Kitchen mini-makeover is complete! (many pics)

[wildeyed]

I wish I took some comprehensive before pictures, but I had no idea when I started how much I was going to do. I began by organizing my spice cabinet and replacing a worn out rug in front of the sink. Then suddenly I had completely rearranged the floor plan, cleaned and repaired the back splash and installed a new pot rack. Anyway, here it is!

Before


After


Before


After


Another room view


Close up of pot rack


Thanks to everybody for all the help and advice. The kitchen is so much better now, and I doubt I would have found the motivation to do it without some encouragement! :toast:

[Stinky The Clown]

1. Wow! Kudos to you!

That looks great. I like:

The nice, clean, crisp cabinets.

The cabinet pulls. Retro chic!

The "hot" tile spot color in the backsplash. Are they new or were they there?

The ultra cool marble baking table. And that case of Pellegrino under it! (How do you keep flour off your curtains?)

And of course that cool pot rack. How much clearance is there below it?

What color is the wall behind the table? It looks gray in the picture, which works very well with your overall color tones.

Nice job! You deserve a new gadget for your trouble! Get yerself one of these for your mixer:



Tell your husband I said you deserve it. Besides, he'll love all that ice cream and sorbet you'll be making.

[wildeyed]

2. You are truly evil!

You know I have been dying to get that gadget! Maybe I can hint around for mother's day......

I primed, then painted the accent tiles on the back splash. They had scary little animals before.

The curtains were probably not the best choice for the kitchen. Wood blinds would have been better. I just wash them allot.

I don't know the exact clearance below the pot rack. I tried it at several different heights, and that is the one that seems to work best.

Yes, the walls are gray.

I can't take credit for the cabinet and pulls, they were there already when I bought the house. But they look much nicer with the clean back splash.

[Stinky The Clown]

3. Hahahahaha

You sound like my wife .... except she calls me a clown.

[NMDemDist2]

4. AWESOME!!!!! Gad, and we just decided to "clean out the spice cupboard"

ROFL

excellent job! and look at all the counter space now!!

what cracks me up is that we both have a step stool very handy. A dead giveaway of short cooks hehehehehe

edit to add.... I see all those cool teapots on your shelves. And especially the "aladin" style Hall's that's a sweet unit

did you see my latest ebay score?



a 10-12 cup "ALB" Brown Betty from england, what a dowdy beauty it is and I use it daily!

[wildeyed]

5. You guys created a monster!

But I am so happy with the outcome.

Great teapot. It has a very solid, homey aspect to it. Some just speak to you. I didn't set out to collect teapots, but because I like good tea, people started to give them to me as gifts. I have others in storage, some you just don't like so much.

I saw an Eva Zeisel Hallcraft Tomorrow's Classic plain white (if that means anything to you) teapot on ebay a few months ago. My heart started to beat faster. Alas, the price got so high, there was no way. Next time I see one, I am going for it. Such a beautiful thing.

Here is the coffe pot from the same set, I couldn't find a picture of the tea pot. The tea pot is twice as sweet.

[NMDemDist2]

6. I'm not so much a collector, but DH broke my Hall 6 cupper during

the kitchen work, and it really wasn't big enough anyway

I am thrilled to have a BIG pot (esp since DH enjoys a cuppa Pike Street Market Spice with me on the weekends)

[Frogtutor]

7. Wow! It looks great!

Maybe we need a "Home Improvement/Decorating" group; it seems like a lot of us would be interested! I know I can always use some inspiration to get up off my butt and get things done around the house!

Good job!

:thumbsup: (wish we had a high-five smily)

[wildeyed]

8. Thanks!

There is actually a DIY group. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=287

But since it was kitchen related, I thought I could get away with posting it here :)

[Frogtutor]

9. Yeah, I like it here, so let's keep kitchens :) n/t

[Lugnut]

10. That's looks great!

I love pot racks but I don't have a good spot for one. I love what you did to the tiles. Nice job!

[Stinky The Clown]

11. A couple of suggestions for pot racks when you have no room

You can put a flat bar pot rack on the wall. The pots make nice decor, too, even if they're quite used. Makes the kitchen look like a kitchen, yanno?

Put a pot rack right in front of an existing wall cabinet. You could use a ceiling mount if you have no bulkhead above the cabinets or you could use a wall mount if your cabinets are below a bulkhead .......

...... okay smarty pantz ..... how do you use the wall cabinet?

Easy. Take the doors off (I'm sure you can camouflage the holes for the hinges with putty of some sort) and make it into a display area. You can store pots in there or appliances, or even a set of dishes nicely arranged (but used daily). The doors are really just in the way.

[NMDemDist2]

12. take us some pics Lug

we'll give you LOTS of suggestions LOL

[WritersBlock]

13. What a great job!

I really like the shelves with all the teapots - makes the room look so cozy and welcoming, just like a kitchen should be! I can just picture you (although I have no idea what you look like) sitting at the table with a friend, chatting over tea (or coffee) and cookies while something wonderful bakes in the oven.

