Kitchen Tour

in House

Happy April Fool’s Day!  There is no Maggie 2.0 in my life.  For what it’s worth, I would never clone a pet.  I just love the holiday and always do an elaborate blog prank (I think of them months in advance!).  I don’t think I’ll ever top Wealthy Tipping Point, in which I convinced a ton of people we had won the lottery, thanks in part to this epic blog header that stayed up all day long.

Did anyone else do any great pranks?  Or get pranked?

 

Our weekend was spent moving into our new place and unpacking.  I never want to see a cardboard box again!  In all seriousness, it was a wonderful weekend – the weekend we’ve been dreaming about for over a year, when we started the house buying process.  Many of you have asked for a house tour, but I don’t want to share messy, unpacked rooms – so let’s start with the one room that is as finished as it will be for a while… the kitchen!

 

But first – one of the big debates between the Husband and I was buying a smaller, older, un-renovated house close to the city (because very nice houses in the city are super pricey) or a larger, newer, nicer house in suburbia.  As a former urban planner, I was firmly in the “city camp,” and then Husband was staunchly in “suburbia land.” The house we went under contract for this summer (and lost a week before closing) was in the cool part of town.  It was small, older, and un-renovated, but I still loved it.  When we decided to house hunt again, I was pregnant, and my mentality had definitely changed.  Suddenly, I wanted space.  I also didn’t want to have to commit to as much work; the first house desperately needed a kitchen facelift and a new master bath, which would’ve been a huge and expensive project.  So we expanded our search radius by another 3 – 4 miles (which makes a huge difference in a medium-sized city like Charlotte) and ended up buying what amounts to a suburban house – our city friends won’t stop ribbing us about it!  But after living here for two days, I’m glad we did.  Sure, I can’t walk to coffee shops (boo), but there are lots of stuff within close driving distance, and the house more than makes up for it.  I know location is everything in real estate, but you got to live there, too.  Consider me a changed woman.

 

Okay, on to the kitchen…

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While there are some things I don’t LOVE about the kitchen (it’s original to the house and thus 15 years old), I certainly like it, and improvements will not happen for a long, long time. 

 

Things I like: countertop space!  Compared to our city apartment, so much space!

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The appliances are also amazing.  We had fancy stainless steel ones in our old place, but our new (old) white stove heats up a million times faster.  Score.  I’ve only cooked two meals in the kitchen and am still trying to figure out the ‘flow’ between the stove, fridge, and sink, but so far, it seems pretty functional.

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One last wonderful aspect of the kitchen:  There’s an eat-in kitchen area that opens to the backyard, so I can open the door and let the breeze in.

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The only ones eating in the kitchen right now, however, are the doggies (just the two – no Maggie 2.0).  We opted to invest in a dining room table first (we’ve never owned a dining room table in the 9 years we’ve been together).

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Things that I don’t like:  GOLD FIXTURES.  Everywhere. Very mid-1990s.  The entire house is a shrine to gold fixtures.

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I strung up the kitchen chandelier so we don’t smack ourselves walking under it.

 

Down the road, we’d love to paint the cabinets white, replace the backsplash and countertops, and change the floor.  But the kitchen is perfectly nice as it is (just not our style), so that reno isn’t going to happen for a long time.

 

So – that’s the kitchen where I made this wonderful breakfast.

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This brand of gluten-free waffle and pancake mix is really good.  I love chewy waffles, not crunchy ones.  This was perfectly chewy.

 

With yogurt and blackberries.

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What do you love and dislike about your kitchen space?

{ 84 comments }

 

  • Angela @ Eat Spin Run Repeat April 2, 2012, 8:04 am

    I agree – I don’t think much could top the Wealthy Tipping Point ploy! Your kitchen looks awesome, and I especially love the doors that open out into the garden. Definitely agree with you on those gold fixtures!

