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Tuesday, July 12, 2011

The Something You CAN Do

 I often dream of  kitchens that look like this one...
 and this one...


but for now the reality and the dream have yet to meet.  Upon moving into this house of ours we agreed that it was best to wait a year or two before starting kitchen renovations. After all, there were walls to tear down and pink fireplaces to cover up. We were going to be busy!

Then 4 months after we moved in, amidst much hard work, the breakfast nook that is right next to the kitchen went from this...

to this...   

and that my dear friends is when this ....
                               ( kitchen pic from our initial house tour)

became quite unbearable indeed. Pink cabinets and dingy pinkish walls, ugh there is just so much a girl can take!
Something needed to be done, but that something had to cost not a single penny since we were committed to waiting one more year before making any major changes to the kitchen.
Fortunately, I had  plenty of primer and white paint leftover from a previous project. My first goal? To banish every last bit of pink from the room. I removed two upper cabinet doors for some open shelving and lightly sanded every cabinet surface.  I then applied two coats of primer and two of paint.


After all the priming and painting was done I unpacked a box of  kitchen items that I acquired at estate sales and different retail stores while living in The Temporary Apartmant

As I surveyed  the items a color scheme began to emerge. Its seems that inadvertently most of what I bought that year for the kitchen turned out to be either red, white or pale aqua blue!  I was determined to use only what I had so I went with those colors as accents. This was the end result.
 

Much brighter and happier don't you think?  We ended up only buying some cabinet hardware for this 'spruce up'.  It is hardware that we plan to reuse when we renovate the kitchen next year. 

And now dear reader it is your turn to take a closer look around you, for there is always you will find, that  little something you CAN do to bring beauty and light into your space.
Yes, even while you wait for those grander dreams that are still yet to be.....

To read more about the breakfast room makeover go here. If you like the quote print on the wall learn how to make one here.




I just found out that I was added to Involving Color's Room Gallery!
 Hop on over there and check out all the lovely homes she has featured.
I am also linking this post to Addicted to Decorating and Homework link party.

46 comments:

  1. Your temporary kitchen outshines my permanent kitchen, any day. A fantastic update and I love your inspiration pieces.

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  2. Looks SO good! This is one of my favorite color schemes!

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  3. It looks really good and at no cost? Very commendable. Lovely.

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  4. I love what you have done with the cabinets. i would love to paint ours but since we are going to move them to one of our apartments I just can't...I don't want to have to repaint them every time a new set of renters move in..so I painted the walls, changed the decorations and took the trim off the top of the cabinets...it did help. So for now, I will live with what i have. Blessings, Dianntha

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  5. This is inspirational to me because even though I've painted the kitchen walls, I still have the problem of what do do with the rest of it while we wait for the "real" makeover.

    I love the way it looks. Did you use any special type of paint or primer?

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  6. What a difference the paint (and removing 2 doors) makes. Wow.

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  7. Thank you for posting this! I am obsessed with painting my kitchen cabinets but am afraid that if I do, the rest of the kitchen will look odd (we can't afford to replace the countertops yet). But it looks like your countertops are very similar to mine and everything looks great! What color did you paint your cabinets? Did you worry about matching the color of the cabinets to the color of your trim?

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  8. Debbie,
    The primer I used is from Olympic's Zero VOC line. It is what we had on hand and it covered up the light pink stain quite nicely in two coats but only time will tell how it will bear up under daily use. If you are looking for a paint job that will hold up long term or if the cabinets you will be painting have a darker stain I would definitely recommend using something stronger like Kilz's Clean Start which is also Zero VOC. The paint I used was Simply White a Benjamin Moore color that we had mixed in Olympic's Zero VOC paint. I love how bright and crisp it looks and it has been very easy to clean so far.
    Hope that helps :).

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  9. Joy, We used Simply White a Benjamin Moore color that we had mixed in Olympic's Zero VOC paint. It is what we had on hand and luckily it looks great with the far from fabulous ivory colored countertops we currently have to live with. I actually like this particular white so much that I am leaning towards using it for the cabinets we will install later on as well. Although I did not color match the trim to the cabinets, it just so happens that we used a similar crisp white for all the trim in the house, so the cabinets blended right in. I would suggest you coat a scrap of wood (measuring at least 12" x 12") in the color you want to try and then lean it against your countertops and your trim. Live with it for a few days and then decide. Doing this always helps me when I am unsure about my color choice for a particular space. Hope I have helped you somewhat and if you do decide to take the plunge, I would love to see pictures of the result :)

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  10. What a difference a little paint can do! You and your sister have been my continued inspiration to keep on working on improving our home. It's so true that if you really want to, you can spruce up a space in your home with stuff you already have on hand. Thanks for sharing this temporary makeover, which looks fantastic by the way. :)

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  11. Light and airy and sooooooooooo charming! Those pink cabinets (who would do that to cabinets??) were not my cup of tea either!

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  12. Amazing what paint can do...and the removal of doors. I am so borrowing your idea! ;)

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  13. Really beautiful... I am staring at the cabinets that I hate in our mountain condo and I think they are sort of pink now...like your old ones! But I think it is the natural stain....ugh. Paint, Quick!

