I’m always a sucker for the “In” and “Out” lists that appear right around the New Year. Will skinny jeans be in? Are Uggs on their way out? (Never here in Colorado!) So I naturally was intrigued by the predictions Apartment Therapy had for the new year. Hey, if they’re declaring chalkboard paint “out”, then [...]
Archive for the ‘Tales of a Very Ugly Kitchen’ category
Nov 10 2009
Tales of a Very Ugly Kitchen – Chapter 8 “David vs. Goliath”
In keeping with the original 50′s dated esthetic in the kitchen, it should come as no surprise that the ceiling light fixture looked like this…Needless to say, this giant florescent behemoth wasn’t flattering anybody. In the dark winter mornings it woke us up faster than a strong cup of coffee. It had to go. Easy. [...]
Oct 07 2009
Tales of a Very Ugly Kitchen – Chapter 7: Knobs
In our original kitchen, the maple cabinet fronts had no knobs and there was a little indentation on the tops for your fingertips to facilitate opening the door. The drawers had the same design on the bottom. Here’s a picture of the lil’ beauties from our home inspection. If you’re just tuning in, click here [...]
Sep 10 2009
Tales of a Very Ugly Kitchen-Chapter Six
Flooring, check. Appliances, check. Countertops, check. Wall paint, check. Ahhh, progress! Next up, cabinetry. In any kitchen remodel, the cabinetry is a key element that really defines the mood and style. With so many styles and choices out there at varying price points, the selections can be daunting. Should we go for glossy, sleek and [...]
Aug 09 2009
A Very Ugly Kitchen – Chapter 5 – “Bring on Some Color, Baby”
With our big ticket purchases on the books (In case you missed the last few installments, click here), we put our remaining funds–actually dwindling, is more like it–toward paint. Removing the wallpaper border at the ceiling revealed the original pastel pink (pink!) paint from yesteryear. I’m beginning to think the previous homeowners ate sherbet constantly, [...]
Jul 15 2009
A Very Ugly Kitchen-Chapter 4 “Countertops & Faucet”
With new floors and new appliances, the kitchen was definitely sprucing up. But as always is the case in happy home ownership land, one project begets the next. Suddenly, the sparkly new white appliances were highlighting the impossibly stained countertops as well as the old cast iron sink and dreary faucet. Cha-ching, more on the [...]
Jul 03 2009
A Very Ugly Kitchen-Chapter 3 “Appliances”
New appliances were a must. We went to Sears scratch and dent outlet and found a white Kitchen Aid side-by-side fridge for a fraction of the price of the retail model. Score! Then we negotiated a great price on a floor model dishwasher. Yahoo! We were eating on dishes we knew were clean! Harder to let go [...]
Jun 26 2009
A Very Ugly Kitchen-Chapter 2 “The Floor”
For our new plan of inexpensive kitchen renovation attack, we decided to start on the bottom and work our way up. We priced out linoleum for the floor to maintain the 50’s groove, and because it’s biodegradable, we’d be guilt free when we were ready to upgrade in a future remodel. But we soon discovered [...]
Jun 10 2009
A Very Ugly Kitchen-Chapter 1 “Reality Check”
The kitchen in our new old house was so ugly–old appliances, stained coutertops, dingy laminate flooring, faded cabinets all illuminated by a ginormous flourescent ceiling fixture, but we were still smitten, and our home inspector assured us that everything was in working condition. “Whew, that’ll save us some cash,” we thought, and give us [...]
Jun 01 2009
Home Inspection: The Ultimate Before Pics
Home inspection day is almost like the first day of school. The excitement, the nerves, the anticipation for things to come, the new ideas brimming and brewing. And then, like school, reality sets in. What we have is a 3200 square foot to do list. Where do we even begin? Here are some highlights from [...]
