Monday, February 16, 2009

Kitchen Update







This is what it looks like, with a temporary curtain in the window. This is a completely staged photograph. In two minutes that kitchen will be swamped with cooking things and food and everything. It will take a long time to get a scene like this again.





We did not put in new top cabinets, but the unmatched set does not look too awful after all. We will still be painting the upper cabinets. They are about 45 years old and still not broken down, hand made, of plywood.







It was very difficult to get a picture of the entire kitchen from the top to the floor. The floor is all torn up anyway, and will be replaced.








The sink is nice and deep.

39 comments:

Aelwyn said...

I really like the green countertops with your pink accents. Very nice! How exciting for you to get a new kitchen. Your upper cabinets give me an idea for a hint to my husband. I currently have shelves and a couple thrifted upper cabinets with no doors. I have a space for another cabinet on the wall, so may give him the idea of plywood. He made two countertops out of pine that are quite nice.

Sue said...

It looks beautiful! I love your faucet -- nice and tall so that big pots can fit under easily (can you tell that I have a low one that I would love to replace?). Your green and pink are just lovely.

HISchild said...

Lovely! Enjoy serving your family from such a pleasant place!

Anonymous said...

It looks *beautiful*, enjoy! (o:

Jennifer Perkins said...

what a beautiful kitchen! I love the pink. :o)

Mrs. U said...

This is SO lovely!!! I can just imagine you are so thrilled with your NEW kitchen!!!!

His,
Mrs. U

Anonymous said...

I am so happy for you to get your kitchen back! :) It is so pretty! I know what you mean when they call it a work table they really know what they are talking about! Kitchens really get a workout but isen't it such fun to cook for our families and enjoy eating together! Love the lambs in the window...a gentle reminder to pray. Jody

Sibyl said...

Your kitchen is very nice. You have made the best of a bad situation. I can see so many good family meals made there. Your kitchen might be staged, I have never figured out how people could ever have perfect countertops. I always have something on mine that might not should be there. but it's just a part of life. Sure love the new look. I am sure you will love it also.

Anonymous said...

Glad you posted these kitchen photos. Is that Island new too? Pretty fancy faucet. So happy for you. A newer counter top is great to put money into because you use it throughout the day, every day. We bought one for 100.00 at home depo last year about this time. A fix it man was telling me how they make the molded backsplash..

Lydia said...

Here is a breakdown of the cost:

faucet set $180.00
sink $80.00
dishwasher $300.00
cabinets $2,000.00
overhead contraption for the stove with light and fan: $200.00

I have not found out how much the floor tiles will cost, but you can see how these costs accumulate, as one repair usually leads to another adjustment.

The center island is on wheels and cost $40.00 here at a local store similar to Wal Mart. I got it several years ago but it matched perfectly with the new kitchen.

Anonymous said...

Very nice! I am so happy for you!

candy said...

I love your pretty kitchen :)
I always loved your home.
To me, you have thee prettiest home in blogland.

candy

Lynn said...

It is beautiful - I can imagine you working in there now - I love being able to picture people working in their homes as I work in mine :)

Secondhand Blessings said...

I love how your kitchen turned out, very pretty.
I can't quite make out the handles on some of the upper cabinets. I was wondering if they are pink flowers?
I'm glad to see that your kitchen is back in order. May you spend many happy hours in it!
Brenda

Lynne in NC said...

Lydia,
It is so lovely. I know you are happy to have this project near completion. You will be pleased to cook in such a fine work place. Happy housekeeping!
Peace.

Anonymous said...

It looks really great so far. I love the sink.

~ Ann

BessieJoy said...

I love, love, love the sink! Surely doing dishes there would be great fun! :) Those 45 year old cabinets are nice! They are BIG!
Thanks for sharing!

Just Me said...

How lovely! I'm so glad it is finally finished for you. It must have been difficult living without a kitchen!

Anonymous said...

Oh Wow! It looks fabulous! I am so happy for you! Enjoy my dear! Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy! Wow! is all I can say! Wow!

Lydia said...

Hi Brenda,

On the older, upper cabinets, the door knobs were so old that I could not get them unscrewed, so I gave up and painted a flower on them. Originally I was planning on replacing them with glass knobs.

Lydia said...

It is so much easier and more pleasant to be in this kitchen and prepare food. I still have a lot of bags of junk to unload, and there are some unfinished parts of the kitchen, which you will no doubt be able to see on Lillibeth's blog when she does her hick-cousins from the hills update. (She made up a family that lives next door, to explain all the wierd things that go on around here).

aspiritofsimplicity said...

Oh how I love all that pink! So pretty!

Anonymous said...

Lady Lydia,

I like the difference in the top cabinets to the bottom....are you keeping them white? Many new homes are using the different colors. I espcially like the deep sink... and the sink color.
Is that a bread machine you have on the counter next to the stove?
My kitchen is older but I love it lots of counter space... and I enjoy working in it....

