Quick Fix

Along with all my nesting has come a deep desire to get my house "updated" a bit. There are some major things I would love to do (new carpet, gut the kitchen, take out a wall, completely re-landscape the backyard, etc.) but am too cheap and unwilling to pay for right now so I have decided to do what I can with as little out-of-pocket expense as possible. Seth loves it. Ok, he doesn't. He's not a "handyman." And I'm pretty sure he has little desire to become one but he loves me and therefore puts up with my little projects.

This one was a one weekend deal. (Although for how exhausted we both were you would think we had worked on it for 10 days straight.) We gave the kitchen a face lift. It was much needed. My only regret is that I didn't take any "before" pictures. Close your eyes and imagine cream colored-paint peeling-dingy-dirty cabinets with "copper" knobs that we're so tarnished and old they looked like they were going to decompose in a matter of days. The walls were a boring tan that really just looked drab and tired. The dining room was burnt red below the chipped and peeling chair rail.


After trying a number of shades of brown for the walls (in an effort to coordinate with the tile counter top) I decided that they all looked like poop to me so I finally went way out of my comfort zone and tried a light/pale blue. We painted the cupboards a bright white. I love it. (We got a killer deal on the paint. HD was closing out some of their paint and we got it for $14/gallon. I want to go get more for our bathrooms but need to give Seth a few days before I even suggest more painting.) I scrubbed the knobs and then spray painted them black. I also bought (on clearance of course) some pulls to give it a little variety. It doesn't look like the new kitchen I am dreaming of (2-3 years down the road) but it's so much better than it was. I used to hate the tile on the counter tops (I still wouldn't choose it) but now it's bearable. And the whole kitchen is so bright. I can't believe how much lighter it is in there. So here is our weekend update.




So this begs the question... What next? I have 7 more weeks to get things done. I guess putting up the crib should be a priority but that's not so much fun. I doubt I can convince Seth of any more painting. Hmmm. Maybe some yard work?