One Room Challenge: Week 5 - SLEEK KITCHEN UPDATE
We are really starting to see changes around here this week! It's a good thing, cuz we are down to the wire with only one week to go!!!
I was able to paint two coats of white on the (LAST) primed kitchen wall surrounding the dining area window. Woohooo! It felt awesome to finally finish the walls! I measured and reinstalled my existing curtain rod brackets a bit higher for the new curtains. I still love my polished nickel West Elm oversized rods. We have them throughout our home and I have no desire for something different. If it ain't broke...Now, that I think about it, the downside is that I have the old version of the mounting brackets. Those top screws are nearly impossible to fully tighten. I can't fit my short screwdriver, nor my drill in there. And my long handled screwdriver has also proven useless to tighten at an angle.
I purchased and installed the drawer pull outs for the top shelf of the peninsula cabinets. The lower shelf is a bit more narrow, due to where the hinges fall, so those will be a special order. But we can definitely live without them. It felt great to transfer our pantry items to the peninsula as soon as installation (fairly simple, btw) was complete! After 10 years of walking through the laundry room door to get to the pantry, it dawned on me...why not move the food, which we get into EVERY day, to the kitchen and move the items used less frequently (grill, rice cooker, baking pans) into the pantry/laundry room?! I grew up in a house without a walk in pantry, so it doesn't seem that odd to me. I'm sure I didn't even know what that was until I moved out on my own. As a professional organizer, I know this is not a solution for everyone. But, if something seems to be bothering you daily...think outside the box!
All of the drawers and lower cabinet bases have now been primed and have two coats of black paint. Boy, that is time consuming! It's been about 12 years since I last painted an entire kitchen. (I painted both of our bathroom vanities a combined total of three times in ten years. Those were a breeze compared to a large kitchen.) But, I'm not complaining. Ok, well maybe just a little. But seriously, having this six week deadline has done wonders for my motivation!!! That, plus my overwhelming desire to stop living in perpetual chaos. Dear clients, I get it. But, there IS hope!
When we first moved to Louisiana, we rented an old house. Our landlords were very accommodating and trusted me to make some updates. It was a good excuse for my mom (and DIY mentor) to fly down and help. Here's a little before and after. Ohhh, how I would do things differently today, lol! But, I am so grateful for every opportunity to "practice" along my journey.
Ok, back to our current kitchen...
When I first started this challenge, I wasn't certain how I would treat the backsplash and countertops. Tile and grout on counters is just really disgusting. But, quartz is definitely not in our budget right now. And If I am going to change them, I'm not going to put time and money into a temporary fix. Countertops can wait.
But the backsplash on the other hand...I decided to paint a high gloss white enamel. Before now, I had never thought about it. I would have no problem painting 40 year old tile (and I have) -- because it's OLD. But this tile has been NEW since the day we moved in, so I suppose I looked at like it was untouchable. Weird, but it kind of makes sense. So, I conducted a little research and decided that's what I would do. I primed and painted it with three coats of enamel. BEIGE BE GONE! Ugh. All of the beige was so depressing. Just cutting back from three surfaces of beige tile to two has certainly made a difference. Do I like the diamond pattern? Nope. Still don't. But, it is better and isn't that the point?!
Still left to do:
+ paint cabinet doors (just finished priming them tonight!)
+ reinstall cabinet doors
+ add cabinet hardware
+ organize
+ cleeeeaan up!
+ hang curtains
+ add rug
+ add art
+ install new faucet
+ install flush mount light over sink
+ swap out electrical outlet to black in peninsula
I know there are a lot of other guest participants and featured designers out there who will tackle this 6 week challenge with a beautiful end result of a job well done. I am so happy to take part and look forward to a little "down time" -- not that I know anything about that, lol -- to catch up on their One Room Challenge reveals next week!