[wildeyed]

15. And the kids completely destroy the house!

But thanks, I wanted homey.

[DemExpat]

14. It looks very very nice, wildeyed!

Good job! :thumbsup:

:toast:

DemEx

[wildeyed]

17. Thanks!

:hi:

[eleny]

16. You did a great job!

I liked those old decorative tiles. But now I see how much nicer it looks the way you coordinated the new color with your dining room walls. Your new kitchen is sleek with that retro touch. It looks like a great place to work. And the pot rack is oooh-la-la! You have a terrific eye for style.

[wildeyed]

18. You are very kind.

But I never would have got a start if it wasn't for all the helpful ideas in this forum!

[SW FL Dem]

19. Looks great!

I need to organize my kitchen cabinets. One at a time, I did the spices and baking cabinet tonight.

[NMDemDist2]

20. RUH ROH!!!! that's how it begins FL Dem......

you're in for it now LOL First it's the spice cabinet, then the pots and pans cupboard then you'll have so much room you'll think about those lovely "gadgets" you've heard others talk about or seen in friend's kitchens

then you'll need more cupboard space and start looking at butcher block rolling carts and hanging pot racks

then your counters look bare and there's a perfect spot for a Kitchen Aide or Cuisinart or Espresso Maker

there goes the vacation budget LOL

have a ball (wildeyed and eleny and I all did) :evilgrin:

[eleny]

21. Spice cabinet? Spice cabinet?

Sl-o-o-o-wly I turned
Step by step
Inch by inch...

Oh yeah, it starts with the spice cabinet and ends with a Visa bill from Bed, Bath and Beyond Reason! But it's so much fun.

[SW FL Dem]

25. I love that - BB &Beyond Reason

I'm sure I'll be there before long! Luckily, I got a gift card from there for Christmas and I have a stack of their 20% off coupons

[wildeyed]

30. What did you finally decide on for the spices?

I can't remeber if you posted about it.

[eleny]

34. I'm going to get another cabinet and rearange

I need to get a rolling type island thing. Something with a work top and bins down below with doors. I have to get rid of one kitchen table and replace it with something like that. Then I can move things around. Perhaps put all my baking pans and other baking stuff in the island. Once I wiggle things around to different places, I'll have a more space. Also, I cleared out some older spices and herbs that I don't use. And some already went into the freezer - on a door shelf.

I can't get the island thing yet because we needed a new sofa. Badly. We ordered tht yesterday. Next month I'll start researcing a rolling island.

[SW FL Dem]

24. LOL

I figured out that I could get a lot more room in my kitchen if I could find a place for all my Christmas dishes and bakeware. They take up a whole lower cabinet. I found the perfect sideboard for the dining room that will hold them all.

http://thomasville.com/Products/Product.asp?ItemID=809&bhcp=1

That means I can move some of my stuff from the more cluttered cabinets to the now empty one! I would love to have a pot rack but I have cathedral ceilings in the kitchen and no empty wall space. I'll be happy just to get the crock pot and George Foreman grill out of the pots and pan cupboard so I can get my pans in and out easily. One step at a time.

[wildeyed]

22. You are in for it now.

Don't forget the mirror over the stove. Brings the cook luck or something.

[NMDemDist2]

28. money..... it brings the cook $$$$ or prosperity how ever you can

measure that

we'll watch with anticipation your "re-org" FL Dem

[wildeyed]

29. It may actually be working.

Either that or the economy is finally improving a little. My husband got offered a job. We like our current jobs fine, but it's always nice to be wanted. And then an interesting business expansion opportunity has come our way. We will see how it plays out. But, in the final analysis, mirror magic seems to be working! And I thought it would just lighten up the kitchen a little.

[NMDemDist2]

32. superb news! n/t

[Stinky The Clown]

23. Step aWAY from the spices ..........

Oh man, are you in deeeeeeeep doodooo!

Its never **just** the spice rack, yanno ..........

[SW FL Dem]

26. Spice rack??

I buy the industrial size at Costco. I have a full 30" wall cabinet cabinet of spices and marinades. I cleaned it out and organized it last night, now on to the cabinet housing my pots and pans.

[sleepyhead]

27. I am green with envy.

I am in Brooklyn, with a typical tiny NY kitchen - no room for an extra pot, let alone a cool pot rack or shelving like yours. Ah well, I will live vicariously and admire your new kitchen. Very nice!

[wildeyed]

31. I have a bunch of friends who live in SF bay area.

They are always saying, you are soooooo lucky to have a house. And I say, well, if you move to Charlotte, NC, then you, too, could have a house! But they love the big city lifestyle, so they compromise on the housing.

You could still paint the back splash or reorganize some drawers!

[bearfan454]

33. That hanging pot rack is neat.

I like it.