documentalope's Profile

I have those exact same cabinets in my apartment, too. We own, so I could do anything I want with them, but I decided to live with them for six months and see how I feel after. Now, honestly, I kind of like them. They're sort of beat up, but they're actual birch, not particle board or MDF, and I like that they've survived this long. I also decided that there's more than one way for a kitchen to be great, and they don't all have to be bright and antiseptic. It's cozy and tactile intstead, and that's good for me.

Mine have a tendency to look orange, so I painted the rest of the kitchen in BM Quiet Moments and our beadboard backsplash a bright white. I also replaced the brushed nickel knobs with copper ones (to match the original hinges), and installed cheap LED strip lights from Amazon under the cabinets. I haven't done it yet, but I'm also planning to get a bamboo runner (which is not terribly expensive) and paint it to cover up the mottled brown vinyl floor we inherited.

What I'm saying is, I guess, that you can definitely make those cabinets work for you! Declutter a bit, do a bright backsplash (maybe something period-y? Painted pressed tin could be lovely), and make sure your lighting is on point, and they'll look good.

Also, I think you could have a great nook there by building a simple banquette to go in an L shape. It'd save you tons of room!

I always buy grass-fed, organic, ethically treated meat. And that's mostly beef and lamb, with some pork. I'm really skeptical about the feasibility of humanely/healthily raising chickens on a large scale at all, and they don't have as good of a nutritional profile. I don't know what the average amount of meat is that most people are eating less than; I'm mostly Primal so I think we eat a fair amount of meat, but my household is all poor graduate students, and it still works out. I think I'm probably okay with spending a larger proportion of my income on food than most people are, since I don't have kids, a car, or a mortgage.

I live in Seattle, and most of the restaurants we go to say where their meat comes from, which I appreciate. I wouldn't interrogate a host on where their meat comes from or anything, but it's important to me to vote with my wallet.