The Kitchen Redesign {list} 2012

I don't know about you, but I'm real sick of talking about the living room. I know it's our most used space -as a family- but there is only so much small tweaking I can do before it starts to get boring and tedious -from a blogging standpoint-. I would have to say my most used area is the kitchen. It's where my desk is, where my craft area was, and where the coffee is made. I would include cooking, but I don't do a whole lot of that, and I'm not very good at it either. I've always said if I had a nice kitchen I would feel more inspired to cook. What I honestly think would happen is that I would get overwhelmed with the thought of making a huge mess all over a big kitchen and then not want to clean it up. I kind of feel that way now, and we only have 2 counter tops. And we don't have a dishwasher. Dishes are such a bummer.

I am excited to try and maximize our kitchen. There is a lot I think we can do to make it a more enjoyable space. I'm going to break it down into three parts. The actual kitchen, my area, and the coffee bar. Remember, we are in a rental, so there will be no major construction. Even though I would love to do this...

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I know that it would be way too much money, time, energy, and money, wasted in a place that isn't ours and isn't some place we plan on staying for very long. It would be absolutely amazing if the landlord would pay us back. I would totally do it then :)

But since that would probably never happen we are left with what we have. 

[absolutely none of these pictures are recent. There have been several updates and tweaks. Just wanted to refresh you on the layout]

Here is a list of things I would like to take on in the actual kitchen, biggest project to smallest tweak. 

* Repaint the cabinets. - I haven't decided if I want them to stay white, or something more dramatic. Even if they are white, it will have to be a different shade of white because we don't have the matching paint. Matching paint, that's funny. In the kitchen alone, 3 different shades of white are used. And not in an intentional way. So, either way we go we'll have to pick out and purchase paint. I'm starting to like the idea of the top cabinets being white and the bottom ones being a fun, bold color. Sort of like this, but maybe not this color.

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Our counter tops are light wood. As is the added island (?)

I think adding a dark color on bottom could possibly hide all of the weird things about the cabinets. Like the random grate, and the fact that none of the cabinets close. What do you think about painting the window to match the bottom cabinets? Would that be too matchy matchy?

I also want to paint the cabinets across the room. There is a wall of them.

I would like them to be the dark color as well. That way they pop. They are the first thing you see when you walk in the front door.

* Jordan pointed out that if we paint the cabinet we will need to spruce up the trim. I completely agree. Even  just to get it all to match. Like one side of a door frame is a different color. It's so weird in here.

We should probably just go ahead and paint the entire room, but I doubt Jordan will want to. I would do it myself but I'm not a very neat painter.

* Paint the interior door. I'm not sure about this one. The door is a pretty, dark wood. It's been stained and could possibly be the original color. Our house isn't that old, but it has some old features. (like the bathroom colors and the hardwood floors)

See? It's a pretty color. But no one seemed to care if they got random paint splashes on it. I don't know anything about staining, and it doesn't seem like a project I could, or would want to, take on. I also don't like the mixed color of the counter tops and the door. I'm all for mixing wood tones, I just don't think these two go together. I'll probably paint it. I have no idea what color, but we'll get there.

*Add drop- leaf table to create a flowing workspace. Something wall mounted that folds down would be perfect. That way it's out of the way when we need to get into the drawer or bottom cabinet. I was thinking something like this from Ikea would work well.

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They all measure a bit too big for the space. But I think I can move things over a bit to make it fit. The stove and refrigerator can be moved further down the wall if need be. It would just cut into the coffee bar space. And in a tiny space, 2in can be a big deal. Again, we'll just have to see. 

I would like it to be right between the stove and counter. That way we could raise it when we're cooking. I think it would make things a lot easier. 

* Hang shelf in window above sink.  Our window sill is not very big and it is the best window for natural lighting. Right now all of our plants are shoved in that one place. I think adding a shelf there would give me more room. 

* Organize all the cabinets. When we get the coffee bar functioning it will open up an entire shelf. The only good thing about our cabinets next to the sink is that they are huge. They are very tall and pretty deep. We can fit a lot of stuff in there. One of my favorite things are coffee mugs. There is just something about them that makes me really happy. I'm not into strange ones, or anything eclectic. I just like a matching, possibly stacking, mug in pretty colors. So, now I will be able to show them off. But back to the cabinets. The ones that really need to be organized are the ones across the room, over the washer. They are wood and flaky. I really don't like using them. Maybe if I covered all of them in contact paper it would help. But it is a lot of wasted space.

* Add more laundry space in said cabinets. This one is fairly easy. I just need to set up a designated laundry space in one cabinet. Somewhere that is easily accessible. Our new washer is bigger than the old one. And believe it or not, I have a hard time getting to the cabinets above it.

* New curtains for door and small window. They are the curtains I had in my little house in Indiana. The ones on the door are too small.

sorry for the terrible picture. it's all I could find...

I'm sure there are more things I could think of to improve. But honestly speaking, this list is probably more than we will be able to take on this year. I am very inspired to get started. I can't wait to paint the cabinets. I hope next week to start picking out paint. Do you have any suggestions? What do you think of the listed improvements? Think we can handle it? :)

I will be back next week with the coffee bar list. And hopefully the finished project! We had a pretty busy day yesterday. Oh, and I have to show you some improvements in the living room. It's going to be a busy blogging week. :) :)


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