Beautiful Kitchen Renovation: Welcome to the 152nd Metamorphosis Monday!

Happy Met Monday!  I'm so excited to share an amazing kitchen make-over today.  Linn and her hubby did all the work themselves!.   On their blog, The Home Project, Linn says their main goal was to just "clean up the area and make it a great place to cook and organize our pantry."  The budget didn't allow for knocking down any walls or changing the area/size of the kitchen, but the changes are still quite dramatic.

As you can see, Linn was dealing with a lot of green: green walls, green ceiling and green linoleum flooring.  Note where the refrigerator is in this pic.  It blocked a lot of light in that location.

Click HERE to continue reading...

Beautiful Lake House Kitchen Renovation: Welcome to the 135th Metamorphosis Monday!

Whew!  What a weekend.  It's been a painting marathon around here...but it's done.   How was your weekend?  Do anything fun or was it a weekend for working around the house?

Lake House Kitchen Renovation:
I'm exited to share a wonderful kitchen renovation for this Metamorphosis Monday.  Wendy, a reader of BNOTP, recently shared some pics of a kitchen renovation in her vacation lake home located on Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia.

When Wendy and her husband first bought their vacation home, they were planning on making a few modest changes in the kitchen.  But once they took a closer look at the kitchen cabinets, the counters, and the sink, the more they realized a full kitchen renovation was in order.

Wendy said, "Since we were trying to furnish a second home, we didn't plan on redoing the kitchen but I couldn't tolerate the mold in the grout and the general yuck of the sticky cabinets. We thought we'd paint the cabinet frames, and buy new doors and laminate counters as a low cost make-it-work-for-now alternative.

In obtaining estimates, we met with a local kitchen designer who said she could get us a whole new kitchen with granite for what we had budgeted. REALLY? Well, yeah, but once we went to her showroom, my husband fell in love with the better cabinets and before we knew it, we were getting THIS kitchen. I'm sure ultimately we saved money since we no longer were going to have to remodel twice. The "better" kitchen was maybe half again what we budgeted originally."

Wendy said, "The kitchen was old with laminate cabinets with oak finger pulls, and the tile countertops were probably a DIY project with ceramic tile applied to the original laminate countertops."

BEFORE:

Here's a shot of that tile Wendy was talking about.  Definitely time for a change...goodbye moldy tile.
Click HERE to continue reading...

A Kitchen Renovation... Welcome to the 13th Metamorphosis Monday!

Time for another Metamorphosis Monday! I can't wait to see all the Before and Afters posted for this Met Monday...you'll find all the links at the end of this post.

Hold on tight...we're going for another ride this week in my time machine. Did you take your Dramamine...you know this thing goes pretty fast. I'm setting the dial for 1991...destination: Kitchen.

I've pulled all the "before" pics you'll be seeing (except one) from an ancient VHS tape we made on our second walk-thru of the house, prior to actually purchasing it.

I played the tape, stopping it periodically to take a photo, so the pics are not the greatest quality...but I think you'll get an idea of what the kitchen looked like prior to renovation in 2002.




The pic below was taken right before renovation began in 2002, so it's the only "before" pic you'll see that was taken after we had actually moved in. At this point, we had already replaced the stove, microwave and dishwasher. As you can see the kitchen felt very small and dreary with all the stained cabinetry.




After: I painted the inside of the cabinets myself and had the exterior painted professionally.

I added Kichler, xenon under-cabinet lighting. I almost never use the overhead canned lighting I had installed because the soft glow of the under-cabinet lighting is so much nicer. If you're planning a kitchen renovation, I highly recommend Kichler. You are not going to believe this, but I have been using this lighting since 2002 and have NEVER had to replace a bulb, yet. Isn't that amazing?!  (Oops, forgot to turn the light over the t.v. on for the pic...it is usually off for a better view of the t.v.)




Below you will see a "before" pic taken prior to our moving in. You can't really see it in the photo, but the formica counter top had been melted in two spots where apparently a previous homeowner had placed a hot pan.




And now for an "after"...the name of the granite is "Portofino."





I decided to go with an ogee edge, as opposed to the standard bull nose or squared off edge.




Out with the beige, formica back splash!  One of the more expensive parts of the renovation was this narrow trim piece that runs along the back of the back splash, and the accent tiles you see throughout. I think they add a lot to the kitchen and were worth the expense in the end. I chose neutral colors for the kitchen hoping I wouldn't tire of the look.  It's been 7 years and I'm still loving it.   I've added color to the kitchen via the mixer and decorative accent pieces.  Those are always easy to change out for a new look.




Here's a before pic showing the awful stove/microwave. It was all one unit and you could barely lift the lid off a pan to stir because of how low the microwave was in this one piece unit...very poor design.




