My (Almost) Finished Kitchen

Finally, I have completed the kitchen - at least as much as will get done before Christmas.  We've already had 2 parties and everyone has been very complimentary about the new design.  Comments like - "It looks so much bigger", "The cupboards look like they have replaced", "The new rack is my favourite", "I can't believe you installed the range hood yourself", "It feels very French", "It looks like a page from the IKEA  catalogue" and "The wallpaper looks like bead board" (a couple of people are already going to borrow this idea).

I'm very happy with the results.   It  was a lot of work but really a cheap project and I have great satisfaction from having done the work myself (with  a little  help from my sister assembling the rack and from my mother holding the range hood while I wired it).

Here's the finished photos...

This is a view of the cupboards while standing in front of the rack.   The hardware was already existing from a previous reno but the cupboards were painted (Behr Pencil Point).  The grout in the backsplash was whitened up with a great product I bought at Home Hardware.  I still need a new paper towel holder in stainless and a new container for utensils.  I haven't decided if I'm going to splurge on a new granite or marble counter or if I'm going to try painting this one.

Here is my beautiful new stove which was the impetus for the whole redecorating.  There's the new range hood I installed!!!   It came from Home Depot.  The tea towel was from IKEA.

A friend bought me the Fire King batter bowl which I love but it is too small for  the top of the cupboards.  The red vase I got from IKEA is not special enough so I still need to buy 2 decorative pieces for  here.

Here are several views of my rack.  The red boxes came from Jysk and are painted in a Sarah Richardson paint (Orchard) but they do need another coat.  The black striped boxes are from IKEA as are the two canisters on the same shelf.  The oven mitts are from Homesense.  The floor is just peel and stick 12 inch tiles that I did myself.  I did install quarter round on the baseboard which gave it a more finished look.  The black rack holds so much more than my old white utility unit (which now has a home in the basement) and makes the room feel larger.  I replaced the trim around the stairs with black rubber edging.  Eventually the wall going downstairs will  be painted the same grey as the kitchen and the carpet will be replaced with grey as well.  The print of London at the top of the stairs came from Bouclair.  My cousin was here visiting on Wednesday and came via London.  He said that corner was just outside his hotel.

Here's a view of the side door and the new drapes I made.  You'll notice I painted the railing black.

Here's the wall at the top of the basement stairs.  You might remember this is the one with the crack that kept reappearing.  Now it is covered with a wallpaper.  The rack was in my bathroom when I moved in and I painted it the same colour as the bottom cupboards.  The tea towels are from IKEA and the apron is one I've had for a while from a local restaurant supply store.  I need something to go on this wall above the paper.  I'm hoping to make a trip the Carriage House Antiques soon to see if I can find a suitable sign or picture or architectural remnant.

I hope you like what I've done with my kitchen.  It was a lot of work but felt so good to make these changes "on the cheap".  Stay tuned for pictures when it is completely finished.  Below is the accounting of my costs (which don't include tax)...

Paint and painting supplies.............$140
Black wire rack.................................90
Flooring............................................35
Black rubber trim..............................30
Baseboard trim...................................6
(I had some from Restore in basement  already)
Wallpaper.........................................35
Range hood.....................................100
Boxes..............................................36
Drapes.............................................65
Grout paint........................................7
Canisters..........................................20
Tea towels and oven mitts..................20
Print..................................................23
Star....................................................7
Vase...................................................2

Total Cost.......................................$616

Office/Sewing Room

No, you are not watching an episode of "Hoarders".  What you are witnessing will one day soon become a beautiful office and sewing room.  Right now, it has unfortunately become the dumping ground for everything in the house that doesn't have a home.   Today I am going to start the cleanup.

Originally I had planned the decor of this room based on a pair of mint green and pink floral Ralph Lauren drapes.  The ceiling was painted dark green because it is a basement room with those lovely cardboardy ceiling tiles and had dark pipes and wires running along it.  I was trying to disguise the ugliness with dark paint.  The walls were painted the mint tone that matched the drapes.  The cupboards were painted white and I had some bookcases installed.  I had purchased trim for crown moulding, baseboards and door frame but hadn't got them installed yet.  Then my furnace died.  That meant that due to new specifications, I now had holes cut in the walls and large plastic pipes running not just along the ceiling but dropped down into the room.  Major ugly and demoralizing.  That was a year and half ago and I couldn't get excited about doing anything to this room.  However, a solution is long overdue and the planning has started.

Stay tuned to see how the ugly duckling becomes Cinderella!

The day's work is at an end and the room's already looking better...



Kitchen Redux Part 2

Good morning!  I thought I would give you an update on the progress of my kitchen redecoration.  I'm not quite halfway through.  The walls are painted grey (Sarah Richardson's Para paint SR12 Escarpment), the upper cabinets are painted white (Benjamin Moore's Contractors white), and the cracked wall is covered with anaglypta painted white and topped with a chair rail (sort of - actually a bit of baseboard from the Restore so the profile would fit under the door frame and not be too obvious at the archway).


Cupboard above fridge

Cupboard above stove and counter

Merry Christmas!  The rug wreath was hooked by my father about 30 years ago.

This is the left hand wall leading into the living room.  The rolling pin from a single piece of wood belonged to my Grandmother and is over 100 years old.

My sister, Connie helped me assemble a black metal rack from Home Depot (a steal at $90 and very heavy duty).  The wooden boxes on the top shelf will be painted red (Sarah Richardson's Para paint SR53 Orchard) and some more will be purchased for the second shelf.

So - what is left to do?  Well, I need to paint the bottom cupboards (Behr paint UL260-22 Pencil Point), make new drapes, recover the floor with grey peel and stick tiles, renew the grout on the backsplash, paint the railing black, and then there are some surprise decorative accessories.  My next post on the kitchen will show you the finished product.  Here's a sneak peek of  the drapery fabric with the paint samples fanned out.