Thursday, January 11, 2018

Kitchen capers

I've always been a nester. A decorator.  Someone who likes to fiddle and fuss with her home until it's perfect. Except my perfect isn't perfect, it's comfortable

I like old things, pieces that have some history and life to them.  And I like color.  Lots of it.  And prints.  Nothing will make me crazy faster than white walls.

The new house has all white walls.

But these aren't bad; it feels like the previous owners, an older couple, left me a lovely blank slate to start with. 

Take the kitchen.  It's dated. It's probably the tiredest room in the house, but I like it.  The layout is very comfortable for the way I cook. It's big enough for a table and chairs and two of my vintage freestanding cabinets, and the existing kitchen cabinets are all in really good shape.  They're just dark, and make it feel gloomy.

Enter paint, my favorite thing.  Cabinets will be lightly sanded, and painted cream to match my vintage ones. New hardware.  Walls are going to be a warm squash/orange color called "guppy."  I'll reuse my current curtains and some of the art, and I think with very little money or effort, this will become a bright, cheery room where I will love to spend time.

My current kitchen, much as I adore it, looks out onto the alley and gets no direct sunlight.  These photos were taken on New Years Eve in the afternoon and are still bright.

Oh, and that light fixture?  Its days are numbered.

6 comments:

Cathryn said...

I can't wait to see the "Guppy" walls. I, too, love color!

Deb said...

Can't wait to see it. We just remodeled our kitchen, the old one was hopeless. I wanted it to be comfy and blend in with the age of the house. I do not believe everything has to look brand new. I absolutely adore your sink, we looked for one and the cost to replace one like yours is sky high. I will tell you though, I am sick of painting! LOL Good luck

Jodie said...

I did my cabinets - it was a bigger painting job than I expected BUT I have a big kitchen and lots of cabinets/drawers. But such a difference from the dark wood!

Karen said...

Deb, that old white sink was one of the selling points of the kitchen for me too! Cathryn, I'm not jinxing myself and buying paint until the house settles (2/12), but I have a shopping list now and that will be the first room done after my sewing room. Jodie, I'm not expecting it to be fun, but thankfully there aren't that many cabinets and I'm sure I'll survive, with wine and a fair amount of swearing.

AuntieAllyn said...

Lusting after that sink/counter! How wonderful. Can’t understand why you don’t like the light fixture . . . bwah hah hah hah! It’ll be lovely soon, I’m sure.

Silknmore said...

Congratulations, Karen. How exciting, and how you'll miss that thrift shop! Regarding the cabinets, do you know about Rustoleum cabinet paint? We painted our daughter's dated cabinets about 4 years ago and they still look great. Annette