I always wanted a double oven.   This kitchen is way too small for that but this Maytag double-oven fits in the space of a single one. The top oven is as wide as a full size oven and is perfect for casseroles, pizza, bread/rolls and about 90% of the things you might cook in an oven on a day to day basis. It has a toaster function which is awesome for making toast or heating up leftovers. It also heats up very, very fast because of its size.  I use it constantly and it is so much better than waiting for a full size oven to pre-heat.

The lower oven is full size and will hold anything a full size oven will hold. The double ovens are really handy when you have a turkey in the bottom and a casserole or bread baking in the top. So if you have limited space, but would really like a double oven, I can recommend this one.  It also has separate timers, separate thermostats, separate everything.




Since the kitchen isn't very large, I wanted to open it up as much as possible. I've always liked cabinets with glass doors, so I took all the doors to a local carpenter and he cut the center panel out of each door so the glass could be added.  It really opened the kitchen up and made it feel a bit larger. You can read more about this, HERE.




Decided to go with red accents...




This may be my favorite addition to the kitchen...a dish washing detergent dispenser. This appealed to both my practical and aesthetic side...no more unsightly detergent bottle sitting out on the counter.




Before: Dull, stainless sink...




After: A shiny, white Kohler sink...one side is nice and deep for those really large pans...




Below is a view of the desk area before renovation. (You can also see the vinyl flooring that was pitted and in terrible condition.)

Don't know if you can see it, but there was a stiff, wire mesh in the cabinet doors above the desk. I replaced the wire mesh in these doors with glass.  It looks much better and keeps dust out of the cabinet, something the wire mesh did not do. Note how the counter ends right behind the faucets in this pic...after pic coming just ahead.




After:
I carried the granite over to the desk area in the kitchen. This pic also shows the glass installed in the doors of the cabinet above the desk.



No more vinyl flooring...I love hardwoods in a kitchen. They are really comfortable for standing and working.

I had the granite cut larger than the countertop had previously been to create an eat-in bar area for the kitchen.  Scan back up two photos and you can see how it looked before. Whenever I entertain, guest seemed to love sitting here.

I purchased a "counter depth" KitchenAid refrigerator. Counter depth refrigerators are several inches taller than normal refrigerators and about 4-5 inches less deep. It gave me several more inches of much needed space.




Before pic of the breakfast area... All the trim was stained and made the kitchen feel very dated and dreary...




After: Stained trim is gone...breakfast area feels much brighter and more open. The open door leads out onto the screened-in porch.




Another "after" pic of the breakfast area...this is the view while standing at the sink. (The room you see through the bay and off to the right is the screened-in porch.)



Hope you enjoyed this kitchen renovation. Let's go check out all the great "Before and Afters" posted below for your visit today!

If you are participating in Metamorphosis Monday, please be sure to add your permalink below, and not your general blog address. If you aren't sure how to obtain your permalink or have any questions about using Mr. Linky for this post, just click on the Metamorphosis Monday logo in my sidebar for detailed instructions.

Don't forget to copy and paste the Met Monday logo button to your computer so you can add it to your side bar and your Met Monday post. That way visitors will know that your are participating in Metamorphosis Monday.

Please be sure to link back to the host blog, Between Naps on the Porch, so your fellow bloggers who are participating today, will get lots of visits, as well.

Please do not add your link below until your Met Monday post is actually published to your blog.

The following blogs are participating in this Metamorphosis Monday:

A Kitchen Renovation! Welcome to the 4th Metamorphosis Monday!

Welcome to my modest kitchen renovation! I know some of you have already seen this renovation on Rate My Space or posted on my sidebar; but since this was one of the biggest metamorphosis that has taken place in my home, I thought I'd share it on this Met Monday.


Ok, if you have a weak stomach, you might want to look away at this point. (LOL) This was my kitchen before renovation...dark and dreary. This is the only "before" pic I have to share...but it really tells the story of what the kitchen looked like prior to renovation.

You can't see it in this photo, but the genuine builder-grade, formica counter top was melted in two spots where a previous owner had apparently placed a hot pan. The back splash was the same bland, beige formica. Over the years, I had replaced the dish washer and stove. I'm not a huge fan of stainless appliances and I knew I wanted a white kitchen some day, so I chose white appliances along the way.



Ahhhh...much better!



I added Kohler under cabinet lighting that can all be turned on with the flip of a single switch. I almost never use the overhead canned lighting I had installed; the soft glow of the under cabinet lighting is so much nicer.



Got rid of the bulky t.v. and replaced it with a sleeker model. Cooking isn't my favorite thing in the world, so I love having a distraction in the kitchen to help pass the time.



Decided to go with neutral colors in the kitchen...the granite I chose is called Portofino...