Your blog is one of my favorites, it is so uplifting and I am encouraged when I visit.

God Bless,
Esther

Anonymous said...

Very pleasant and lots of cabinet space, even above the sink! I like the colors you've chosen.

Anonymous said...

Very pretty, Lady Lydia. I am glad for you. I hope you have many joyful hours of cooking and conversation in your lovely, updated kitchen.
Denise

Deborah Swinson said...

Love your new counters and sink and cabinet! Your upper cabinets remind me of mine in my log house we had when we lived in Alaska. You know how dark the inside of a log house can be? Well we couldn't afford new cabinets and they were a miss matched set. The counter top was canary yellow. So I adopted a rooster/sunflower theme for my kitchen. I painted the base cabinets all forest green. Then I took the doors off the upper cabinets and sanded them all down. I painted the part of the cabinets on the wall the same green. Then I just varnished the doors of the upper cabinets natural. I put up some yellow sunflower wallpaper on the one wall that was drywall in the kitchen to match the colors. That brightened up my kitchen quite a bit. It turned out rather nice and you didn't notice the upper cabinets were different than the bottom ones.

Amazing what you can do with a gallon of paint and a little elbow grease!

I think it is rather fun redecorating even though it is messy and hard work.

And it is so encouraging to work in a fresh kitchen. May you have many happy hours in there!

Alexandra said...

You may already know this, but when you paint the cabinets white, mix a drop of black in the paint and they'll be less likely to turn yellow with age. I didn't so this and my cabinets are yellowing. :(

I love the work you did - very nice! Next time we'll be getting a molded back splash. They last longer and are easier to clean.

Anonymous said...

Oh Lydia,

How exciting! The kitchen looks great! I love the sink...it is very pretty.

The top cabinets don't look bad at all and when you paint them that buttery yellow color you showed in your inspiration kitchen...oh what a dream it's gonna be.

I love it! Have lots of fun cooking in your new kitchen! Don't ya just love grabing things out of a functioning kitchen drawer....I know I do! :-)

Mrs. Monise

Anonymous said...

Lady Lydia,

What a beautiful job you've done! Your "new" kitchen is lovely! Doing without makes a person appreciate things so much more when they get them back.

Your mention of a torn up floor reminds me of a time several years ago... I took the children to visit friends in another state, while my husband remained home (work constraints). In my absence he became curious as to why the dishwasher wasn't level. He's an engineer, and one thing lead to another until by the time I returned (about a week later) the entire kitchen floor was torn up. I mean REALLY torn up. Gone! The basement was clearly visible down below between the floor joists. I had to put up a babygate at the kitchen door to prevent the children from accidentally falling into the basement. When all was said and done though, we had a lovely new floor - and the dishwasher was level! That was quite a few houses back - a good memory. Thank you!

I do enjoy hearing your adventures, but more than that, I love it when you give us your refreshing thoughts on housework, motherhood, life in general, and its setbacks. It helps to see femininity in the trenches, so to speak.

Keep smiling!
Lorna

Anonymous said...

Very pretty and homey, I especially like your sink and faucets. I will soon be redoing my kitchen so I am interested in your ideas. My husband sent me a link to your blog, I have been searching for inspirational blogs, I am so glad he found yours. God bless, ~CINDY S~

Domestically Inclined said...

What a lovely kitchen! A beautiful place to spend the days preparing meals for the family and spending time with them. So lovely.

Alexandra said...

I've been meaning to ask you for advice on decorating my laundry area which is in my grubby one car garage. I'm trying to think of a way to separate it(inexpensively) from the car and tools. There isn't a lot of room.

Maybe you could share your laundry area if you have it decorated?. I just want a pretty place to do the laundry. I need your inspiration. :) TIA

SaChay said...

You have such a lovely Kitchen! I love the colors you picked, they go together so well. We have owned our home for two years now, and I have yet to decorate!

Anonymous said...

How pretty! I love your new kitchen. I think it is nice you shared the process in pictures. Enjoy!

Anonymous said...

Pretty pretty! The shiny black on the island tiles is a nice contrast to the pink and green and wood.

Kimberline said...

Lydia,

I am so glad you have a "new" kitchen. I know how hard it is to live with that one area all torn up. All of the pictures show a lovely, workable kitchen and I know you are going to have such a grateful heart to finally have it reaching completion. I remember how happily I returned to my made over kitchen all those years ago and baked up a storm after not being able to cook anything not "fryable or microwavable"

Enjoy! (I know you will!)

Warmly,

Kimber

Marlaine said...

Congratulations on the kitchen re-do! You'll walk in and be blessed by the sight for years to come! :-)

Unknown said...

Lady Lydia, your kitchen looks so lovely, congratulations!

Little Natural Cottage said...

How very lovely! My mom has a pink kitchen too... your taste seems to run akin to hers. Very tastful and feminine.

~Kristy @ Homemaker's Cottage