Operation: Rejuvenate Kitchen, Part 1

When I moved into my house [gulp] ten years ago, one of the things I loved most about it was the new kitchen, complete with granite countertops. Coming from a tiny 1940s-era duplex with a nearly original stove and fridge, this was a big step up in the world, believe you me. With my mom's help, I set right to decorating it.

Oh, you want a better look at the fruit-themed wallpaper border, you say? And as for that lovely shade of yellow, doesn't it remind you of cold mustard and ham sandwiches on Wonder bread that you savored as a child? Or pollen from a big summer blossom of some sort? What's that? Did I hear you correctly? Baby dookie? Hmm. I suppose that, too. But I like to think more positively. Surround myself with goodness and light and all that business........ Ok, people, cut me some slack. It was the mid-90s, and wallpaper borders were still in. Sorta. And at the time I really liked this fruit pattern. I cannot deny my past! The point is, though, that some time ago I stopped liking it. And I never liked the color and cheap construction of the cabinetry. It's hard to tell in these pictures (you mean I have to focus, compose, AND pay attention to lighting and such?), but they have a purply-pink tint to them that is just...unpleasant. It used to be worse, though. The knobs were shiny brass. Ugh. A couple years ago I spray painted them all silver--a temporary fix. But the time has finally come to do something about this sad, outdated, worn out looking kitchen. We started by choosing a paint color for the cabinets. Here are our two test patches. We chose the darker taupey-gray color on the left to complement the granite. And last Saturday we tore the kitchen all to heck and got started. You know some of you out there who confess to me that your house is a mess, and I say something like, "You should see mine! I'm living like a crazy hoarder on a Jerry Springer special!" and then you guffaw and say something like, "Yeah, right! Your house is never a mess." You can't say that anymore. I have photographic evidence right here. We removed the cabinet doors, and painted the facings, walls, and the ceiling. Here's the new paint color next to the old. And here I am wedged behind the fridge. Gads, this is an unflattering picture. Oh well. Just keeping it real here, folks. Matt was in charge of painting the walls, and I must say he did a fine job of it. Every single exposed hair on his body was matted with paint by the time he finished, but he never spilled and the walls looked beautiful. Again, my cruddy photography makes it hard to see, but it's a really nice neutral off white with a touch of beigey-gray. We also tore out our old, ugly oven hood. That sucker was a pain in the arse to tear out (at least, er, it looked from my vantage point sitting at the dining room table with a cold beverage like Matt was having a hard time of it), so Matt was especially happy when it finally came loose and went straight into the trash bin. (Please don't ask about his t-shirt. Someday I'll do a post on his shirt collection, but until then I don't want to talk about it.) Installing the new one was no picnic, either. It involved going to Home Depot and buying some round saw attachment thingy for our drill, which we used to spray wood shavings all over the dadgum house. I mean, er, to drill a hole in the existing cupboard. We don't own any safety goggles, so we improvised by using my old $7 Target sunglasses. But once we'd done that, everything else went smoothly and before I knew it I was the owner of The Quietest Kitchen Fan On the Planet. Now all we have left to do is:

1. Paint the baseboards
2. Paint the door and doorframe
3. Find lovely artwork for that big white wall
4. Get a new roman shade for the window
5. Install a travertine backsplash all by our lonesomes (!!!!)
6. Install new flooring.......know why? This is why:

Refrigerator + linoleum + gravity + friction = a more expensive kitchen remodel than we'd anticipated. Stay tuned for more progress reports!