My Kitchen Project

I'm getting a little stir crazy with my house again, as usual!!! Don't you just feel sorry for my husband? Well, don't. I usually do it when he's out of town hunting, so he just comes home mid project or to a brand new space. Poor dear! I really should make him help. The last time I really did anything to the kitchen, we were still renting the home. Not anymore!!! Now, my hubby and I are the proud owners of a hefty first mortgage. So... it's been officially ours since last September and I haven't done a thing!!! I've got a near non-existent budget, so lets see how this goes. 

Here is my concept board: aka the big dream that will be whittled down once reality hits.

Concept boards are helpful if you're planning a project. It helps you to gather samples and lay them out to see a big picture. It also helps you create a budget. For some clients I often do renderings of their space, but I don't have time to provide myself with that luxury. Sad isn't it? : (

I completed this concept board with Adobe Illustrator, but there are many other ways to create concept boards. Even Pinterest is helpful as a way to save ideas to a board collectively for your project. Follow Asia's board My Kitchen Project on Pinterest. 

The kitchen images on my board represent a feature I like... not my actual kitchen.... unfortunately.

Oh the Oak!
I am suffering with oak on oak overload! It's just too much for me... personally. When designing kitchens I always like a contrast between the cabinets and flooring. But in this case, I'm not content with simply changing one thing. Here's my before images. Time for a change, I'm just over the pastels and all the Oak! It's hard to tell where the floor ends and the cabinets begin. My Lab Pistol Annie ate my first chairs... not really sad about that actually. So I picked up the heart back vintage cafe chairs for $150 on craigslist. I figured I'd try Iron or metal so the dog wouldn't chew on them and so far so good. I wish I had a hidden camera to see if & when she tried to chew these chairs. I would love to have done something different in the way of chairs, but they were a bargain and the dog wouldn't hurt them. The table came with the house and I have plans to refinish it.

My Project Plan:

There's no rules, wrong, or right to my steps. Feel free to deviate as your money & schedule needs. Though consider some things may be messy, like paint, so that's why I'm starting that first and having the floors refinished after.

I'll be doing separate post with photos, items used, and tutorials for each step- so stay tuned or be sure to Subscribe to my blog.

Step 1: Cabinets & Walls- Paint, Paint, & more Paint In the coming months I'll be removing all of the cabinet doors to have them sprayed, while I hand paint or roll paint the cabinet boxes. I plan to add a cove Crown molding to the cabinets which I will pre-cut and then paint, prior to attaching to the cabinets. I'll also add bead board veneer panels to the end of my cabinet run. This will look better when painted, as compared to the photo of wood veneer that usually is shown on cabinets. At this time I'll paint the walls too. It's a good thing I love to paint!

I also hope to outfit my cabinet innards with some great features from Rev-a-Shelf : like a pull out trash & recycling can, new corner lazy susans, and spice pull-out.

I recently bought new cabinet hardware so it's not on my shopping list, but I don't want you to neglect cabinet hardware options. It's a great way to update your look on a budget. I like to browse House of Knobs.

Step 2: Sand & Finish the Floors This will probably be the most expensive part of my project. I'm opting... against my better judgement, for a darker chocolate stain. I say that because in the world of flooring there is certainly a "happy medium". This applies to your hardwood color and really any type of flooring. Medium tone floors in any wood species, show less scratches, dirt, and pet hair tumbleweeds. But like a pair of high heels... I'm gonna do it anyway and suffer the cleaning issues. The dog and the hubby may just need to be beat till they learn not to track in and scratch my floors. Just kidding... I could never beat my dog.

Step 3: Shelves Build 2 shelves between my cabinets and satin to match the floor. I'm hoping to store my counter top microwave on it and add wine bottle storage. That is assuming I have any wine left by this step.

Step 4: Accessorize My favorite part!!! Now this will have to come as finances are available. I'm going to start with the rug, in order to protect my gorgeous floor from the metal chair legs. I'm still unsure about the rug on my concept board, but I think it will help tie-in the blues in my living room. I'm hoping it has enough grey to match, but I haven't seen it in person yet. I have plenty of lattice and geometric grey and white rug options on standby, but I want a pop of color. Follow Asia's board My Kitchen Project on Pinterest.

Rug Options

Surya Rugs From Left to Right: HRZ1021-710RD, RAI1231-8RD, or ALF9584-73RD
I chose Surya Rugs because I sell them and they offer a wonderful selection of indoor/outdoor rugs.

Other accessories will be whats available, because I really don't think I'll have the budget to purchase anything new. I hope to buy ceramic or porcelain flowers for the dining room wall- like shown. I collect white vases with raised flowers on them and I'd like to have the wall be an extension of that collection. It will also tie in the floral rug design. 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/DillyPad

The etsy shop DillyPad, who made these beautiful flowers is closed, so I'm going to see if I can find a similar item elsewhere or have them custom made by a local ceramic artist. One of the Woes of Pinterest right? When you find that stunning, perfect, gotta-have-it item and ... you can't get it. Pout : (

Step 5: Window Treatments My window treatments are pathetic in my house, so for the first time I'm going to try and make custom curtains. I just can't stand seeing scrunched curtains anymore! I've decided on a roman style with a fun fabric to tie in whatever rug I select. I found a "no-sew" tutorial I want to try.

How too instructions at In Living Color 

So that's it! All planned out, now I just need to get started. I deal with sweltering heat and humidity in North Carolina, so I probably won't start till the fall... but we'll see how long I last. I doubt I'll last that long. 

Wish me luck.

Please comment on your home makeover experience or give a link if you have it posted somewhere. Id' love to see it!

*Many of the photos came from Pinterest without any copyright info. I'd love to give credit where credit is due. Or photos will happily be removed by request of owner.