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  14. Wow! I love the white! Turned out great!

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  15. Wow! What a difference! I love the white and the blue inside your cabinets! You've decorated everything so prettily!
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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  16. how awesome is this?! my kitchen is dying of envy :)

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  17. Looks amazing!!! Love the new look!
    -emily
    nestnestingnested.blogspot

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  18. You made a huge improvement! I love the open cupboard with the pretty display.

    Carolyn

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  19. That is such a brilliant transformation! The colours are perfect too. I love it all!

    Best wishes and happy weekend,
    Natasha @ 5 Minutes Just for Me

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  20. What a great job. Yes, those pinky cabinets would have made me crazy too!

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  21. Beautiful transformation. The pink cabinets would have driven me insane too. I love the light airy feeling of your kitchen now! Happy weekend.

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  22. Great job with those cabinets. That kind of big paint job always intimidates me - way to go! You had a great collection from the estate sales and you did such a nice job displaying the pieces :)

    Hope you'll stop by and enter my Home Goods GC giveaway.

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  23. Looks fantastic, I'd be so happy for my kitchen to look like this, never mind a temporary one! Can't wait to see what you do for that one!

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  24. Wow--you have my exact cabinets! "How can wood be pink?" I asked myself when I first saw them. My husband and I plan to paint them white and add hardware this fall. Do you mind sharing what paint/primer you used and where you purchased the hardware? Your "after" pictures are making me feel like our kitchen can look that fab, too!

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  25. Beautiful job... I love the fresh, crisp, happy "after"!:)

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  26. great job, I love the aqua and red with the white!

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  27. I love the red and aqua color scheme. I have a red kitchen and have been adding aqua. I'm thinking of painting my cabinets too.
    Emily
    domesticdeadline.blogspot.com

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  28. Your kitchen is very warm and inviting now...and I love that quote so much. I used it on a pillow after an especially trying time. Isn't it a wonderful reminder of how much strength we have inside ? It will have so much meaning to you...great job!

    Tina

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  29. Sarisletch,
    The primer I used is from Olympic's Zero VOC line. It covered up the pink quite nicely but if you are looking for a paint job that will hold up long term I would definitely recommend using something stronger like Kilz's Clean Start which is also Zero VOC. The paint I used was Simply White a Benjamin Moore color that we had mixed in Olympic's Zero VOC paint. The hardware was bought at Lowe's.
    Hope that helps :).

    July 12, 2011 12:41 PM

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  30. You have the "magic" touch for sure! You would never know that was the same kitchen and it is so fun to see how your vision came to life. Gorgeous! I love that you encouraged us to do what we can with what we have right now! Thanks so much for sharing this with us at Inspiration Friday!
    Vanessa

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  31. Found you today through the comments on Kate/Lucy's blog. Love your ideas and look forward to more inspiration!
    Blessings,
    Amanda

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  32. Jedbel, I LOVE what you did. If you hang around my blog long enough you'll find out that during my first year of blogging I acquired an obsession for aqua and red. It has become my favorite combination. I don't have it in my home because my house is small and mainly open floor plan and the colors of the living room, family room and kitchen must somewhat coordinate because they all connect. Currently those colors are very autumn-like, which is my favorite season...yellows, mustards, reds and sage greens. I dream of a red and aqua kitchen one day. I like how you have it here in a more toned down way. Love, love, love it.

    Love the idea of pear trees down your neighborhood too. I look forward to more visits. Come listen to the ocean whenever you like. ;) Although next week I'll be playing Christmas music for my White Christmas in July blog party. I hope you can join us.

    Much love!

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  33. Your new look is beautiful! I love it and I'm sure you do too! I love it. I am trying to put turquoise and and red into my kitchen, too.
    Lady, you are one GOOD decorator!!! I love your home and what you have done.
    Hugs, cindy

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  34. Really? That's all you did just sand a little with two coats of primer and two of paint? I need to do mine soon, your way sounds so much easier! Just beautiful and I love the things you found to decorate with!

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  35. Amazing! Love it. Thank you so much for linking up at my party!!!

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  36. I am so impressed with this, it looks gorgeous! I can't believe you did it all without spending money on anything but hardware - great job.

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  37. Oh my gosh! I am so impressed your creative streak and marvelous eye for both detail and color. It truly looks like a professional stepped into your abode and waved a magic wand of inspiration!

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  38. Wow - I have "frosted oak" aka PINK cabinets too! i want to paint them so badly, but am deathly afraid. Plus my appliances are white, and hubby has no interest in replacing something that isn't broken. LOL Do you like that white color cabinet with the white appliances? I'm tempted... :)

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  39. I love all the white in the kitchen.

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  40. Beautiful work. I am deciding whether to paint my dark kitchen as well. Did you have to remove all of the cabinet doors in order to paint or did you just paint them while still hanging?

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  41. How did your kitchen cabinets hold up? I so want to paint mine, but the sanding that I expected would need to be done is intimidating. It doesn't appear that you sanded yours. I would be looking for long-term so I noted your suggestion of primer.

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  42. I so want to paint my cabinets and have been looking and researching ways to do them. I want red (dark or brick) on the bottom and white on the top. Question: Did you remove the cabinet doors when you primed and painted?

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