Kitchen After Photos

It took 3 coats and in some cases 4 coats of paint after priming to cover the kitchen walls. They were dirty beyond belief. Only one other room was as bad as the kitchen. After the 2nd coat of the original yellow, I knew I had chosen a yellow that was too bright despite buying a test quart and painting a good size patch. I'm happier with this softer yellow, a Behr color called Pismo Dunes from Home Depot. Hmmm, I just looked at that color on their web site and it looks gold instead of yellow. I will confirm by getting a real paint chip.

Painting the soffitt above the cabinets the same color as the walls really opened up the room.

Back door above; just outside, there is a small porch that will eventually be enclosed and become the laundry room. This window will later become a French door out to a deck. I wish I'd take a closeup photo of the advertising repro clock I picked up at Ross for about $4. The blue spots on the door trim are masking tape to tell the painter where attention is needed.

The twig table came from a thrift store for $20 - its location is just temporary. Most likely I will later move a free-standing bathroom cabinet I bought for the bathroom to this spot. The size is just right and the color is perfect for the kitchen and it has beadboard doors.

Closeup of twig table.

Corner of back wall; eventually the floor will be replaced and the old washing machine hookups removed. (I hope to find some kind of antique cabinet to go in that spot). There never was a dryer. Clothes were either dried out on the line or on a small wooden folding clothes rack. I may do the same until such time as I have a laundry room.

I originally was going to paint the kitchen a tomato soup red, but once I got to the house, I knew it had to be yellow.

I found this solid wood antique table at a thrift store for $65; then spent $25 to reinforce all the legs. I love the rough farm look and I was pleased that my thrifty metal folding chairs I bought in Florida went so well with everything. Eventually I will put cushions on them.

It's too bad the chandelier did not photograph better. I bought that 2nd hand and it is a yellow-gold color with terra cotta and soft green accents. I couldn't take the bare light bulb look any longer.

I was lucky to find a yellow coffeemaker and microwave - and at a cheap price. It's a discontinued color by J. C. Penney's, but I was able to find them on ebay.

The curtains were bought at 40% off at J. C. Penney's and are Waverly's Pantry Plaid. I also bought a swags for the windows, but in the end, decided to not use them in order to increase the light in a kitchen that never gets direct sun. The bottom curtains provide enough privacy at night.

I've had that "chippy paint" vase for years, but wasn't sure where I would use it. Close to the end of my stay, I picked up the silk flowers at 50% off and they, along with the vase, added a final touch I was seeking. I wanted something with a loose wildflower look.

On the stove, you can see a pot that is part of my Napastyle set. I was thrilled to find cookware in a yellow-gold and terra cotta. In the end, I couldn't handle the horrible state of the stove hood, so it was removed and I'm left with a hanging wire for now.

If you enlarge the photo, you can see a picture with chickens. It's a giclee that one of my artists gave me and I think it works great in the kitchen.

This is the refrigerator side of the kitchen, which is still a work-in-progress. The refrigerator needs to be spray painted yet. It has wire shelves and small water bottles (and I'm sure other bottles of similar size) don't stay standing. I almost bought a fairly nice one for $100 at auction that was definitely newer and nicer, but decided to pass for now. I'm told that this auction has refrigerators and washer/dryer sets in almost new condition on a fairly regular basis.

In the box is a new retro kitchen chair waiting to be put together.

The doorway to the left leads to my office and the one to the right to the living room.

I spent hours and hours scrubbing and scrubbing the grease and filth both inside and outside cabinets and am still not done. I used the scrubbie on the back side of a sponge. I then progessed to using a stiff scrub brush. Finally, I used a stiff deck brush. I tried various products. In the end, Simple Green cut my cleaning time in about 1/4. In some cases, I had to scrub so much that I went down to bare wood. No problem. In the end, I can put on a coat or two of Miniwax's Antique Oil finish. A favorite of mine for refinishing furniture and it easily blends places with finish and those without.

The cabinets are the same color stain inside, so to brighten things up a bit, I decided to use ivory shelf liner - also only partially completed.

I put a sink rug down only briefly when I first arrived, realizing that with the painting going on it would quickly get dirty. Here I've put down one choice for a front-of-sink rug. The throw rugs in the bedroom also look good here.

Here I tried the woven rugs that a friend gave me. I think they go well, only I don't know how practical they are with the chairs being moved in and out.