The Big Kitchen Reveal! aka "Lipstick on a Pig"

When we started, I had very low expectations. That's because we didn't want to spend a lot of money and the cabinets were super cheap. So I kept telling Kennedy not to worry if things weren't perfect because it was like putting lipstick on a pig. Much to my surprise, it turned out MUCH better than I could've expected!

I suppose I would blog more if I shared our projects at each stage. But I kind of enjoy the big dramatic reveal that comes from showing a before and after side-by-side. Maybe it's something I need to get better at (blogging during the project, that is.)

At any rate, our kitchen is 98% done! And now it's time to share befores and afters.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Kennedy is the brawn and 1/2 of the brains behind this project. I tricked him into starting it a few weekends ago, and he ran with it. I continue to be amazed and impressed by him every day, but especially in the midst of a project.

Just to refresh your memory, you can read what we had originally planned to do with the kitchen here.
We stayed pretty close to it, and I'm surprised! The only thing we haven't done is paint the interior doors black, and I'm a bit over that project. Seems like a lot of work and it might not be the look I'm going for anymore.

OK, let's get to it! BEFORE, the kitchen was orange Orange ORANGE. The cabinets were an orange-y wood tone, the walls were a rusty orange-y red. It was...earthy.

One of the first things we did when we moved in was paint the kitchen/living area grey. Loved it in the living room, but it really made me hate the kitchen even more.

Note: The birdcage is gone and replaced with a chalkboard and high chair.

Next up, painting the cabinets. This was the main reason we put the kitchen off for so long. We dreaded doing the cabinets. But here's the great news! It only took us about 2 days (and that's not really 2 full days, but there was drying time in between coats) to paint them. Granted, we don't have that many cabinets, but it went much faster than we thought.

To anyone out there wanting to paint your kitchen cabinets, DO IT! You will be so much happier.

After the priming step. And me in my pajamas. At like 4 pm. So, I'm a slob. The secret's out.

And ahhhhhhh (that's the sound of angels singing). The painted cabinets. Notice the tops of the cabinets. Later on you will see that Kennedy added crown moulding along the tops in like, an hour and a half. Meanwhile, I sat in the kitchen and read blogs on the laptop.

Next: rip out the backsplash, along with some of the drywall. 

This is our giant window above the sink. Kennedy framed it out with trim because, well, it just looks better. But this is what it looked like before the trim.

And now.

The big.

Reveal.

Ahhhhhhh (there's those angels again.) I'll give you a moment to just sit and enjoy the view.

Side-note: Earlier I said Kennedy was 1/2 the brains behind the kitchen. What I meant by that was he had some really good design input into the kitchen, and this is the part where I will give him credit. 

The following is a list of everything that was Kennedy's idea: Island color, cabinet pulls, size of subway tile (but not the subway tile itself), the crown moulding, and the pendants (which were kind of a joint decision, but I'm giving it to him.)

The rest was kind of my idea.

Here are some more pictures now.

You can now find me sitting at the island like 21/7. What? I have other things I have to take care of around here. But mostly I just need to sit in one of those stools and stare at the microwave/backsplash. IT'S IMPORTANT THAT I DO SO.

Here's a beautiful shot of many things: 1) LOOK at that backsplash that my man carefully laid. But look at the new hardware! Can you believe we used to have no hardware in our kitchen at all? It was weird. Admittedly, it made it a lot harder for C-Baby to open the cabinets. But now I can get some of those ugly cabinet zip-ties to protect him from consuming harmful chemicals under the sink.

(Why does everyone insist on keeping their poisons under the kitchen sink?)

Yum yum yum! I love this kitchen. (Look at the crown moulding!)

One last view from the side, so you can see some important details.

Notice the following things from the picture above:

• The newly framed out window
• The gorgy (this is a derivative of gorgeous that I'm trying to get to catch on) turned legs that we added to the previously lopsided island.
• The beadboard we (Kennedy) added to 3 sides of the island.
• The pendant lights we (Kennedy) installed above the island. Go back to the first picture. THEY WERE NOT THERE BEFORE. Plus, he wired a separate switch to them. Amazed.

Built-in desk.

Finally, here's the built-in desk with a load of clutter underneath it. This part of the kitchen is not done because I'm going to beg Kennedy to remove that phone jack that is so randomly placed on the wall, and then add the subway tile here as well.

I'm SO glad it's done-ish and we can just sit back and enjoy it while we're still in Indy. The only other thing we need to tackle is hanging a pendant over the sink in place of a can light that's there now. But we have yet to find one we want, and I don't want it to match the lights over the island. Coordinate, yes. But not match.

***UPDATE: Here is a link to a cabinet painting tutorial plus a kitchen source list ***

Now I must go and sit at my island and just drool out of the side of my mouth while I look at the kitchen.