The Transformation of a Kitchen

We didn't mean to redo our kitchen in phases. 

It just turned out that way. 

I didn't have a long range plan but tackled it project by project over a period of years.

It was a time consuming process that could be accelerated.

We started with orange oak cabinets, formica counters, black and almond appliances and vinyl floors. Did I mention the dark green wallpaper?

It was only 3 years old when we bought the house and still in style but dark green wasn't my scene.

How cute are these cousins?  

The first thing to go was the wallpaper.

I stripped it off, textured the walls and painted them yellow.

This was the only picture I could find of the old kitchen. 
Jonnie was 15. 
The next thing to go was the flooring. 

We ended up with a wood look vinyl.
It has been a work horse.
Regular mopping and an occasional cleaning with Quick Shine keeps it in good shape.

I got to the point where I couldn't live with the gross formica countertops one more day. I decided to tile them.
I love the 50s vintage vibe. 
I also created the open storage. Read that post here. 

The formica layer peeled off in one big sheet.



I didn't do any prep work to the remaining plywood base. The tiles adhered just fine. I've never had one pop off. 

It took about a year to get to the sink corner. We placed the plywood base around the sink because it had water damage and mold.

I got a new Elkay sink that I still love. 
This was just a tad before farmhouse sinks came into vogue but I doubt one would have worked in the corner anyway.
At this point I was pretty content with the kitchen. I was wild about Robin's Egg Blue and brown and this scheme pleased me.
The appliances got replaced as they bit the dust. 
Replacing them all with stainless took about 5 years.
The kitchen stayed blue for 6 years until someone mentioned to me that blue kitchens were unappetizing. 
That gave me the motivation to paint. 
For the record, I never had a problem eating in a blue kitchen. ;)
I wanted something neutral so I could fill up my shelves with red transfer ware.

I finally convinced my husband to let us paint the kitchen cabinets.

I pinned picture after picture of cute kitchens. 
I realized that all of them were white. ALL OF THEM.
 I was just attracted to white. 

My final plea came when I expressed that the orange-y oak cabinets had had a good life and that they would not be in style again in our lifetime. 

That is just the way it works. It takes decades for a design element to come around again. 

Decades - if ever!

Since we don't plan to be here in 3 decades, 
(if we are still breathing in 3 decades) 
he relented. 

He is glad that he did because we love the white cabinets.

We love how bright and open it looks.

We made a faux vent hood.



We will splurge and get stone counters but I'm not sure when he will spring for that. 

In the meantime, I think I might do a tile backsplash. 
Maybe.

Here is a breakdown of the cost:
Sink $400
Counters $200
Painting cabinets $1850
Appliances $3200
Paint is Kilim Beige by Sherwin Williams
Cabinets are Dover White by Sherwin Williams.

I think it's a pretty frugal remodel. I love my kitchen. 
Thanks for stopping in to see it.  

Katie    
Linking with,
Home Sweet Home     
Fridays Unfolded   
Feathered Nest Friday

Restoring Grout in the Kitchen

My family believes me to be a bit compulsive at times. 

I am fine with the imperfect, chipped or worn as long as it it's clean.
Take the great vinyl flooring incident of the 1990s. 
I pulled up the old, torn, dirty flooring when everyone left the house for work and school. I was doing fine until I got to the pantry and laundry room. 
I needed help and the helpers were a bit bitter. 
 I was in trouble!!  

Once something reaches the point where it can't become clean anymore I'm ready to kick it to the curb. 

I was getting so close to that point with my kitchen counters. 

I tiled them back in the summer of 2008. After tiling 500 square feet of flooring, tiling a countertop was a piece of cake.
I simply pulled off the laminate, which literally peeled off in big sheets and tiled over the existing plywood counter. 

They were so pretty! The tiles were pristine. The grout was gleaming white. 

You can imagine that after 5 years the grout was getting a little grungy. We are absolutely addicted to coffee around here so the coffee counter was extremely bad. 

I would break out the Clorox Clean Up every two weeks but the house smelled of bleach and it didn't stay clean all that long.

I was contemplating our next countertop when I saw 
Tile Guard-Tile Grout Coating 
at an Ace Hardware store.

I brought it home with the complete expectation that it wouldn't work but I was willing to give it a try.

It wasn't expensive so it deserved a shot.

It worked. Our grout is like new.

The sponge applicator top bit the dust almost immediately so I used a paint brush instead.

It only took about an hour to do all the counters.

I let it set on the counters for a four dry time. It wiped right off of the tiles and the grout looked new.

Spilled coffee cleans up without staining the refreshed grout.

I do love the look of these "vintagey" tiles.
I am okay with the few that have gotten cracked or chipped over the course of the last five years as long as they are clean!

Speaking of "vintagey", Cracker Barrel has some cute vintage inspired kitchen stuff right now. 
They had some faux Jadeite that was simply adorable. 
I picked up the utensil set and this soap dispenser. 

Thanks for stopping by clean kitchen.
Ahhh!
Katie   
Linking with,
Savvy Southern Style
French Country Cottage
Lavender Garden Cottage    
Common Ground