One thing I loved about this kitchen is its original fixtures. The cabinets, the ovens, the stove-top, and the sinks are all original, are in great condition and work!
One feature that stood out to me the most...separate stove and oven, as well as double ovens!! I thought that was so fancy! The stove-top is really neat too because it contains a griddle in the middle. (You can see it in the pictures below...it's silver)
Features I love about our kitchen:
- double ovens
- amount of cabinets (44 I believe I counted)
- already installed recently done under cabinet lighting
- little prep sink
- original sink
- griddle
- shutters on the window above the sink
- the sink is much deeper
- the character
What I did not like about it:
- The HUGE red plastic knobs aka clown noses
- the flooring
- Main intercom that did not work
Before
Notice the flooring and the red knobs.
One great thing about cabinets with handles/knobs is that you
can easily change the look of the kitchen by swapping them out.
I found a great deal on Amazon for nickel brushed knobs and I got a pack of 25 for $26.
At Home Depot and Lowe's each knob costs around $2.
I spent a whole evening switching them out, but it was SO worth it!
After knob change
It is so surprising to me how a simple change can cause the kitchen to look up-to-date,
even with the scalloped cabinet border.
Sidenote: In this picture you can see a screen at the end of the bank of cabinets. Since the intercom system did not work, we decided to replace the main intercom with a computer. We were able to find a cheap touchscreen and build a tiny computer for it (housed in the cabinet below it). On this computer we can browse the internet, watch tv and anything a normal computer can do! I am SO SO glad we did that. It makes the kitchen even more fun to be in when you are waiting on something to cook. If you are interested in our the house tech, visit Joey's blog, he recently posted about it here.
Back to the Before/Afters!
We have a cute little prep sink next to the fridge.
Here you can see the red clown noses are gone and you can see our new fridge!
I was a little worried about getting a side-by-side...since I have only ever had the traditional fridges (freezer on top, fridge on bottom). However, I love this fridge! I really like that we were able to get rid of our Brita pitcher and use the in-door water/ice. We use it all the time!
After we received our fridge, the only other major change we were waiting on was the floors. Joey gave me the option of getting new vinyl or to carry the wood laminate into the kitchen. I was worried about wood laminate and water, so I looked up to see how common it was. Thanks to Pinterest, I was able to envision what it would look like. I am so glad we decided to do that because the cohesiveness is so beautiful.
After the floors were installed
Complete After
This is what our kitchen looks like now (a couple of months ago).
Changes we did after flooring:
- installed the above cabinet lighting
- got a new dishwasher (not pictured, it's stainless)
- I'm in the process of replacing the green shutter inserts
Right off of the kitchen is the breakfast area. When we first saw the house, it was very dated with some ugly curtains and very bland.
Before
Thankfully we were able to see past this and see the potential.
Those shutters on the windows open and fold and let in so much light!
After
We painted the walls "Soulful Blue", had crown molding put up, and the wood laminate installed.
Complete After
Bonus shot with the shutters open!
So there you have it! Our before and afters of our kitchen and breakfast nook!
I will post another room soon!