Kitchen Progress

We've made quite a bit of progress on our kitchen since moving in this past July.  To remind you, this is how it was set up when we took ownership:

My father-in-law talked me into getting rid of the peninsula, which I had originally protested, but now am much happier we did.  He kept telling me that I wouldn't regret it and he was right. However, since we got rid of the peninsula that meant we had to get new countertops.  I debated on getting a version of laminate that mimics marble or the manmade Cambria Torquay that looks like marble, as well.  I had them both priced and shockingly, the Cambria option wasn't a ton more expensive.  With that figured out, we ordered it and had it installed a couple months ago.  

I was inspired to use this brass faucet from Jenny! She can do no wrong in my book! I bought mine off of Amazon.  And, since the old sink was lilliputian in size, we got a new Kohler one from Lowe's. We figured it would be silly to update the countertops and keep the piddly sink.  

As you guys already know, we painted the walls white and got hardwood floors throughout the living room, kitchen and dining room.  We also took down all of the light fixtures in the kitchen and we are waiting on an electrician to come out to see what he can do to move some of the ones in the ceiling in both the kitchen and dining room.  It's driving me crazy because I think it would look a lot more finished with lighting. But oh well, I can live!

During the weeks before we moved in I painted all the cabinets downstairs.  We chose just a plain white that was standard [since the paint guy said it matched my choice--I don't even remember what it was--so closely!] in an oil based finish from Sherwin Williams and had another oil based paint color matched to Benjamin Moore's Chelsea Gray.  I frequently get emails about how I paint my cabinets and why I like oil based paints.  My method is fairly simple:

1. Clean the cabinets with TSP

2. Lightly sand

3. Wipe with a tacky cloth

4. Use a high quality primer

5. Paint at least two coats with an oil based paint [and natural hair brush] to eliminate brush strokes and it will give your cabinets a nice durable finish with a subtle shine.  

I won't paint cabinets any other way.  The only bummer part is that it is a rather smelly process and you must clean up with mineral spirits.  Also, the time to cure is a little longer but totally worth it!

Ok, back to the kitchen hardware! I knew I wanted to do brass hardware on the cabinets so I purchased the vintage knobs from this Etsy seller and these pulls from Rejuvenation. 

On the last weekend of summer David and my sister and brother-in-law took a trip to Ikea [won't have to do that for long--Eek! St. Louis is getting one in 2015!] and came back with this island.  It was totally an unexpected purchase but fits the space perfectly! 

The island had a spot for counter height barstools so I scored these at CB2.

I know the styling is rough and could use some work.  I'm kind of stalling out because I want to replace the appliances, get the wiring straight for the light fixtures, install a subway tile backsplash, and probably most of all, get new taller upper cabinets!  A homeowner's list is never complete, you guys feel me, right?

Overall, though, it is a vast improvement from where we started.  And I know that patience is a virtue and with time and saved money, it will all come together. 

So there you have it.  Such a long post; hope you guys got to the end of it!

Have a happy week!

xoxo