Kitchen Renovations - Part One

I came to the realization a few months ago that at big part of the reason that I have come to dread cooking and hardly ever bake is that I hate my kitchen.  I know that as long as we live in this house, I will never have a kitchen that I am totally in love with, it just isn't feasible, however, I need to have a kitchen that I can stand to be in for more than 30 seconds at a time without wanting to run away from home!

When we bought this house in late 2002 and started painting and making it ours, I was dead set on a blue and yellow kitchen.  And although I did, at the time, like the finished product, it was never quite what I had in mind when I planned for blue and yellow.  This time, I didn't know what I wanted.  We had dozens of paint chips stuck to the walls and cupboard doors for weeks, trying to decide.  And we changed our minds almost every week.  

My blue and yellow kitchen, getting ready for a makeover.

My blue and yellow kitchen, getting ready for a makeover.

Finally, we decided on green and tan.  We choose a light, sage green for the walls, and what Henry calls a coffee with too much milk colour for the cabinets.

Tennessee Haze and Onion Skin were the colours we settled on (third from the top on both cards).

Over the course of a week, we spent our time on the weekend and after work, painting.  Everything needed two coats of paint to cover up the old colours.  The cabinet doors had to be taken down to paint.  It was a big job but it was so worth it!

Newly painted kitchen!

Newly painted kitchen!

Newly painted kitchen!  Complete with Henry's latest batch of hard cider, fermenting in the white pail!

Newly painted kitchen!  So much brighter and enjoyable to spend time in!

Yesterday, Henry took down the old, very dirty ceiling fan and put up a nice new track light.  He also installed LED strip lights over the counter, sink and stove!  The lighting is so much better now!!

New track light!  Prettier and better lighting than the old ceiling fan!

We are still a long way from done, the kitchen still needs a new counter top, sink and floor.  Unfortunately, these renos have been put on hold for a little while as we have some outdoor projects that need to be completed this spring.  But as soon as the outdoor projects are done taking up our time and money, we will be back to finishing the kitchen!

Until then, we have done enough to make me enjoy my time in the kitchen again!