August 27, 2012

Dirty Little Secret


I hate to start a post off with ugly, so I thought I'd open this post with a picture that is inspiring some of the changes in our kitchen.


Sometimes Bloggers present themselves in a manner that make readers think their lives are perfect. I hope you never feel that way here. I love my life, but it's far from perfect. My house is often messier than I'd like. My children are often sassier than I'd like. My husband is often lazier than I'd like (although to be fair, for the last couple of weeks, he's been on fire!). My budget is always lower than I'd like.


In an effort to prove my less than perfect existence, I'm sharing pictures of my kitchen with you. I even made them extra big so you can appreciate them that much more. The quality is crap, but who cares really? I'm challenged to find anything I like about this room. My Momma always said, If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all. Well. So. Hmm. I'm glad to have a working dishwasher? Those corks are a nice touch? How 'bout that tile work? I'm so glad there is more of it in the MASTER BATHROOM?


Saturday morning I woke up thinking it was a normal day. Then I walked into the kitchen and thought, I.just.can't.take.it.any.more. Then I was all like, Hey Sweetie. I think we should demo the kitchen today. Since we were headed out the door to visit friends for the day, we were rendered helpless to do anything about it. Until the evening.


The picture above is an in progress shot. Still an ugly duckling but she is starting to show some potential. The upper cabinets are all coming down. The same horizontal planking we used in the Studio closet makeover  will be installed and we will add two rows of open shelving. We have little budget, a bit of a plan and very little common sense. Sometimes you just have to dive in before you can think better of it (something my Hubby has been promoting for this project for awhile). This ridiculous way of doing things has some how paid off for us several times over the last couple of years, which is really just encouraging us when perhaps it shouldn't.


Since we can't create our dream kitchen right now, we are in the process of just trying to make it livable, make it so that I don't break down in tears every time I'm in there. Kidding. A little.


I'm still undecided as to how to handle the 50 year old texture spray painted, cabinets. Sand, scrape, paint and new hardware? Skirt them and pretend they don't exist? I don't use any of the cabinets. They gross me out. My Suburban, new house owning friends get this. My Village, old house owning friends don't. I use one drawer for silverware which I have bleached, scrubbed and lined. I'm a special kind of crazy. I get it.


The first 1 and the last 3 pictures are from my Pinterest boards and are some of what's inspiring our mini makeover. I'll be back very soon with one of the only things I do like about my kitchen and a recipe that you will hate me for.

40 comments:

  1. Good for you getting at a mini makeover! That is all I've ever managed with my kitchen too - mini makeovers! And I totally get how you feel. Old houses just aren't always the cool, fun, character filled things others think they are!!!

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  2. Thank you for your honesty! We recently redid our kitchen too, and it was a mess for a long time and we totally went over budget and had to put our bathroom redo on hold for awhile. :( Good luck. I am excited for you!

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  3. I love REAL bloggers! I applaud your honesty and know you will make that kitchen more 'you' - I wish I was closer and could help! I love projects/challenges like that. And also love that you just dove in - I have a bathroom with the ugliest wallpaper and we have lived here over a year! I have promised myself that when my girls go back to school the bathroom is first on the list of 100 projects!!
    xo~Jill

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  4. Oh I so understand what happens in older homes. I have it going on at the present. I know you will do a "bang up" job, and look forward to watching the progress.

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  5. Love your honesty and style! Know you'll have your kitchen sooo cute n cheerful in no time. Our kitchen is the newest part of our house and I must admit I love it but.... The charm of a 200 yo house full of spiders n who knows what other critters crammed in every nook n cranny along w/old bricks that "shed" daily, have me begging hubby for a new house! Careful what you wish for I guess! Just like time w/out kids... Today I'm missing mine but enjoyed seeing your darling daughter's ruffled /parisian outfit!
    hugs,
    Leslie

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  6. Oh Jen, thanks for that breath of fresh air! Your kitchen will be just "PERFECT" for who you are and where you are in your life right now...it's all good! Thanks for sharing !

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  7. At the risk of sounding insane, I will admit, I prefer the real life sort of blogs.

    Having lived in an older home, with a rather nasty kitchen, I do know that each step of prettying, is very appreciated.

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  8. So many things happen in a kitchen, it is important to make it just right! I like your pinterest ideas and I can really see your vision. It is going to look wonderful! xx

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  9. i love the way you worded your post about the bloggers living perfect lives.... sometime i think i missed the blogger Gene pool...lol some of these girls are amazing though i'm a little envious...your blog is awesome

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  10. I KNOW how you feel!!! We can't afford to replace our cabinets and they are literally falling apart. When I want to hide them I just skirt them, so I vote for skirting!!

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  11. See? There's not such thing as perfect anyways. Especially in a house! It is always a work in progress. And sometimes it's equally satisfying just to make something better.
    We are at the very tail end of the kitchen renovation to our 100 year old home. But it's a renovation we are completing on a tight budget. Come by for a peek, I'm almost ready for my big reveal post.
    http://www.nutmegandcompany.blogspot.com

    Perfect is totally overrated anyway.

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  12. Well, my mini makeover flopped....the paint that was advertised to work on my hideous linoleum---didn't!!!! Uugh it looked great for two days, then peeled off. & my unfinished cabinets that have stop & start spots --- well, alrighty then!
    Ok, my year end great deal themador dishwasher makes up for the mishaps!
    Love your post & cannot wait to see your kitchen-pick-me-up....
    (love your "pins")

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  13. thank you for posting the "real". i get it girls. my kitchen was hideous. really really bad. it was a dream to do the renovations we had done to it. after 22 years i think i finally deserved it. i know your work will pay off and be beautiful. keep us posted on the progress. that is often the fun part. love all the brick photos you've been pinning too.

