The Kitchen - happily ever after and a bit in between!

WOW what a difference 4 years can make in the look of your home...especially if you are a DIYer like I am or love to change things up until it's just right.

As I was organizing some pictures on the computer, I ran across my folder entitled "house pics". I couldn't remember what was in there so I decided peruse. I found the pictures of when we first moved in or actually, before we moved in and were painting. I had forgotten how bland the house looked and how much we've actually done. There seemed to be a common theme in three of the major rooms (master bedroom, living room/dining and kitchen) - I apparently couldn't figure out what I wanted. What came with the house was blah and boring. Daniel is half Cuban so he is not afraid to let me use color - so I did. But obviously it wasn't quite right so I tweaked yet again to get the final product.

I'm not counting the other rooms in the house since they have been switched around due to the ever-expanding Schrall Family.

Here's what we started with in the kitchen:

Kitchen on move-in - this cabinet houses our washer/dryer.
Quite clever considering we have such a small house.

Ugh those hideous cabinets and such boring beige!

The back door that had a gaping hole in it to let all the bought air out.
And you can see where I was already testing bright colors for the small space.

And here's the in-between...Daniel hated the chocolate brown cabinets. Shortly after we had new doors built because it was just that bad. Yep...this kitchen stumped all my design ideas.

the walls were coral which was great for a "pop" of color...
and we still had the horrible back door...

...but the brown just wasn't working.
Hard to tell in the pics but in person it was MUCH worse.

This one makes my eyes hurt.

This one isn't so bad because it didn't have the white appliances.
I hate white appliances but I'm too cheap to replace ours.

And then we got the cabinet doors replaced. Since we weren't planning on staying long in the house, it wasn't worth the investment to replace all the cabinetry and do a complete kitchen reno. When we replaced the doors and decided they should be a similar khaki color as the floor and counter tops, the wall color didn't work any more (coral just was too pink-y).

And can we say c-l-u-t-t-e-r-e-d? What was I thinking?

Of course that's how it goes...I had already painted...and painted...and painted the cabinetry and now I had to paint the walls. The Hubs boycotted since he hated the brown so much which left it all on yours truly. But I think the final version turned out pretty well. I painted the cabinets a similiar color as the floor and counter tops and changed the wall color to more of a pumpkin/yam color, which is also what I use as an accent in the living room.

The cabinetry is just enough contrast to the white appliances and trim
but not too much to make them standout.

Much better don't you think? Aside from the new cabinet doors, which weren't that pricey ($850), some new hardware and new faucet (thanks to a leaky one that mandated we change it) the rest was all paint choices...good and bad.

So think about that the next time you want to make any changes in your house. They don't all have to be big, major renovations. Sometimes the right paint and accessories can make all the difference in the world!

More to follow on the living room and master bedroom...I think in our next house I'll move in first, then decide how I want to decorate it after living in the space for a little while few days.