Want to toss some ideas my way?

[Live2Ride]

As I'm doing the hall bathroom (actually both of our bathrooms are in progress, but a friend of ours is working on the master bathroom one since there is a lot more involved in there).

 

I am thinking out my poor kitchen. I obviously don't have the thousands of dollars it would take to redo everything in there like I really want to. So I was trying to come up with some lower cost ideas.

 

Now the curtains under the sink...we won't mention how silly DH accidentally put the wrong cabinet door at the road after we removed them to install the dishwasher, which was a feat in of itself. So I have one correct sized one and one not. I did find a cabinet maker who can make another one for now. I was thinking of doing that and painting all of those cabinets. But all my appliances are black. You see the floor, which looks like worn brick. I don't mind it at all which is good because I don't want to replace it right now.

 

There is way dated wall paper in there and it carries over into the dining room...I hate removing wall paper, but it is coming down before too long.

 

Of course all the walls are buttercream yellow. Almost the entire interior of this house was painted buttercream yellow. I've slowly changed just about every room so it's only in a few areas now.

 

We will put in new countertops though. No laminate. We want to get nicer tops. I will also do a tile backsplash. Right now the tops and backsplash are a very light plum color and all laminate..it's very worn.

 

And we'll install and hang new light fixtures for sure...those are killing me, but lucky me, the ballast is going out in the florescent one! :D

 

So what would you do in there?

 

Hubby suggested changing all the cabinet doors and drawer fronts...more expensive though than painting...so I'm not sure.

 

[TXMomof4]

I think those cabinets are nice - painting them would give a nice country feel. If you like country. Upgrading the countertop would change the whole look of the room. Personally I'd choose a darker counter with white cabinets. And yes, the wallpaper has to go. I suppose the color would depend on what you have in the other rooms. Are they open to each other?

[Annie]

I just posted in your other thread, but I'm in the process of painting my cabinets in the kitchen, and I think white cabinets would look lovely in yours! Google images of white cabinets with black appliances. It can look quite nice. It seems like a lot of people tie it together with dark countertops. I painted the kitchen and eating area light grey, which I love, but I'm not sure about it with black appliances.

 

ETA: We also just took down wall paper in the whole lower level. Yes, it was a huge hassle, but it looks 100 times better. We did it before we moved in, which was nice. I know it will be that much harder when you have all of your stuff to work around, but it will still be sooooo worth it in the end.

Edited September 20, 2012 by Annie

[Chris in VA]

I'm not much of a decorator, but my first thought was white cabinets, too. :001_smile: You could do a cool backsplash--but honestly, I don't know what would go with your kitchen. I've seen a lot of redo shows that do backsplashes with "mats" of little tiles. Would that be pretty? IDK with your brick floor.

 

If you wanted a total redo, Ikea has inexpensive cabinets.

[Live2Ride]

I was thinking white cabinets and we were planning on going with a darker top. The dining area and kitchen are pretty much one room being separated by the bar. The wall that the refrigerator is on is shared with the living room. Which opens right past the refrigerator.

 

Here is a pic of the dining room...wallpaper...ugh. I'm thinking of putting in wainscotting under that chair rail or just leaving it plain and painting it. This is a little home and countryish. It's not a big fancy new house and I don't want it to look like that, but it needs updating. :001_smile: And yep, our dining room is our school room...there will be a new desk in there someday soon.

 

And hubby just shook his head when he saw this post. He stated that I didn't need to start the kitchen until the bathroom was completely finished, lol. I told him I was just collecting ideas and he did this :glare:. :D He knows me too well...I do like projects.

 

I plan on sketching it out in my Home Improvement journal with the various elements added in...I need to pick up paint chips, counter pieces and such. I'm also going to scout out light fixtures :D

Edited September 20, 2012 by CountryGirl2

[Annie]

What color is the living room?

[KatieJ]

I am not much a decorator either....but another vote for painting the cabinets and changing the hardware. If the cabinets are solid enough and work for you (No deep corners you can't reach kind of thing) then by changing them they would tie into your window and the door that is between the stove area and the sink area. Getting rid of the border to me would make the room seem bigger.

[Live2Ride]

What color is the living room?

 

a very light stone/tan type color; nice and neutral. Goes with the brick around the wood stove...which won't be removed...way too much work involved in that. Although i'd love for it to come out (I live in South Louisiana for goodness sake-it's used maybe twice a year), but until the roof is done, we aren't even entertaining the idea.

 

 

I saw an idea on Pinterest using crown molding for the corners of the walls between rooms to separate the colors....I may think about that for the walls between the dining and living room...there are two corners and then there is a doorway with molding from the dining room into the hallway leading to the bedrooms.

Edited September 20, 2012 by CountryGirl2

[Tap]

I think it would look good with a gray paint on the cabinets with maybe even a bit of blue in the room. The gray and brick will work good together and you can tie in any feel you want. Go with black and silver accents to go modern. White/green/blue to feel like the shore. Bring in real plants to feel more earth like. Gray is very versitile and the right color will be easy to find to complement most current countertop color trends. It will also lighten/brighten you cabinets.

[justLisa]

I think they would look great painted. It is the one HUGE project I have left to do. I have a million cabinet doors and drawers it seems.

 

Sand and SW primer are the two things I would recommend for sure.

 

I have done my bathroom cabinets, but the kitchen is going to be one long painting job.