One Room Challenge: Week 1 - SLEEK KITCHEN UPDATE

I am excited to join the One Room Challenge as a guest participant for the first time this spring!

My husband told me recently that I was a trendsetter, lol! While I don’t know about that, I DO know that I like what I like, even if it’s not popular. This June, we will have owned our home for 10 years. It is the first (and only) house we have ever owned. I always assumed I would buy an older house to fix up, but with the reality of our housing market at the time, it was more economical to buy new.

In 2009, my one request to close the deal was to paint the brand new, stained oak kitchen cabinets WHITE prior to moving in. It was shocking to many and I just couldn’t figure out why. The seller was also the builder and had built many of the houses in the subdivision. All. Oak. Kitchens. Because they were so against it, I decided they would probably not do the best job. So, they provided the paint and I provided the labor through a business contact of mine. And voila, brand new, white kitchen cabinets!

Right after moving in, my first project was to paint the beige kitchen walls a deep charcoal grey (Valspar’s Rugged Suede). I would later paint our entryway and son’s bedroom this same color. We had a lot of visitors after moving in. People either loved or hated that we painted over oak. There was no in between. Fast forward 10 years and, thanks to a little show led by an awesome husband and wife duo, everyone in the south is painting their dated cabinets white! I love it!

But, for me personally, I am over it. After nearly a decade, I am craving something different! If money were no object, I would have an ultra modern home. Unfortunately, my budget (and husband) has limits. When we first got married, he did not share my love of modern design. So, I have done my best to create a comfortable home that we can both enjoy. He is now moving closer to the mod side and is on board for BLACK kitchen cabinets and white walls! It took a while for him to warm up to the black, but I was patient. My goal was to update the kitchen before our 10 year home anniversary. And then very recently, I decided to get over my fear and sign up for the One Room Challenge and tackle the kitchen on a deadline of 6 weeks! I have never participated in it before, but have enjoyed watching others do it!

My plan is to:

·paint the walls white

·paint the cabinets black

·creatively address the countertop and backsplash

·update the hardware

·replace the curtains

·create better efficiency and organization

Follow along to see if I can actually tackle this challenge over the next five weeks. Wednesday

marked “week 1”, so I’d better get moving! Also, check out the 20 amazing featured designers, as well as the rest of us guest participants here!