Hey everyone…Your girl has been a busy bee (again) … This time, I really took my time because I couldn’t get this one wrong.  Remember when I did the dining room makeover, I mentioned I was on a strict budget?  Well that was because I knew I wanted to work on my kitchen and it would be a costly expense because new countertops were in the mix.  A little back story on how the kitchen evolved –  when we first bought the house I knew things needed to be updated in the kitchen.  The light fixture was a long fluorescent fixture, the stove was a vintage caloric mustard color, the wallpaper was a faint blue stripe with tiny ducks, which complimented the blue countertops  and the vinyl flooring was a bluish tan color (which again accented the wallpaper), (I wish I’d taken pictures of the before),but that was all pre-blogging and me being on the computer days.  After the first year, we were able to get a new stove, removed the dated range hood and added a microwave with vent, I painted over the wallpaper, changed the light fixture, added a tile backsplash and gave it a freshened look that was a bit more pleasing to me.  The one thing I loved were the custom cabinets. But all along, I kept wanting new countertops.. I literally HATED HATED HATED, that blue.  I just didn’t realize it would have taken so long. Needless to say, everything took preference over such a costly expense.

Sure I decorated around them and kept on believing that each new year was going to be the year the kitchen gets done.

Here it is 18 years later and I’m still looking at the one thorn in my eyesight.   We are quite aware how important the kitchen is in our homes and the aesthetics on how we see it is equally important.  The only style I saw fit to decorate was using a semi-country antique look.  The antique chairs were  all different (on purpose) and I reupholstered them to add a bit of whimsy.

The items on the counter shifted over the years, but no matter what.. “in my mind” – it was like sugar coating shit (sorry if I offended anyone, but that’s how I felt).   My husband just didn’t quite understand my agony over this.. (because for one –  he could care less about that, as long as they were functioning for me to cook – he didn’t see a problem – uggghhh.. ).  I couldn’t bare it any longer and decided it was time to tackle the kitchen. Budget was a main concern – I’ll be very open and honest here…. we don’t have 5-10k to drop on a brand new kitchen (nor would I even imagine spending that kind of money on ONE room – ain’t happening nor do I have brands knocking on my blog gifting me a new kitchen either.

At the beginning of last year (onset of Covid) I decided my kitchen WILL be a priority and my goal was to pay for this without DEBT.  I contacted our local granite dealer to get a quote which came in at $3065 (cheaper than Lowes – not to mention, I was told they don’t install countertops anymore – they’re only doing full kitchen gut jobs.. go figure.. ) and figured I’d make the money hustlin’ stuff.  One thing I have is stuff and lots of stuff to sell.   After making $800 at last year’s yardsale, (which was great considering we were in a pandemic) that became the boost for my “countertop stash fund”.  From that point on I decided to amp up my online posting of items for sale.  So between, FBMP, Etsy and Chairish, I was able to make enough money to buy my countertops.  Let me just add this – I stayed faithful with this savings… every single dollar I made from sales went straight to the fund.  I actually thought it was going to take me longer to make 3K but I’m guessing due to Covid, online sales picked up.  So everyone, this is the story of my kitchen journey and it’s headed for a bit of a change.   It’s not a glam & glitz kind of change, but just a simple upgrade with a mix of fabric colors  and NEW COUNTERTOPS – yippeee!  Once I realized this going to happen, I took down the curtains and the blinds, kept the windows bare and let my plants be my distraction from the counters.

Slowly I started removing items from the counter.  The bareness was really getting to me because I saw more blue.  My sons laid a new floor for me earlier in the year

I got these rattan chairs from an estate sale and reupholstered the seat cushions with some cheetah fabric.  The date was set for the installation and I began to pack the kitchen up… I can’t tell you all how excited I was… FINALLY, FINALLY, FINALLY!!!

I’m embarassed showing this but it’s cool.. I’m keeping it real.. I really hated them… this tv situation was another eye sore with the dangling cords, the sound bar sitting on the counter, my husband’s drop zone.. and seeing that lovely dining room from this kitchen was like gentle pokings in my eyes.   

So there you have it.. why I never post pictures in my kitchen.. but that’s about to change!  Next up is the new look.. and I’m happy.