Breathing New Life Into Our 20 Year Old Kitchen

It has been a busy first part of the year for us.  Many decisions have been made, and the kitchen is finally ready for it's reveal!

 

Our new center island is in place and the power has been installed.  It really turned out so well.  I was truly lucky to have come across this one of a kind piece of vintage furniture to replace the builders cabinet that used to be in the middle of this room.  

Here is the before.  

Sanded down - island gone!

Before of the center island.

And after again!

The island was purchased at Before and After Interiors.  Since we live in cold and snowy Michigan and I didn't have a spot to paint in this weather I had the store paint and distress this piece for me.   I went through my Benjamin Moore paint fan deck and chose a few options before settling on Gray Horse.  For now we are leaving the top as is.  I might order a piece of glass to top it.   As we live with it we will decide if we want to add a countertop.  I found a really nice dark wood option.  

Remember our kitchen is 20 years old and we just wanted to add a little something to spruce the space up.  We don't have fancy countertops - and we won't have fancy countertops in the near future.  I've left the wallpaper for now because I still really love it, and it works well enough.  I like an eclectic look anyhow.

Have you spotted another one of my favorite things about this new addition?

We opened up the back which makes it so easy to get to the items I use so often.

I love having my scale within easy reach - as well as glass mixing bowls.  The sugar and flour canisters also fit perfectly on the shelves.

Guinness resting on a new old rug.  I had this cleaned when Noah was little and it was just tucked away in the closet.  I'm glad I remembered it was there.

 Another view!

The front is also completely usable so I can quickly and easily get items out from each side.  So long deep cabinet that I could never find anything in!

The distressing is wonderful mixed in with the chunky glass pulls and painted and distressed lower handles.

A view from the dining room into the kitchen.  The little shelf beside the refrigerator holds cookbooks, GG treats, etc.

I changed out all of our lower cabinet knobs back to the glass.  Some time ago we changed the lower knobs to brushed silver and with the countertops I thought they always had a dirty look to them.  The glass knobs used to break here and there on the lowers, but I would rather replace some than look at the others any longer. 

The only thing that changed in this area is the floor color and also the rug.  We purchased the Color Bound Seagrass Rug with Espresso Trim from Pottery Barn.  The seagrass color is really nice - a hint of wheat and green together.  The dark trim is nice because it should disguise any spills!  Cream buffet is from Ballard - chandelier from Ethan Allen - chairs were blonde wood (I painted and distressed them) - table is my Grandma's Duncan Phyfe.

 

If you look close you can see the detail of the wallpaper.

That's everything!  Sometimes it just takes a little help to make a room work a little longer!  I'll post some more kitchen details, and the inside of the cabinet in the next couple of days.  Let me know what you think!  Do you think this little makeover helps?