missuswayne's Profile

@anotherjen - I should have been more specific about the outdated wiring situation - woefully few outlets, and the ones we have are don't have the auto shutoff thingy required in the kitchen. So we really need to get that situation upgraded before I start plugging any more things into the outlets :)

Thanks, all. Before repainting I'll give some new lightbulbs a shot. (The current ceiling fixtures, of which there are two, have three 60 watt soft white bulbs each.) I will also clear some of the clutter off my countertops -- believe it or not, I use all that stuff pretty much every day! Oh, the shame.

I wonder if I can do under cabinet lighting myself? Our wiring situation is woefully outdated, I'm afraid. Might have to call in the electrician.

Don't paint the tile -- paint the walls. I agree that the right shade of light gray will work wonders.

Your place is lovely - I love all the wood, and those built in shelves are beautiful. Do you ever eat at Bar Ferdinand in NoLibs? My brother is a bartender there. The food is great, too.

Oh, and I'd love to know how your daughter's Ikea bed is working out -- I am thinking of getting this for my own daughter, but I don't know how well it will wear or how sturdy it is.

Thank you!!
In fact the pattern lining the back of the open shelving and above the fridge is not wallpaper, but a Dwell tablecloth that I got on clearance at Target a while back. I knew that I'd find a use for it!

Rhonda - DO IT! For even more inspiration, have a look at the newest issue of Do It Yourself magazine (it's put out by Better Homes & Gardens) -- there's a 70s kitchen makeover featured that reminds me much of my own. I wish I had seen it before I did mine, though, because in the magazine they used hidden hinges, which for some reason I didn't think I'd be able to use. The hidden hinges look SO much better than the exposed ones!

Aw, thanks everyone! I've been an AT reader for ages, and an admirer of so many homes that have been featured, so it's so nice to hear all the good feedback.

If anyone is still checking this thread...I took the doors off the three upper cabinets to the right of the sink...and emptied and cleaned the cabinets...OMG. Filthy. It's entirely possible that just thoroughly CLEANING the cabinets will be enough of a facelift to get us through 'til the BKR! (Plus the hardware and lighting, of course.)

After I cleaned them I put all our glassware and white dishes back in those three cabinets and I think I LOVE the open shelving idea. It looks so...clean and neat. Does anyone think it would look weird to only have those three without their doors? It feels a bit unbalanced to me.

Thanks again for all the comments. :)

Phew! So many comments! This is great.

I should say again that yes, I do plan to keep the cabinets when we get around to a substantial reno (probably closer to 2 years than 1).

Also, re brighter colors -- prior to the new paler green/gray color the walls and backsplash were a bold teal blue, and the soffit was a green apple color (I had green/blue plates from C&B that I hung on the soffit). I've done bold color and I really want to tone things down a bit. I will admit though, that after I got the green on the walls I wasn't 100% sure it was the right choice - and I'm still not. But I would agree that some pops of color are needed, just not big sweeping bold color.

I like the idea of starting by painting the countertop trim and switching out the hardware, then working on lighting before committing to painting the cabinets. I'd love to replace the single knobs with more substantial modern pulls, but it will require drilling new holes and filling in the existing ones - any ideas on how I can fill in the holes without it being obvious? Do I just use wood putty and try to match the stain?

Re: the breakfast bar discussion - when we do our big reno I think it WILL become a breakfast bar. There's a door right next to that counter right now which leads to our playroom and I want to close off the doorway (there's a second door to the playroom off the dining room). This will allow for a breakfast bar. In order to get some more light in the kitchen I want to take down the upper cabinets to the right of the sink and make that entire space windows out to the playroom (it's a converted porch, a "3-season room", technically).

Black fridge will possibly be replaced, you guessed it, during the Big Kitchen Reno (BKR). I get what you're saying about it sucking up all the light. Of course my dishwasher is also black...

I'm planning on doing a Flor tile rug, just haven't gotten around to it. I'm hoping it will bring a little color cohesion.

K. Malone: Large clock is from Target on supersale a while back. They have a similar one now, I think.

Luna: I actually do sort of like the layout. It's a small kitchen only about 10x11, excluding the area over by the table and chairs. I like a fairly close triangle, I wouldn't do well with a giganto kitchen like you see in magazines. But I would like more counter space and I would love if my kitchen was open to my dining room (which is actually where we eat because it's brighter in there). When we do BKR we might knock out the wall above the cooktop to open it up a bit. Not sure.

Gaidig: I LOVE painting. I am also going to paint my merlot-colored dining room and just finished painting my front door, sidelights and foyer. I have two kids under 6 and painting my house keeps me sane, as weird as that sounds. :)

sdblondie: How long did you wait before re-hanging the doors and putting on the hardware? I've read that you need to wait several days for the paint to "cure". Did you find this to be the case?

That is stunning, and I must know how they did it!