Our Kitchen: You've Come a Long Way, Baby

Kitchen circa 2004 (note: this was taken by the home's previous owners. 

I have no idea what the hell that antler thing is above the sink); refrigerator on right wall

Gotta love those avocado appliances, right? 

So vintage they're almost cool again.

Now: white appliances (including a gas range!), 1-by-1 inch tile backsplash, 

butcher's block countertop, repainted vent hood, granite composite sink with push button disposal, 

repainted/opened cabinets, recessed lighting

Custom desk with cork bulletin board, 

open shelving (still needs some organization)

I'm loving the soffit-turned-bookshelf, new section of cabinets, hidden trash can, 

Ralph Lauren river rock paint (on the walls) and wine glass racks 

(behind the scenes: new electrical)

Hosting an event this weekend helped us put a rush order on the finishing steps of our kitchen. Last week, Dan called Phil up to tell him our debacle — two-thirds of the cabinets left to sand/prime/paint, no crown molding, unpainted walls and high hopes of having our kitchen look nice for hosting people at the house Saturday. We really did have every intention of finishing ourselves by then... but our weekends have been non-stop busy and we've both been working late.

Phil, as well as Angel Painting (go Miguel!) came to our rescue. Phil headed over right away on Wednesday night; he and Dan tackled the crown molding in a few hours. Miguel and crew were over to our little ranch for Thursday, Friday and half of Saturday. We're now the proud owners of a kitchen complete with painted cabinets (antique white with light khaki on the back walls), caulked tile, a painted desk, crown molding, a stained door and more. 

While we hadn't originally planned to pay contractors for this final atheistic work, boy are we glad we did. I'm so proud of where we netted out. Dan worked hard and the contractors were all generous and hard-working. The guys all did a great job — and now we're done. Almost*. 

*We're still planning to do an "I love Lucy window" in the wall between the kitchen and dining room. We'll put in a small butcher's block counter top care of Phil (he has an extra piece) and some bar stools. This should help open up the kitchen and allow people to keep me company while I'm cooking. Scratch that. I'll be able to watch Dan as he does the dishes. 

Posts following our project are here.