So I don't have the money to get a new kitchen, and even if I did, I honestly don't know how I would fix the oddity that I have. I've thought about it for going on fourteen years now, and although I have an opinion about just about everything, including, most likely, your kitchen, I am clueless about this one.
So here is the kitchen this morning:
At the instigation of my kids, apparently none too soon, I agreed to paint it. Normally I resist such ideas. What is the point. It should be gutted. Painting only postpones the real issue. I hate painting. Painting causes disruption. I hate disruption. I'm too busy, nursing, teaching, and falling exhausted into bed to paint.
Of course, four years later, the paint needs a touch-up and really, as I've said before, this kitchen has merely been brought up to the point where you, dear reader, would start tearing it out. But I actually like it just fine. It's cheerful and old-fashioned. And now the two cupboards aren't grating at me every time I look at them! So hooray for small accomplishments!
If you want to see more befores and afters of the kitchen, go to this post.
If you want to know more about the make-do island and butcher block, go here.
What little thing have you spiffed up that just makes you happier?
_Rosie says
Too funny… Remember how I was telling you about this pretty contact paper I'd gotten at Marshalls, and how I had plans to spiff something up with it, and I was describing it all to you and you really just couldn't imagine it? Well, that's it!
It's pretty paper, isn't it? And it's the perfect fix for those shelves. Good job!
Lydia says
Well, I'm super pregnant and unable to do much in the way of decorating or fixing, but on Friday I managed to find an old, cheery floral curtain from IKEA and make two runners for the master bedroom dressers AND a valance for the kitchen window. I did a no sew solution, because I couldn't lift my sewing machine. It was a teeny tiny, ghetto sort of fix, but it really helped! I love reds and golds and green and indigo, and couldn't decide about whether I should be cool-color sophisticated in the bedroom. The runners helped me decide which colors actually make me happy from day to day.
salomeellen says
I just found out yesterday that they make “granite counter-top paint!” (http://gianigranite.com/“ target=”_blank”> http://gianigranite.com/” target=”_blank”>(http://gianigranite.com/ ) I have the same white formica, and hate it. This came highly recommended by Masterhandyman Glenn Haege, whose radio show is based here in the Detroit metro area. (http://www.masterhandyman.com/)” target=”_blank”> http://www.masterhandyman.com/)” target=”_blank”>(http://www.masterhandyman.com/) Rust-oleum also makes a similar product which Haege says is not yet as well-tested.
Deirdre says
Please let the record show that the 'before' picture is a huge upgrade from how the kitchen looked when we *actually* moved in! Because, before there was paint on the walls – way before it even occurred to us to repaint the cupboards – there was wallpaper. No, not just one sheet of wallpaper, but many. In one area of the kitchen we counted literally 7 layers of old, ugly wallpaper and scraped them all off.
The makeover has been happening in stages. Let's just keep that in mind. 🙂
Suki says
Good reminder. We also had rearranged the island, taken out a closet, and gotten new stools by the “before” picture. Gosh, it was awful!
_Jessica says
How lovely! That yellow is so attractive! My cabinets are a dull green-beige right now and I've been thinking about yellow… I've alsobeen looking at my corner turning thing ans wondering how to save the particle board from water. I'll have to take a gander at Marshalls.
Susan (DE) says
I love the yellow kitchen walls (and cupboards) with the blue plates!! I am seriously mulling over painting our kitchen a similar shade.
Also, what Deirdre said about the layers of wallpaper in the kitchen — I so get it! We once lived in a VERY old house (1780s) — but the wallpaper (layers and layers of it) that we so painstakingly peeled off the living room walls (and our bedroom, and the other room, and…) — that was from a LOT later than 1780s! And UGLY…!!!
Gini says
We bought a former model home in 1995. It had very light wood throughout, including the kitchen cabinets — typical of 1990s construction in our area. Two summers ago my husband and I redid the kitchen cabinets using Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations kits. We chose Meadow Green, but omitted the optional glaze coat, so the color skews to mint rather than to olive. My husband also put down new tile counter tops, and we painted the walls Pratt & Lambert's Wash of Rust with slightly lighter Clay Powder in the adjoining family room. I LOVE my kitchen. It's a cheerful room and much more “us” than the current trend to white cabinets and granite counter tops. We joke that it's so anti-trend that when we're gone, our daughters won't be able to sell the house and they'll have to turn it into an Old Cats Home.
Simple-Thrift Mom says
I love your redo! It is so cheerful-looking. I keep thinking about painting my cabinets but haven't quite gotten up the courage yet :).