  • LMN April 2, 2012, 8:07 am

    you read YHL, right? ORB the gold! 🙂

    • CaitlinHTP April 2, 2012, 8:47 am

      Oh RLY?! Can you just spray paint things like door handles? I wasn’t sure if you could or if it would chip off. Maybe prime it first? I’ll look for some tutorials.

      • Vikki April 2, 2012, 9:11 am

        Or you can buy new door handles and replace them pretty easily. (Same with the lighting.) I mean, if you aren’t going to renovate your kitchen for a few years and you find it functional, why live with stuff you hate?

      • Kelli April 2, 2012, 10:42 am

        It won’t work very well on door handles, but works great on fixtures that you like except the color. We replaced the door handles in our kitchen 2 years ago when we moved in though, & it was under $100 to do it. We just measured the size & bought ones at Lowe’s or Home Depot that were the same size but the style we prefer, & it only took the husband an afternoon to switch them out! Well worth it. Also, Rustoleum makes a great product for repainting cabinetry, when the time comes along for you guys. The kitchen looks great! I moved into a house with a lot more cabinet space too with our last move & it is heavenly! Love the French Doors onto the deck too. It looks really great.
        My husband & I really wanted to buy in Kansas City’s urban core when we moved too, but now that we are 1/2 way through our first preganancy we are so glad we bought a couple of miles north of downtown. We’re still close to all the amenities of the city (well a short drive) but now we’re around the corner from a great school in a very family friendly neighborhood. You’ll love it!

  • Kristen April 2, 2012, 8:12 am

    I agree with the comment above. I’ve been painting my doorknobs and hinges oil rubbed bronze. You can also do your lights, etc. There are tutorials all over the Internet. It makes a huge difference!!

  • Cait @ Beyond Bananas April 2, 2012, 8:12 am

    Love all of the space you have! Our kitchen is MUCH smaller.. but we only bought a condo. House is something that will happen down the road.

    The only things we did was changing out (plastic white) hardware to brushed nickel hardware.. and we put in a new light… same things you are hating on!

  • Lee April 2, 2012, 8:14 am

    When we bought our suburban house two years ago, I was firmly in the city camp too. But we just couldn’t find anything that met all of our standards that we could afford in the city, so here we are in the burbs. It’s not so bad.

  • Britton April 2, 2012, 8:15 am

    Hi! I am a new reader and I absolutely love your blog! I am an avid runner and love living a healthy livestyle! I will have to say I was a little confused by yesterday’s post and I was totally fooled! 🙂 Congrats on your new home, I cant wait to see after pictures!!! Happy Monday girl! I look forward to reading lots more and being inspired by your healthy journey!!

    • CaitlinHTP April 2, 2012, 8:47 am

      🙂 Thanks for reading!

  • Jenny April 2, 2012, 8:17 am

    When my husband and I bought our first house (which we are closing on to sell in a few weeks) we didn’t have a kitchen table and we used to whack our head on our ugly gold chandelier all the time!

    Wish Charlotte was closer and we could give you all of the furniture that won’t fit into our new rental!

  • Charise April 2, 2012, 8:18 am

    The kitchen in the house we bought last summer is pretty hideous. It has a tiled countertop that was incorrectly installed over laminate, and the pieces keep randomly falling off! We are replacing the countertop and the really dated cabinets this summer, along with ALL the light fixtures on the first floor – we’ve got the lovely late 80s/early 90s brass going on too. We replaced the ancient appliances immediately – they were ugly and super inefficient, but I’ve learned to deal with the rest until we had the money/time to do the reno.

  • Katie @ Peace Love & Oats April 2, 2012, 8:19 am

    That kitchen looks amazing! It’s bigger than my whole apartment! Haha I hope you enjoy cooking in it!

  • Emma April 2, 2012, 8:29 am

    Cabinet fixtures are a relatively inexpensive and extremely easy upgrade to make! They have tons of choices at Home Depot, Lowes, etc. We switched ours out, and it changed the whole look of our kitchen.

