Kitchen Before and After

Cabinet doors with original hardware from 1962!

View of empty cabinets and countertop


Over stovetop-the range was our last original appliance!

Vintage rub-on that was on cabinet wall beside stove-:)



Cabinet doors as they were sanded and puttied-notice the lovely shades of gold on the far doors-I did that a year and a half ago-thinking I would paint them a warm gold-so glad I waited---

Russell made the frame for this and I made the message board section

-a very easy $20 project!

We opened the cabinet over the oven, painted the inside,

built a shelf for the microwave, and I of course added some jars for a touch of color!

(Got the oven @ Habitat about a year ago for $40!)


What a find! Brand new Kenmore Elite Range Hood that retails for

around $400-got for $142 @ Sears!

(Got the stove top @ Habitat about a year ago for $20)



Window over sink with new pendant light!

(Can't see the dishwasher, but I get it off of Craigslist about a year and a half ago for $75)



Art Glass pendant light-Kit and shade $30 @ Lowes

My baking corner! The pic is of Russell's Great, Great, Great Grandmother!
She is my cooking inspiration-love this pic!

This is the formerly forgotten about cabinet above our refridgerator!

I never remember what was up there, it all went unused!

So we opened up, and now my depression glass has a beautiful spot!

Some Notes:

Let me start by saying how much I love my house! We are so blessed to have our house, for it to have so much room for us, to be able to afford-it is wonderful. Just like any house, there have been things in the 6 1/2 years we have lived in it that we have longed to change. Some were easy to do along the way-pull up bushes, add flowers, add color to rooms, take up carpet, refinish floors, replace light fixtures, and on and on. Others have been more daunting like windows, bathrooms, the kitchen, the basement. We tackled the windows and it was so worth it-we still have 2 rooms to do on the back of the house, but still, so worth it.
In the meantime I have longed for a cozy kitchen. A kitchen I could enjoy spending time in, that was up-to-date, where everything worked and maybe even went together :)
So, bit by bit, things have been accomplished-the floor was replace, several appliances were replaced out of necessity, and there remained the cabinets-a mind boggling task to undertake, one that we put off FOREVER!~

Being the bargain shopper that I am, I begin to look for cabinet hardware on EBAY
So I bought these:
28 pewter cabinet pulls- $35.00 (including shipping)
28 sets cabinet hinges- $38.00 (including shipping)

And then got a giftcard for Christmas to use for this:
1 Gallon Valspar Paint- $25.49
1 top of the line brush- $13.99
And this:
1 pendant light kit-$15.99
1 Art Glass Shade-$14.99

Of course there were other insignificant things along the way that added up, but I have to say we really worked hard to keep this as in-expensive as possible-and I LOVE the results!
The only thing left to do is paint the legs of the butcher block table I use as an island-still working on finding feet to add to make it about 6-inches higher!


I got lots of gasps when I told that I was painting the cabinets black-but I am tickled with the results and would do it again in a heartbeat!
So thankful for my dear hubby and our dear friend Tommy for the job they did, I wasn't allowed to touch a paintbrush, for reasons that can be seen throughout the house!