I'm getting a NEW KITCHEN!
Well, kinda. ;) You see, the other day my mom asked me if I would like for her and my dad to buy me new flooring for my kitchen (my dad would install it) and to paint my cabinets as my Christmas present. Of course, I said "YES!"
The more we talked, the more the plans grew. Some of it is stuff that my hubby and I will pay for and my dad and I will build. Some of it is simply moving things around. Some of it is using materials we already have on hand.
In the end, I am going to end up with what looks like a completely re-done kitchen for very little money and lots of sweat equity! I am so excited! I have done very little to this house since we moved in 7 years ago. I was pregnant with the twins when we bought the house and I was put on bed-rest just two days after moving in. Then, after they were born, I was busy learning to be a mommy. By the time I really had time to do any work, we were struggling with debt. Now that we are doing so much better with our money management, we are able to find a little bit of room in the budget for small, frugal projects.
So, today I thought I would give you a little tour of my tiny kitchen and talk about my plans. I'd love to have some feedback on my ideas. I'm sure there are plenty of people out there with better heads for this type of thing than me! Much of my brainstorming ideas will be subject to budget. I'm hoping my dad and I can go shopping really soon to price things out.
My Kitchen:
The picture above is my kitchen from the doorway. You can see my old cabinets that are original to the house (built in the 60's), my peel-and-stick tile floor (a dirty blue), my blue, laminate counters, and my fridge that I can't open all the way because it is in the corner.
That one counter is pretty much all I've got (There is one tiny spot on the other side of the stove that you can't see here. It is just big enough for the toaster oven.). Those are also all the cabinets I have except one small one over the stove. As you can imagine, storage is a problem!
The biggest plans for this room are:
- Paint the walls. My parents have a gallon of paint left over from a room at their house. This will be enough to paint this small room and it is FREE!
- Paint the cabinets and replace the hardware. As much as I love white cabinets, I know myself better than that. They would get filthy! So, I am going with a dark brown with brushed nickel hardware. My dad and I will do this.
- Put down tile flooring. I am going with a light, beige tile. This will help keep the room light with the dark cabinets. My parents are buying the tile for my Christmas present and my dad and I will install it.
- Paint the counter. That's right, I said paint! I've seen tons of tutorials online about painting laminate counters to look like granite. I figure I don't have anything to lose! Hubby and I will purchase the paint and I'll tackle this project (maybe I'll wrangle up some help)
- Building a pantry. I am in desperate need of storage! This too, will be out of our pocket, but my dad is a great carpenter and I know, with his help, I can do this.
This shows you my other tiny cabinet and counter space. Yes, the microwave is in a weird spot. But, there used to be a hood there that didn't work, so we took it out and put the microwave in. Sine the hood left a hole in the wall, we had to center it to cover the hole. Also, because the cabinets are lower, the microwave is really too close to the stove unless you leave one side free for larger pots. You can see the dark brown spot on the wall next to the microwave that the hood used to cover and we haven't painted, yet. I am going to get a nice key rack or something similar to hand some spoons on, here.
The one thing I really like about my kitchen is my sink. It would be nice if it were under-mounted, but at least it is a porcelain. and the one side is really deep. Plus, it has a garbage disposal, which I love!
I plan to remove the piece of wood across the window and put up new window treatments. Since this is the only window, I want to let as much light in as possible!
Right now, I don't have a backsplash. I am planning to use beadboard to make one. It shouldn't be too expensive since there is such little area to cover. Plus, it will be really easy to install. I will paint that white to keep the kitchen as light as possible.
This is the wallpaper boarder that goes around the whole room. You can see it is peeling and ready to go! I can't wait to paint!
The cabinets are original to the house (1960's) and they look it! I am going to paint them a dark brown. This will keep little fingerprints from showing!
Here are close-ups of the hardware on my cabinets. Not pretty. I'm going to look for some brushed-nickel hardware to replace these.
My "pantry" is on the wall opposite my sink and stove. A lack of cabinets has left us with cheap shelving units that I can't hide away. My big plan is to move the refrigerator (you can see it on the left side) to the opposite wall. This will allow me to move it out of the corner so I can open it. It will also leave a hole where I can build a pantry with doors! It will make the floor-plan a little tighter, but the middle of the floor is wasted space anyway.
The cream colored wall is where the refrigerator will go. That will mean I also have to find a new place for my garbage can, recycling bin, folding stool, and brooms. But, I have a plan for that! I am going to build a slide-out garbage can in the single cabinet under the toaster oven. And, there will be enough space on the blind-side of the fridge to hide my brooms and other cleaning stuff away!
The best word to describe my kitchen floor is "disgusting." The peel-and-stick tiles are breaking, coming loose, and are badly installed.
Finally, there is my ugly florescent light fixture. It is the only light in the room and at night I have a very hard time seeing the food as I try to cook.
So, you can see, we have our work cut out for us! But, I'm ready for it. The whole thing should be done by Christmas and I'm looking forward to my new kitchen!
I cannot wait to follow
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