Rhonda says
the new yellow paint with you pretty blue dishes is so cheerful- much more than just a spiff though.
Jennifer says
Regarding new counter tops: my handy dandy brother in law just replaced my parents countertops by simply gluing new laminate over the old. Easy peasy and it looks like it's brand new. I think it cost $250. 'course the labor was free because they are his in laws, but sheets of laminate are surprisingly affordable, even the fancy high definition ones that look like granite.
Charlotte says
OK… it's uncanny how many things in the post sound just like me. My kitchen has so many oddities that the only way to redo it would be to knock down a wall and start over which is never going to happen. I've told my husband that I'm fine with the formica countertops but I hate that they are bright white because of the stains. Formica isn't beautiful but it is tough as all get out! I also painted my not as dark as yours but still dark cabinets a little over 8 years ago and yes, they desperately What they need is a complete repainting but I'm gonna call it a touch up so it doesn't sound as daunting. I went with a cream color for my cabinetsv, but my laundry room that sits just off the kitchen is about the same yummy yellow as your cabinets. The only thing I see different is that I cannot stand to have open shelving. I like doors on my cabinets and I like them to stay closed all the time. I don't even like it when they stand open a little bit. And your shelf paper is very pretty!
Kim F. says
Would you please share what color/brand the paint is? I have had a mustardy yellowish paint chip taped to my wall for about, um, 10 years and just can't commit. I'm so worried about painting and then hating it and not feeling like repainting that we have done nothing. We've lived with the Navajo white walls the builder painted for 12 years. Your yellow looks so beautiful and warm and cozy. And I love the splashes of blue and red here and there. It looks lovely!
Liz K says
Just yesterday my husband installed a simple hook and eye on our bedroom door that never stays closed. Yep, that was a good addition!
Cary says
Thanks for sharing! We are doing some remodeling in the kitchen, but I am sure it will take years to get to the cabinets (financially) and they are dark. I've resisted painting because, like you said, what's the point when I'm going to tear them out. But, I can see now that after 11 years in this house, and still more kids to go through college, it's going to take some more years before we can actually finish. So, now the question is, what cabinet color goes well with the greenish-yellowish (1970's) counter tops?
Charlotte Ostermann says
I love your kitchen! I've got the same refrig and it was one of my happiest quick-fixes…painting my cabinets all white brightened my kitchen up like this, and I do see the dirt, but it is satisfying and easy to clean (i guess my wood cabinets were totally dirty, too, and i just didn't realize ….yuck!). Here's a favorite from my re-do: a whole door painted with chalkboard paint on the side facing the kitchen….quotable quotes and 'remember to eat…'s in bright colored chalk right where we'll all see it…..keep up the beautiful home-making!
Mel says
” I had a two-year-old and kids I was homeschooling. There were a lot of meals to be made here — no time for DIY! And certainly no money. ”
bless you. Yes. it amazes me, we moved into this fixer upper 10 years ago with one child. Now we have five, and precious little fixer uppering has occured. Sigh. I love the blue and yellow. And when we bought this fixer upper, my inlaws paid for a kitchen remodel (I know, right?). I liked an old-fashioned look and wanted to redo the ancient but solid wood cabinets and was vetoed…new ones from Large Hardware Chain were installed. Several of the doors have fallen off the hinges, and my rounding thingie is broken. They don't make anything like they used to, even when you spend $$$.
More wisdom…when you remodel your kitchen and get off-white ceramic tile with matching grout,,,four children later you realize that you should only ever get grout the color of petrified ketchup and coffee grounds.
Liz K says
Just yesterday my husband installed a simple hook and eye on our bedroom door that never stays closed. Yep, that was a good addition!
Sara says
i painted my boring kitchen island recently, a nice sage-y green, and it makes me feel that little bit better about my horrid kitchen.
The other little thing was to pull up the cracked, wrinkled, torn linoleum in the laundry room when we had to get new machines. While the room was empty, I and the 2 children rushed to put in pretty, sturdy peel-n-stick squares. That and a coat of paint has made a huge difference in my tiny laundry room!
glendachilders says
Such a great project that will bring you joy every day.
Fondly,
Glenda
Tara S says
I just love yellow kitchens. Your kitchen just made my day.
Mamabearjd says
I like the black island. I also love open cabinets. I did that in both of my old houses. Our current house is only 10 years old, and it is very pretty but I have a hard time making it “mine.” Boo hoo, right?
I like the paper too, love your quick fix.
