I've mentioned to you before that
Angela and Kevin are huge diyer's. They have proven to me that they are fearless and will tackle things that would send me scurrying away.
Here's their kitchen before any updates were done.
Oak cabinets, wallpaper, teal laminate counters, white vinyl flooring with teal flowers...you get the picture. All these elements were in place when they purchased the house.
Take a look at it now. Yeah, baby!
They kept the original cabinets since they are structurally sound. Crown molding was added to the top of the cabinets and then everything was primed, painted and glazed. To glaze the cabinets, Angela mixed one part of a creamy white, semi-gloss paint to three parts of a mixing glaze. She used a chocolate brown paint to mix with the glaze. The glaze was brushed on, then wiped off using an old cloth. Angela then used a horsehair brush to swipe over everything to give it a weathered French country look.
Appliques were added to the end of the cabinets and the front of the sink cabinets. Angela didn't wipe as much of the glaze off in those areas, so as to better show the detail.
See that panel on the front of the dishwasher in the above picture? It looks just like costly cabinet facing was added, but nope - Angela applied picture frame molding to the front of the dishwasher. Guess what she used to attach the molding...hot glue! The whole thing was then primed, painted and glazed using the same technique as was used on the rest of the cabinets.
Did you notice the big gaping space above the sink in the before picture? Angela and Kevin weren't happy with that. Here's their solution.
To make the "shelf", they basically just built a box out of builder grade pine, added crown molding, then proceeded to prime, paint and glaze the whole thing. How did a light fixture get there, you ask? They drilled through the bottom of a cabinet and ran the wiring around the inside of the cabinets and up into the box.
Here's a picture of what all the wiring looks like tucked into a corner of the cabinet.
Did you notice the pretty backsplash that they installed themselves?
More cabinets and the stove are located off to the left of the sink. Thinking ahead, they ran the backsplash all the way down behind the control panel and top part of the stove in anticipation of a new stove they plan to purchase in the future.
Do you see the glow on top of the cabinets? They were able to add rope lights there by drilling a hole through the top of the cabinets to access the power where the microwave is plugged in.
They also added lighting below the cabinets by accessing the power in the same way. Molding was added to the bottom of the cabinets to hide the lights from view. Just touch the round white button attached to the side of the microwave to turn the lights on. If I remember correctly, the lights can be dimmed.
I love the chalkboard and twiggy wreath. Can you tell that I was there over Christmas?
The free standing island received the same paint treatment as the cabinets. A new granite top was added to it when the granite was added to the rest of the kitchen.
The new kitchen table and chairs is in the corner opposite from the sink. I love that the woods don't match. It keeps the area from looking too matchy matchy. Angela made a wise choice when she purchased stools with round backs so that they mimic the shape of the round table.
Aren't the floors gorgeous? I about fell over when Angela told me that they are peel and stick linoleum! Even standing right on top of them, I couldn't believe it. They look so much like real hardwood that I had to reach down and feel the floor.
I sure do hope you enjoyed touring Angela and Kevin's awesome kitchen! It just goes to show what can be done with a little ingenuity and sweat equity.
Pssst! You can see more of Angela and Kevin's home here, here and here.
I'll be sharing their kitchen at these parties:
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