Removed the beige formica back splash...yea!!! One of the more expensive parts of the renovation was this narrow trim piece that runs the length of the back splash...and the accent tile pieces you see throughout the back splash.



Wish I had taken a picture of the original stove before it was removed...it was awful. I always wanted a double oven but my kitchen is fairly small. I found this Maytag double oven that fits in the space of a normal one. The top oven is as wide as a full size oven and is perfect for casseroles, pizza, bread/rolls and about 90% of the things you might cook in an oven on a day to day basis. It has a toaster function which is awesome for making toast or heating up leftovers. It also heats up very, very fast because of it's size...so much better than waiting for a full size oven to pre-heat.

The lower oven is full size and will hold anything a full size oven will hold. The double ovens are really handy when you have a turkey in the bottom and a casserole or bread baking in the top. So if you have limited space, but would really like a double oven, I highly recommend this one.



Since my kitchen isn't very large, I wanted to open it up as much as possible. I've always liked cabinets with glass doors so I took all the doors to a local carpenter and he cut the center panel out of each door so I could install the glass...it really opened the kitchen up.



My sister, Glenda, cross stitched this for me years ago...she knows me all too well!



Oink!



Since my kitchen isn't very large, I wanted to give it some special touches. I paid a little extra and had the edge of the granite cut with an ogee edge, as opposed to the standard bull nose or squared off edge you usually see in most kitchens.



Decided to go with red accents...



This may be my favorite thing in my new kitchen...a dish washing detergent dispenser. This appealed to my practical and aesthetic side...no more unsightly detergent bottle sitting out on the counter.



Before I had a dull, builder-grade stainless sink.  One side is nice and deep for really large pans.




I carried the granite over to the desk area in the kitchen.



I had the granite cut large enough to create an eat in bar area for the kitchen. Whenever I entertain, guest seemed to love sitting here. I purchased a "counter depth" KitchenAid refrigerator. Counter depth refrigerators are several inches taller than normal refrigerators and about 4-5 inches less deep. It gave me several more inches of much needed space.



Standing at the sink...this is the view. The room you see through the bay and off to the right is the screened-in porch.



A shot looking across the breakfast room and out onto the porch...



Hope you enjoyed this modest little kitchen renovation. Enjoy the many wonderful "Before and Afters" that are posted above for your visit this day!

BLUE MONDAY:
I am so excited to be participating in Blue Monday for the first time! Be sure to visit Sally at Smiling Sally to see more great Blue Monday posts.


I collect Flow Blue and for this Blue Monday, I thought I'd share two of my largest pieces of flow blue.

If you aren't familiar with Flow Blue, here's how Wikipedia describes it:
"Flow blue is a style of stoneware, sometimes porcelain, that originated in the Victorian era, sometime in the 1820s, among the Staffordshire potters of England. The name is derived from the blue glaze that blurred or "flowed" during the firing process. Most flow blue ware is a kind of transferware, where the decorative patterns were applied with a paper stencil to often white-glazed blanks, or standard pottery shapes, though some wares were hand painted. The stencils burned away in the kiln. The blue glazes used in flow blue range from gray-blue to sometimes greenish blue, to an inky blue; however the most desirable and sought-after shade is a vivid cobalt blue. Mulberry is another form of flow blue, where the glaze is more purple in hue."

The first flow blue piece I have to show you for this Blue Monday is this platter I bought while antiquing on a skiing trip in Oregon many years ago. I've heard that the more "flowed" a piece is, the more valuable it is...not sure if that's accurate...but I do love the pieces that are really nice and blurry! :-)



This platter hangs on the wall above an old plate rack that holds some other flow blue and Blue Willow pieces.





The other large piece of flow blue I have to share today is this bowl. I love it but I had some trouble figuring out where to display it due to its large size. I finally decided on the top of the armoire in my upstairs family room since this room has a largely blue theme and contains several other pieces of my flow blue collection.



I think this bowl may have been under a large pitcher, back in its day. What do you think?



You can see how large it is in this pic...



Be sure to stop by Sally's for some more  fun today!




I can't wait to see all the great "Before and Afters" posted for this Met Monday!

If you are participating in Metamorphosis Monday, please be sure to add your permalink below, and not your general blog address. If you aren't sure how to obtain your permalink or have any questions about using Mr. Linky for this post, just click on the Metamorphosis Monday logo in my sidebar for detailed instructions.

Don't forget to copy and paste the Met Monday logo button to your computer so you can add it to your side bar and your Met Monday post. That way visitors will know that your are participating in Metamorphosis Monday.

Please be sure to link back to the host blog, Between Naps on the Porch, so your fellow bloggers who are participating today, will get lots of visits, as well.

Please do not add your link below until your Met Monday post is actually published to your blog.

The following blogs are participating in this Metamorphosis Monday: