Readers, I hope you had a wonderful holiday season. Our Christmas was pretty uneventful — we were stuck in South Carolina this year with me being 38 weeks pregnant. No family in the area — they were all waiting for Baby M to make his or her arrival. This entry is pre-written, so I assume at this very moment I am snuggling my newborn nugget 🙂
Let me tell you what’s been going on in the mean time — we updated our kitchen! Is there anything better than an updated and fresh kitchen?! I mean, especially if you enjoy cooking and baking, like I do. I’m calling it a mini update because we only updated our counter tops and added backsplash.
When we moved into this house in July 2015, my hubby and I both agreed that the counter tops and sink (ick!) needed to go. (The previous owners really neglected the home and were not often there. The sink was in a terrible, stained/rusted state when we moved in.) The counters were a light blue (ick again!) laminate. There was no love or style put into this room.
As for the walls behind the counters, they were stained with splotches, holey, and beige. I believe I read somewhere that “the road to Hell is paved with beige.” Could there be another color with less personality?
When we moved in, I painted the kitchen and dining room a happy, subtle shade of yellow. According to The Food Network magazine, recently sold homes with yellow kitchens garnered about $1,300 more than ones without. Not the reason I painted it yellow, but it’s an added perk!
Because we live in a relatively remote-ish area, our main option was Lowes. I can’t say that I loved the process — or that they were helpful in playing the middle man, because they were not — but I’m glad it’s done. It ended up being a four-month process in all, partially thanks to a delay from Hurricane Matthew and the general slow nature of the Lowcountry.
Ultimately, we chose granite counter tops, slabs speckled with black, gray, and white, because they compliment the existing white cabinetry. The cabinets were the only items in the kitchen that still looked great (although they are covered in laminate as well, but that will be someone else’s problem). It’s so nice to see the counters sparkle and shine!
For the backsplash, I chose a classic, simple pattern — white subways tiles with a light gray grout. This also reveals a slight girl crush I have on Joanna Gaines. But then, who doesn’t have a crush on her?! Not only is the backsplash visually appealing, but it will be easier to clean up splashes and stains — and the tiles cover up the former owner’s transgressions. Plus, I like the way the black, gray, and white looks with my few red appliances. It makes them really pop!
My husband says that Joanna would be proud.
We also did a mini Pinterest project in updating our island. Our friend Rachel helped cut the wood and my dad helped hang the pieces. It was so nice to see the excess negative space vanish!
There you have it! I hope you enjoyed this random kitchen update and maybe you’ll feel inspired to freshen up your own 🙂
Cheers!
-Aileen
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