  • Hannah April 2, 2012, 8:29 am

    I don’t know if you’ve ever mentioned this, but what kind of food do Maggie and James eat? I want to get a dog soon and I don’t want to feed them junk! I know a lot of the conventional brands have been iffy, especially when it comes to their treatment of animals.

    • CaitlinHTP April 2, 2012, 8:50 am

      They eat Organix wet and dry food. They really like it and James’ fur has never looked better!

  • pam April 2, 2012, 8:32 am

    you don’t have to get rid of your countertops..paint them…gianigranite.com..A whole new look for less than $100.00. I have friends that have done theirs..love it..I am getting ready to redo my countertops. As for the gold accessories…paint them..they will last for a couple of years.

    • CaitlinHTP April 2, 2012, 8:51 am

      That is the coolest thing that I have ever seen!!!

  • Sarena (The Non Dairy Queen) April 2, 2012, 8:35 am

    We are the family that lives outside of the city (where all of our childless friends live). People think we live in the middle of nowhere. Kind of makes me crazy sometimes because we never complain about going to their places, but they can be snobs about coming to our place. I love your kitchen! Sure there are things you want to change to make them your own, but you have an island and space. Those are the core requirements I have for a kitchen too. We want a back splash and some kind of hard surface countertop in our place. I would love concrete countertops, but for some reason making those changes never seem to happen quickly…

    Enjoy your new kitchen Caitlin!

  • Kelly April 2, 2012, 8:43 am

    Our house was built in 1998 and we bought it in 2007 and the kitchen was original to the house. I made small changes: painted it yellow, changed out both the kitchen and eating area lights to be more my style and it really made a difference. I would ideally love to change the counter tops (granite baby) and the backsplash but those things cost more money than we are willing to spend. I don’t hate my kitchen I just don’t love it.

  • Alex @ Raw Recovery April 2, 2012, 8:45 am

    Well, right now I live in an apartment so I don’t have any comments for my own kitchen, other than I need more counter space but my parents just renovated our home kitchen about a year ago so they could have their dream kitchen with granite countertops, a viking stove, and all new cabinets. I know they love the countertops (which took them FOREVER) to pick out but wish they would have rethought the cabinetry, because it doesn’t provide a lot of pantry space. It’s a cozy, Colorado kitchen that has a view of the mountains so it’s perfect for them. When I’m older and have money and a job I think my favorite room will be the bathroom because I’m a spa freak and want my own steam shower 🙂

  • Whitney April 2, 2012, 8:45 am

    Hubs and I have been house hunting for months and could not find anything we liked and we didn’t want to settle. We eventually stumbled upon this gorgeous neighborhood and ended up buying a lot so now we are going to build a custom home! I’m nervous about the process but excited too! Do you mind if I ask what the square footage of your home is? No biggie if you don’t feel like sharing! Have a great Monday 🙂

    • CaitlinHTP April 2, 2012, 8:53 am

      Ooo a custom home! Shot you an email.

  • Leah @ Chocolate and Wild Air April 2, 2012, 8:49 am

    Looks great! I think I’d keep the extra counter (and walking space) in exchange for the slightly outdated look any day

  • Amber @ Busy, Bold, Blessed April 2, 2012, 8:52 am

    Our kitchen is mega small, well the whole house kinda is haha. I don’t mind the size except the kitchen is lacking some serious storage area and counter space. My kitchen in my college apartment had a ton of counter space and I looooved it. I guess it will make me appreciate my next kitchen haha.

  • Amanda April 2, 2012, 8:53 am

    I love your kitchen, I’m a sucker for those big windows.

  • Brittany (Healthy Slice of Life) April 2, 2012, 9:02 am

    I love my kitchen, but the owners before us only half-renovated it. It means all our appliances are stainless steel, except for our oven and microwave. But like you said, everything is very functional right now, so my double ovens are still a ways away 🙂 Love your new kitchen space!

  • Liz @ Tip Top Shape April 2, 2012, 9:04 am

    That is one beautiful kitchen!!!

