Thursday, February 2, 2012

The Kitchen Facelift: One Year Later

It seems hard to believe that a solid year has past since we did the kitchen facelift.




Do you remember where it all started? Not a bad kitchen, but it wasn't for us. I still get emails from people that are mortified that I painted the wood. For us, painted cabinetry was the way to go.

Do I have any regrets? Not.a.single.one.



One of the best decorating decisions I've made. Not much has changed in the year either (that's a good sign, right?) I thought that I would at least have some type of curtains covering the windows....nope. I like them with just the bamboo shades.




How about the wear and tear? Has the painted finish held up? For the most part, yes. There are some fingernail nicks that happen with everyday use and over time, especially around the handles. Specifically the cabinet right above the coffee pot where I reach in and grab a mug each morning....When I was painting the cabinets for the laundry room, I did a quick touch-up and it wasn't bad at all.








The new sink and faucet are still functioning well. The only design flaw with the faucet is that it has to be tightened every so often and the tightening screw is in a bad spot, but other than that I love it. The best feature is the pull out sprayer, I still love that.








Logan has done his fair share of damage to the lower cabinets, running his big plastic motorcycle into them, airplanes that have to make a 'crash' landings and countless other scenarios (Mother's of six year olds know what I mean). But that is, after all, the main reason for going black on the bottom! :)




Another decision that I made was to paint the oak trim on the counter tops....this has been great and held up remarkably well. I thought that it would get a lot of nicks, but it hasn't. The only wear has happened on the peninsula where most of my projects and crafting happen, but it's hardly even noticeable.

Overall, if I had to do it over again, I would in a heart beat.





25 comments:

  1. I love the kitchen redo - you have given me inspiration for mine. I can't afford new cabinets but paint, now that's a different story. I love your new laundry room as well and many of the projects you have shown. You are very talented and creative and I look at your blog every morning. Thanks for doing it.

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  2. I still love your kitchen, but I cannot believe that it has already been a year since you remodeled!!!

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  3. I love your kitchen! The dark lower and light uppers make my heart skip a beat. I'm going to try to convince the man of our house that this is the way to go. At least for now - our "in the meantime" update to hold us over until we do our full renovation. Hopefully he will fall in love and let me do this on the permanent reno when it rolls around!
    I love how your laundry room looks from the kitchen - a nice pop of colour!
    -Diana

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  4. Love painted cabinets. It provides an instant update. Painted the cabinets in my own kitchen and they are holding up well!

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  5. I have always loved your kitchen and it is so good to hear that it is holding up well. There is always that fear and when I pitch it to the hubs, he worries about that! Now I can have him read this!

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  6. He descubierto tu blog y me ha encantado su contenido. Desde hoy lo sigo, si lo deseas te invito a conocer mi blog y si es de tu agrado, me gustaría tenerte como seguidora en mi blog para seguir en contacto. Un saludo muy cordial.
    Manoli.

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  7. Much better painted! I'm with you! I too inherited cabinets similar to your, but a bit darker and we too chose to paint them. Absolutely no regrets! Your kitchen looks awesome. The wonders of paint!

    I've been wanting to do a before and after post of my kitchen, but I can't seem to track down my before pix. I'll let you know if I ever get it out there.

    Have a great day!
    Kim www.plumberrypie.blogspot.com

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  8. Everything looks so fresh with the white cabinets. I'm with you on that choice!

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  9. So much prettier painted. That '1st cup of coffee in the morning cabinet', How about a big ole brass kick plate? ;) We, too, are remodeling our kitchen and I love to see practical applications. I am considering, and leaning toward going "topless" if we can really fit everything into lower cabinets. I have to tell you that I truly appreciate seeing your posts showing the beauty still in Joplin. I'm just over the border in Grove & have seen the unbelievable devastation that your city has endured. I hope to visit your booth the next time we are in Joplin!!

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  10. WOW!! It looks amazing!! Great job!
    xo

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  11. My kitchen cabinets currently ressemble your previous...lol. I hope to paint them white in the near future. I always admire your spaces...great job!

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  12. I LOVE what you did with the kitchen - WOW! We're in a rental with ugly wood cabinets and I would do anything to paint them - landlord nixed it.

    Inspiration for the future!!

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  13. I have always loved painted cabinets and white is such a life to the spirit and the dark gives balance in your kitchen......great makeover!

    Inspiring to say the least~

    Joyfully,
    ~Sylvia Faye

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  14. Hi Michelle! I'm new to your blog and just LOVEyour projects and style! In this post your sugar is sitting on a tray with round (tiles?) did you make this? I would love to try and do this... Thanks!

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  15. Thank you so much everyone!!

    Lisa, I did make the tray...here is the link:

    http://sweetsomethingdesign.blogspot.com/2010/07/bottle-cap-tray.html

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  16. More thought and prayers are with you from a long-time follower you don't know personally.

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  17. I love what you did with your kitchen and that it is a budget friendly makeover! ~ Maureen

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  18. I adore it! It is exactly what I want to do with my awful oak kitchen. (http://www.themoney-pit.com/2011/11/how-to-shave-30-years-off-your-kitchen.html) As for painting the wood.. well, I don't consider "golden oak" as "real wood!" ;)


    Nice work!

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  19. Beautiful! We also just painted our cabinets and have zero regrets. The wall color you chose is gorgeous. Everything flows very well and makes for a very inviting kitchen!

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  20. Love the kitchen. Great inspiration for my own. I have dark on the uppers and lowers (did it last year too) but have been toying with going light on top. My kitchen space doesn't get any natural light, you see ....

    :)

    Linda

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  21. Its absolutely amazing. Did you change the counter top or just paint the upper and lower cabinets?

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  22. Can you comment on the brand paint and the colors that you used?

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Thank You for taking the time to comment! Because of the insane amount of spam comments, I had to stop anonymous comments-sorry for the inconvenience.
Michelle