PNG says
“…every single time I went to bake, no me gusta.”…..LOL!!!! This Mexican gal gets it! It made me think of this post of mine: http://ourfieldoflittleflowers.blogspot.com/2010/… It's kinda long so you just might want to skip down to the Far Side cartoon….classic! Oh, and thanks for the perspective. I haven't been blogging much over at my place nor commenting anywhere else because of the 2 year old and all the kids at home that I'm supposed to be homeschooling! Yes, I am still alive.:) However, I did pull 2 kids over to help me take all the stuff out of my pantry so I could stick some shelf paper on the roll out shelves so I could feel better about something in my kitchen!
Nancy says
I painted my house's shutters a glossy black — a big improvement over the faded pinky-maroon they used to be! And the front & back doors will be next . . . candy-apple red. We are waiting for child #4, due sometime next year (through adoption, so no worries about paint fumes during pregnancy!) — so I have a deadline before I have a busy toddler in our house.
Anne-Marie says
Our dining room has the same blue and yellow combination–so cheerful without being loud.
My latest spiff is more of a demolition. I removed the cabinet face panel below the wall oven, because I figured out that the space behind the panel, below the oven, was empty. That gave me a big hole, into which I laid a piece of plywood, and now I have an open cabinet for my pots.
Nancy says
I painted my house's shutters a glossy black — a big improvement over the faded pinky-maroon they used to be! And the front & back doors will be next . . . candy-apple red. We are waiting for child #4, due sometime next year (through adoption, so no worries about paint fumes during pregnancy!) — so I have a deadline before I have a busy toddler in our house.
Helene says
Bravo! That kitchen is lovely! You're ready for Houzz!
Sue says
Ignoring the fact that your kitchen is about 6 times bigger than my teeny-tiny one… I have to thank you for always inspiring. The cabinet doors under my sink are missing (I'll spare you the story of why), and I have a rather unattractive curtain set up filling in. I think I may just be bold and make the inside more attractive so that I can just leave it open. Genius!
Philothea says
Love the Laura Ashley paper!
My mom's kitchen has a “rounding thing” that we have always called the “spin-around.”
Mary says
LOVE this paper…what a great idea for a little kitchen uplift.
Susan says
Ahh! I LOVE this. I have a crazy ugly kitchen, too. And we hope we can redo it on a budget someday. And I've resisted doing much to it in the interim. I did take off some cabinet doors and arrange the cupboards very prettily, and hung my pots and pans. But I still have a lot of old, dingy, 70s wood. And I'm looking at these pictures, thinking, hmm . . . yellow . . . I have a GALLON AND A HALF of BM's Hawthorne Yellow sitting in my basement and I'm wondering if that will work. And it's the same color you used! (I learned from the older post). I've painted cabinets before, for our tenants. What's stopping me? It would be FREE. And it would almost go with the other ugliness in my kitchen. (What's stopping me is the four crazy kids I have running around here. but never mind). Question: did there used to be a center bar in the upper cabinets? I took my doors off and I'm not sure if that center bar is supportive or if it was just decorative.
Maria says
I love your bright painted kitchen cupboards! I have been debating painting my own orangey-oak sixties cupboards since we moved in 6 years ago. I did paint the insides a pale blue and put down contact paper, but I haven't attempted the outsides because they are so poorly make that I feel like we would have to do a major overhaul of them for it to be worth it. Many of the doors do not line up evenly, the handles are placed unevenly, and all of the drawers rub and leave a fine sawdust on the contents the drawer or cupboard below them. I think that we could probably fix many of the problems, but with 5 kids 9 and under we just don't have the time to get in to a huge project like that right now. We are hoping to move in the next year or two anyway, so I guess I will just live with it. 🙂
Veronica Greear says
I LOVE your kitchen. It might be bc yall take such great photos, but it looks like where I would like to spend time:) Such great paper you found.
Chris S in Canada says
For those of you who hate the counter top you have, I was in the same spot when i purchased my home 10 years ago. I lived with a yucky counter (stained, scratched, couple of bubbly “holes”) for a year, then found out about melamine paint. It's meant for plastic, etc., and can be used on your countertop with a sponge roller or sponge brush. Bought a quart and have painted the counter twice now. Don't have kids at home, but there's a lot of cooking in that kitchen so the counter gets a lot of washing. Check with your local paint or hardware store – $20 of paint has kept me much happier and when I've got my pennies saved, there will be a new counter.
Lynn B says
Complete honesty here: First thought when I saw the before pic was “I hope she kept that cute window treatment!” because you can't see anything in the after pic. So I had to click through the other re-do posts to see… yes! You kept it! I thought you might like to know I thought it was great before I even knew the story. You have an eye, Leila 🙂 Your whole kitchen is really sweet. and charming.