Palo Alto Renovation: Kitchen

Before: Clashy. Blue trim=bad, bad, bad, bad. I can't give it enough thumbs down. Streaky, terrible paint job and someone even used their fingers to wipe it onto the trim which left actual hand prints in some places. I couldn't eat breakfast without repainting it with my eyes.

After: New white trim from free leftover paint in the shed. 1 gallon of paint from Home Depot is the best $20 ever spent. The walls are like butter.

Before: One mystery was why foam core was screwed on both sides of this glass door. No broken windows so off it came. Also a negative was the brown panel dividing up the kitchen holding us back in the 70's. Flesh colored paint on the window and shelf is gross in every context I can think of.

After: I pulled the mocha accent color into the kitchen to tie it in with the living room and it also gives some visual interest. Look at all of that light coming in from our door that was hidden behind foam core! The cabinets also have a fresh coat of white paint.

Before: Clutter, mismatched art, and more blue trim.

After: Clean and a peak at the living room and how the new colors play off of each other. Part of the reason the kitchen is yellow is based on the fact that you see these two rooms together. Here is the progression... yellow-orange door means blue walls in living room and blue walls in living room means yellow kitchen.

Before: The stove has an awkward placement and overlaps the trim no matter what because of the placement of the gas line. There is a pipe which prevents it from being pushed up next to the wall.

After: I embraced the fact that I can't position the stove properly and decided to utilize the space since we are short on work surfaces. This cart is something I found kicking around in the dirt in our backyard. I cleaned it off, threw away the warped top and bought a new white metal top for it at Ikea in the as-is section for $4.00. I relocated the mirror from the living room because it helps me not focus too much on the fact that the stove is in the wrong place and the whites look fresh.

Before: Cord to refrigerator stretched across the wall. Tile floor unfinished. The rest is pretty self explanatory. *Sigh.*

After: New longer white cord and found extra tile pieces in the shed. (They are the stick on kind in case you think I am so brave.) Decided to use my chairs since they contrast nicely with the yellow walls. Would like a more modern dining set, but this will do for now. I am always a fan of eliminating table cloths in most situations and this is one of those.

After: A sneak preview into Brooke's bedroom which will be an upcoming post.