It'll be nice to get rid of that puppy and not have to look at it sitting out there in the yard.

I can't wait to get the kitchen finished so I can show you how it turns out!