Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Where to begin?

I've been AWOL for quite some time now. I have no exciting news to share with you... No pregnancy. Sorry. No big secrets. Nope. No major Before and Afters. Just life and lazyness getting in the way of posting.

Frankly, it's been so long and we've done so many projects, big and small, that I'm not sure where to start. I'm just going to jump right in with the changes we've made to the kitchen. I mentioned waaaaaayyy back in May that I was going to paint the kitchen either butter yellow or black. Black won.

BEFORE

AFTER




Try to ignore the mess and the giant tub of beer on the floor. We had a Halloween party on Saturday and that's how much beer we have left over. We are slowly making a dent in it, no worries. lol

BEFORE



AFTER

J ran new lights for me above the sink. It's ah.maz.ing. how much easier it is to do the dishes and cook when you can actually see what you're doing! They turned out super-great and look like they have always been there. He even added an extra switch on the opposite wall, so we can actually turn the kitchen lights on and off from the main part of the house, instead of just from the basement. It definitely pays to date an electrician. 

Looking at the befores makes me wonder how I lived with that blue for as long as I did. Ick. 

Actually I lived with this for a few months:


I really thought I was going to go with the yellow, but I hated everything I tried. Too yolky, too beige, too pale, too grellow, etc... The paint on the right above looks pretty in the picture, but IRL it made the trim look dingy and it was way too blah. 

You can barely see it in the Before shot of the sink area, but I also painted the AC grates. They had been painted multiple times with varying shades of white and beige, but I sanded them down and sprayed them with Rustoleum's ORB. I also sprayed the cords, the ceiling cap, and the little hat-like piece of the original pendants ORB and the shades Satin White. It's makes a big difference from the hideous-cheapy-looking-blue-glass-shades-with-dingy-white-details lights they were. I will eventually replace them, but for now I am drained on cash. The house is being tuck-pointed and it's majorly hurting my bank account. Sucks being a grown-up.

I've totally been missing out on my blog reading... What have you guys been up to lately?

11 comments:

Kristina P. said...

It looks great!

We just moved into our new place, and I literally have gone through several paint colors. It's tough! Our painter picked up my colors tonight, so I really hope they will work out well. I'm doing a couple of accent walls, so I hope the colors mesh.

Megan {The Brick Bungalow} said...

It looks great!!!

I've been busy with work, grad school, Halloween with the little one, and general tiredness from life. No pregnancy either, just lazy and worn out after spending all day middle school students!

Kirsti Lukens Craig said...

Love the black. I'm planning to go with a monochromatic paint scheme in the house we're about to move to so it's fun to see what you've done with the black and white. Well done!

Kim @ NewlyWoodwards said...

I seriously LOVE the black! Esp. with the contrast of the white below. It looks so great!

jen @ homeinthecountry said...

Welcome back! The black looks amazing - good choice! The new lights are cool too.

One word summary of what I've been up to: baby! :)

the cape on the corner said...

oh.my.gosh, i can't believe how good the black looks! that open cabinet just dissappears-that's so gutsy, i love it! here's to seeing what you're doing in the kitchen-i can't wait to get new lighting in there! i love your new pendant lights.

Loribeth said...

You're a lot braver than I am! It looks great! Much better than I thought it would look when you said you painted it black.

Sara @ Russet Street Reno said...

Dang, that was gutsy and the gamble paid off big time! I love the black, with the white and the new lighting - looks so high end! We are in the middle of gutting our kitchen, so I'm dreaming of the day we can actually paint.

LizzieBeth said...

Truth gun to my head, when I read that you painted it black, I thought "Seriously girl? I thought you had better taste." Then I saw the pictures, and I admit it looks awesome. I even said "dayyymn" out loud.

What have I been up to? Ooo, not much, just birthin' a baby ;)

Glad to have you back, and hope you stick around some more ;)

LB

Sherry said...

I would have never thought of that color for a kitchen, but it does work and I like it! I'm a new follower, please drop by for a visit when you have a chance.

Jackie Toye said...

I'm loving the Black!!