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  14. Keep a going! You'll get something more to your liking. I have an old house myself and it can be a bear! Kit

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  15. Well at least you are making peogress! It is always a good thing to be moving forward! When you are done it will be fabulous and no more tears! Traci

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  16. I'm glad to finally peek at your kitchen! The new boards look great. It's funny, when we first moved here we were sitting around the kitchen table at supper time and my hubby said let's tear that wall out. We did. Just like that!

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  17. This post just cracked me up, you're a riot! I love the "very little common sense" bit, too funny!
    I can't wait to see all your renovations.

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  18. Oh- I love this post- so real. I started laughing right out loud when I saw the corks....those were just genius! lol It WILL get done, you know? xo Diana

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  19. I absolutely love doing things that way!!! Spontaneity is awesome!!! And ya know sometimes you just need that big huge spark to get it done!! It's gonna look great! I am so loving the horizontal planks.....I swear I want to plank every room in our house! ;)
    xoxo,
    Shellagh

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  20. Fabulous post! You can do it! Clean with white paint on top can be a blessed relief. If you are not using those cabinets, rip them out, put boards up and paint them. Fingers crossed for you. Sheryl

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  21. I totally get you about the cabinets - I probably would not want to use them either. How about Ikea - do you have one near you? They have cabinets that are not that expensive, especially if you are only doing the bottom half. Or using vintage cupboards, etc. for some of the storage, like they did in the "old days". Sometimes working with a tight budget is challenging but more creative, you come up with ideas you never would have if money were no object. I know whatever you do will look great. Keep us posted.

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  22. I can totally relate as my kitchen is impossibly small, and I've tried to make it as charming as possible (you gotta sometimes work w/what you got!) I just found your blog and love it! I'm now following and would love you to visit and say hi :)
    Susan

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  23. Love the inspiration pics & what you've done so far! Do you have any plans for the cupboards you're not going to use? I'd love to take a couple off your hands for my laundry area I'm tweaking! :) joelnkelly at hotmail dot com have fun!

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  24. Good for you,
    I like real people, with real lives being real to themselves, you just can't go wrong when we are.
    The love that you have poured into this project makes you a little star to me! looks lovely..

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  25. Go for it! It will look wonderful when you are done, and I think it is good to show the real life happenings...it makes it real and we can connect....
    Thanks!
    Nancy
    http://wildoakdesigns.blogspot.com

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  26. Yippe for digging in!! Take it slow and steady and watch your dream kitchen evolve.

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  27. If it is your kitchen and YOU are in it...it is already perfect.

    Love you Jen.


    xo,
    Kim

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  28. can't wait to see what you do!!!

    i will have a similar post one day BUT our's is a rental so we are stuck for a bit!!

    let me think about the lower cabinets ;)

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  29. I love your spunk! Instead of painting the cabinets and putting them back up, how about just open shelving? Do you have any lower cabinets? BTW, I like "real" posts a lot better than "perfect" ones. ;-)

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  30. I can't believe you pulled the trigger! I'm so excited to see what comes out of this!!!! You guys can ALWAYS borrow out air compressor too!

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  31. I think if it is anything like your studio closet makeover you will be happy with the end result.
    I like the fact that you can just remove the cabinets and add shelves, it will look very open!
    I want a mostly white kitchen, but we remodeled our kitchen in 2005 and it still looks so good so I cannot go for a new kitchen...yet!
    I just got 2 new white bathrooms so I am thrilled when we do something to our house. I love your studio and have started my own sewing room makeover. But I am not happy about keeping the carpet-would love wood floors like your's or concrete...we live in Florida-lots of sand!
    I think you have been able to improve your house since you have moved in but I feel the kitchen is your desire now and I cannot wait to see what you do!

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  32. Even it is always work in progress what matters is the positive thinking that everything turns out good.

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  33. Jen, If your life was perfect, I would break up with you. So glad that won't be happening. I love your idea of open shelving as I know you will style it out of this world. Perhaps paint the lower cabinets a darker color.

    Life is short. I say re-do while waiting for the $$$ to remodel. One shouldn't be unhappy when walking in to their kitchen ;)

    xoxo, Julia

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  34. I recommend just changing the knobs and drawer pulls for a nearly instant glorious change! I did that last week (the day I got totally fed up) and the new hardware, even with the old hinges, are a wonderful improvement. I still have hideous cabinet, ugly counter-top, and no counter space, but it's a delight to open cabinets and drawers now.

    I really like the kitchen table extension with the stools underneath. Wish I had room to do that.

    Enjoy the changes you're making!

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  35. oh, i'm SO excited about this for you! yay for taking the plunge and just DOING it! knowing you, it would be looking beautiful soon.

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  36. Ok I adore you!! Love how real your blog is!! No one wants to start their post off with an ugly picture but the truth is sometimes...ok a lot of the time...my life is just plain ugly!! haha I could never keep a house as perfect as some of the blogs I have visited. And truth is I don't want to. Then that is exactly what it is just a house! I want a home!!! Thanks for sharing! You have inspired me!!

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  37. i love reading your posts...they always make me laugh! looks like your kitchen plans are off to a good start, i know i will love what you do and good for you guys for doing it yourselves!

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  38. I have lived in a charming old house, except the charm was buried so deep I could barely see it. Ugh. Two things to like about your kitchen: the windows are pretty, and the bar/island thing is nice.

    I am new to your blog and really like it! I love that you are keeping it real.

    TJ

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  39. I love your honesty! Jen, I giggled about the husband part. Ditto, ditto...but mine has pulled through as of late - only because I begged him, and he did such amazing work! A little spark under the fanny never hurts anyone. Just keep dreaming big and you will have one fine kitchen when all said and done.

    hugs,
    becky

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