  • kathleen @ the daily crumb April 2, 2012, 9:24 am

    i love your kitchen! especially the bar stools and open space feel. i (like every other woman i’m sure) wish my kitchen was bigger, but other than that, i really like it 🙂

  • Coco April 2, 2012, 9:28 am

    Well it is definitely spacious and looks like it’s in great shape! Funnily enough when we were looking for a house the kitchen was the most important part.. But when we found our house, the kitchen was really tiny and original (I’m talking from 1940!) and we knew that we would have to renovate but I just fell in love with the rest of the house and didn’t care! I love my kitchen now, but it was so hard and such a pain to live in a demolition zone… And it costs a ton of money! ( we had to replace everything.. Including the floor,walls and cabinets..) we still over a year later have to put baseboard molding and glass in the cabinet doors because it was too much money at the time… We finally paid everything off and can finish and I can wait!
    Enjoy your new home!

  • Andres April 2, 2012, 9:33 am

    We replaced our backsplash a few months ago and it was a crappy project! The “old” backsplash was only two years old but really ugly (blue glass tiles) and I couldn’t deal. Taking one tile down at a time SUCKED and we had to patch a lot of holes we created. The new one is so much nicer and suits our taste, just a warning that it’s not as as easy as you think it is. Oh, and we did it ourselves do if you hire someone then you won’t have a story like this one! Haha

  • emily April 2, 2012, 10:01 am

    There is nothing to love about my kitchen; there is so little storage space that we actually keep our dishes on bookshelves! But at least now I have a firm idea of what I want in the next kitchen – counter space, storage space, and good natural light.

  • Amanda Perry @ Sistas of Strength April 2, 2012, 10:06 am

    Looks great and so spacious! I love the fact that you have a door that opens to the back. AWESOME! I think you’ll be happy to have space because you’ll be home a lot more once you have a baby. 🙂

  • Anne Weber-Falk April 2, 2012, 10:08 am

    I’m so happy for all of you. Having a home that is all yours is so secure and satisfying. The dogs look pretty content too.

    My son pulled several pranks on all of us. He changed all the cursors on the computers to the middle finger and every time I go into my start menu and click on things it yells “penis” at me. He also rigged the sprayer on the kitchen sink. He is nearly 21 but I think maybe those numbers should be reversed for April Fools.

  • Kaitlyn April 2, 2012, 10:10 am

    We need more counter space! And more light! But, for a rental that was built in 1901, the renovation that our landlord did is actually pretty nice, so we can’t complain. I love open kitchens like yours that flow right into the backyard.

  • Gina @ Running to the Kitchen April 2, 2012, 10:13 am

    I hear ya on changing your mind about priorities. I’ve never lived in a place that was walking distance to anything and as much as I would love that, I am NOT willing to live in a house with old bathrooms and kitchens. I just cannot get over the skeeve factor of old stuff. We bought our house in 09 and while it was built in 06, no one ever lived in it (builder couldn’t sell due to the market) so it’s pretty new. stainless steel, granite, new cherry cabinets. I like it, it’s not my dream kitchen or anything but it’s all new.
    Like many others have said, you can definitely change the gold handles and fixtures easily and on the cheap!

  • Britt April 2, 2012, 10:16 am

    I pranked my ten year old nephew yesterday! I ran in his room saying get up the fire alarms going off and dragged him through the house until he saw my hubs holding the fire alarm hahaha I couldn’t stop laughing. He stayed mad for a while after that lol

  • Caitlin @ This Bride's Joyride April 2, 2012, 10:32 am

    I am so happy for you both (and maggie and James)! I was also in the city camp but I slowly changed and now I just want space 🙂

    I swear just from the images I can picture a very open, warm, inviting kitchen and space. Can’t wait to see the rest of the house!

  • Corrie Anne April 2, 2012, 10:34 am

    I hate the zero counter space and no light in my kitchen. Ok. There’s really nothing I like. But it’s a temp apartment. I’m out in July!! Yay for your new house! You’re going to love it. Sometimes it’s worth not having the perfect location.

