I Can't Believe the Kitchen is Done!!!

Remember me?

Lol, It's been about 3 weeks since I've blogged. Life is full and enjoyable, and that's a good thing, right?  

Do you remember my kitchen reno? I ordered my counters in the first week of January, and they were finally completed about a week ago. That's a long way from 5 weeks, but at this point I'm just glad it's done! 

Since the counter back splashes were shorter than my previous ones, I had to do some additional painting to complete it. I also did some painting on the new pantry door. To be honest, it's not a big change. I painted all my cupboards, put on new hinges and knobs. The cupboard color looks similar to the old one but it is much lighter and brighter. Everything feels clean and new again. The biggest change is the counter, which I am very happy with. 

Some before and after pictures:

-Note the holes in the counter fronts. They were so bad that they'd put holes in my tops over by the sink. So I used duct tape. Yes, even duct tape is not beneath me!

-The top of the counter was actually noticeably worn, although you can't see it in these photos. 

-The blue walls were good for a time, but depending on the light, they looked purple sometimes. That wasn't what I was going for in my kitchen. 

-Note the hinges. Very old and rusty looking. Most of them were at the breaking point as well. I threw out the photo of the hinges...it was gross.

-We used to have very old fashioned looking door knobs, so the last time we renovated we opted for new drawer handles, but never did get new knobs. It's so nice to have knobs again!

-Note that stove hood. Blech! Couldn't wait to dump that thing!

-Did you check out that accordian door? Eeeek.  I actually showed you one of the other ones in the house because the one in the kitchen was half broken and I was too embarrassed to take a photo of it.

Here's what we got the first time the counters were put in. These are two different spots.

It was so disheartening to realize it had to be done again.

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Here's the kitchen now. I turned the blinds up a bit, but needed the natural light, so it's a bit bright by the window. 

Note the new Stove Hood. Aaaaah. The new hinges are silver, and not as noticeable.

We drink so much coffee in this house, we have a Tassimo and a coffee pot!

Don't mind the mess....I have some decluttering to do.

I would say this is the true color of the wall paint.

I also picked up a few signs at Real Deals on Home Decor. They have the best signs and I absolutely LOVE their clocks and their mirrors, and well everything really. Check out their page and you'll see what I mean.  I would love to have a clock wall. 

Call me nuts...I don't mind. ;-)

Yup! Pass the coffee....

My husband picked this next one out.

Then I saw this little cutie at a Dollar Store for $3.00

Anyway --

There's some more decorating to do, but all in good time. I had all kinds of other renovations planned in addition to the kitchen, but I'm realizing I need to keep it down to one major, or two small renos a year. 

Now I am working on some de-cluttering and organizing. There's so many good resources on Pinterest to help with this. My husband loves his 'stuff' and has a hard time letting go of any of it, so I've really been working on my stuff and any other things I can purge.

But, I totally get it.  It is truly hard to let go of things. I have been decluttering for a while and find that I will keep things the first round that I throw out or pass on the second round. Then I do a third round, for good measure. Really, if you're not using things, what's the point in hanging on to them? 

No, the kids are not going to want most of your old stuff, neither are the grandkids. If you haven't used it in the last 10 years, guess what? You are probably creating a junk museum in your basement (that no one would pay to see). 

Wanna buy some tickets to my junk museum? Anyone? 

Please, do yourself a favor and get rid of it. Now if I could only get the Mr.  to see my reasoning! So, I will continue to work at it. Someday I will be junk free!

Lol...thanks for stopping by and have a good day!

Blessings,

Carmen