  • Lauren April 2, 2012, 10:40 am

    I am so happy for you guys and your new house! And it happened with time for you to “nest” and get ready for the baby! My husband and I got married about 7 months ago and when we went looking for a place to live we had no idea what it would be like to live in a space with another person and all of our wedding presents! Our kitchen is tiny and it is made worse by the fact that I have wedding presents busting at the seams. I can literally stand at the stove and access the sink and open the refrigerator without have to move. Needless to say, as we are embarking on our first house hunt a functional kitchen is high up on the priority list!

  • Rebecca April 2, 2012, 10:40 am

    If my parents ever move out of our house, my mom is going to miss our kitchen. We renovated it several years ago. It used to be cramped, but we changed the location of practically everything, and knocked out the wall that separated it from the living room. So much more space! I mean, it’s not a huge kitchen, but it’s bigger than some, haha.
    The house was built quite a while ago (60s or 70s I think??? I don’t remember.); my parents moved in in November of 1990, a few months before I was born. We’ve changed a lot of things about it. I think there are still some things my mom would like changed, but for the most part we’re happy with it. It works for four of us. It’s sometimes the hang-out spot for kids, mostly because of location. We’re pretty central to a lot of things in town, whereas a lot of our friends are a bit farther away. We’re like two minutes from multiple stores, restaurants, and churches–some are basically right across the street. My dad will sometimes just walk across the street to get groceries if we only need a couple of things. It’s pretty handy. 🙂

  • Kathleen @ Onward;Inward April 2, 2012, 10:46 am

    I totally got pranked this year. By YOU! This was way better than Wealthy Tipping Point, IMO. That one didn’t fool me for a second, this one had me pondering the ethics of cloning (and questioning everything I thought I knew about your blog!) all day! Kudos.

  • Charity April 2, 2012, 10:50 am

    I love your kitchen!
    I tried to do an April fools day joke. Since my hubby let me sleep in yesterday and got up with the pets, I was going to put our kitten in one of the closets (she very rarely meows so you can call her name for hours and she won’t answer). Then go down stairs and ask him where she was.. which we’d both frantically look around the house for her.. However I am the WORST prankster ever and as I picked her up I couldn’t stop giggling.. before she was put in the closet.. I would have totally given it away that it was a joke.

    • Allison April 2, 2012, 11:31 am

      As an FYI, many people say that is what really happened to the Lindbergh baby! So, maybe it’s best you didn’t really do it.

  • Reenie April 2, 2012, 10:50 am

    Love your new kitchen. I’d prob go ahead and change the hardware on the cabinets. Or you could spray paint them also.

    I have a small galley kitchen in my older home. I didn’t want to pay the $$ to put in granite, so I replaced the formica. You’d be surprised how many different colors/styles they have now. 🙂

  • Elizabeth @ reads recipes runs April 2, 2012, 11:11 am

    The only thing funnier than your April fools jokes are the people who fell for it comments! I was reading them last night and cracking up. I totally fell for Wealthy Tipping Point, I followed a link from another blog here, and that was the first post I ever saw, I was like WHAT is WITH this chick?!

    I think it’s so interesting that once you got pregnant your views on where you wanted to live changed. Something to keep in mind for when me and the hubs are looking for a place 🙂

  • Becca April 2, 2012, 11:12 am

    I love kitchens that open up to other parts of the house. I think they have a very welcoming feel 🙂 In regards to the house debate I would chose to live outside the city with more space. I’m clearly not a city girl.

  • Sarahf April 2, 2012, 11:18 am

    A kitchen that opens onto a garden is going to be amazing once you have a dining table, so great for summer parties!
    Japanese apartments are famous for having no counter space, so I love that the draining board for my sink is wider than usual, so it can double as a counter, otherwise I’d have to use the top of the stove!

  • Christine @ BookishlyB April 2, 2012, 11:28 am

    I love the big island we have, and tons of cabinets, but I really hate our fridge. We negotiated for it during the offer process because it matches the other appliances, but I really despise it (only one produce drawer and a stupid “fast chill” drawer that rarely gets used). On the other hand, it was nice not to have to buy one, so I’ll stop complaining.

  • Becky April 2, 2012, 11:30 am

    I love chewy waffles too! You might like “mochi” waffles, which are my favorite. They are made from sticky rice so they are gluten free and come in flavors like raisin and cinnamon or cashew. You just cut it into a few slices, put it in your waffle iron, top with your favorite topping, and you’ve got quite possibly the best chewy waffle ever! Grainaissance has really good flavors. Yum!!!!

  • Dominique April 2, 2012, 11:38 am

    Your kitchen is just like the kitchen that we have now in our rental except that the island connects to a wall. I love the counter space we have in our condo. It’s more counter space than a townhouse one of our friends recently bought! The kitchen sink, fridge and stove flow took me a little bit to get used to (it’s different compared to the one at my parents’) but I adjusted pretty well.

    Initially Sean and I wanted to spend our lives in the city but when I went back home recently to visit my parents and saw all the grass, trees and flowers, I realized I didn’t want to live in the city forever–especially if I had to raise a family with a dog or two. I want them to have space to roam around in a backyard like I did growing up. Congrats again on the new home!

  • Elisabeth April 2, 2012, 11:46 am

    Congratulations on the new house 🙂 I don’t love my kitchen (moved into a rental townhouse last fall)…but I don’t hate it either. I have nice black appliances (MUCH prefer to stainless), including a built in microwave which helps free up counter space, and finally a dishwasher. The main problem I have with the kitchen is NO counterspace. I have four small pieces of counter (one on either side of my sink & one on either side of my stove. I miss having a nice long piece of unbroken countertop (had that at my old house). Actually, the lack of counter space has made me much lazier on cooking at home. I used to LOVE to cook, but just don’t near as much anymore. However, I can’t hate my kitchen because now I have a walk in pantry with wire shelving to the ceiling for all my bakeware, pans, small appliances, etc. I think maybe if I find a better layout for my counters, I could learn to live with them. 😉

  • allpointswhole April 2, 2012, 12:10 pm

    Too funny! I totally remember your prank from last year too.

    ps Love the house!

  • Earthy Nicole April 2, 2012, 12:12 pm

    My cheeks hurt from laughing about your April Fool’s pranks. I love it.

    Your new kitchen is so cute. I love that there’s natural light — my current kitchen is so dark and I despise it! It looks like you’ve got a nice patio/deck out there too? So jealous! I’ve got like a cement slab, haha.

    xx

  • Kelly April 2, 2012, 12:15 pm

    LOVE your kitchen! Hardware is very easy to replace and can be very inexpensive.

    I hate everything about my kitchen. We moved into our house in 1995 and said we would eventually renovate it. Well it’s 2012 and it’s still the same….no counter space, no storage, no ventilation, no windows to open. It’s just a place I cook meals and do dishes at this point.

  • Lauren April 2, 2012, 12:28 pm

    I still remember last April Fools when you posted two big mac’s and said you had given in to vegetarianism. 🙂 LoL, you didn’t fool me this year girl.

    The house looks great! Have fun settling in.

  • Sonia the Mexigarian April 2, 2012, 12:36 pm

    We are slowly moving out of our old apartment and into our new house (closed on thursday!!) and I haven’t had the opportunity to work the flow of the kitchen yet. But the thing I love about about it is a little more counter space and TONS of storage. I have to learn how to work the gas stove though. That clicky thing kinda freaks me out though. . . .

    Congrats on the new abode 🙂

  • Erin April 2, 2012, 1:21 pm

    I LOVE my kitchen except for the fake-o wood floor. I can’t remember what the brand is called. I would love a real wood floor and then it would be perfect. At least I don’t have linoleum-ugh

  • Faith (Gracefulfitness) April 2, 2012, 1:24 pm

    I LOVE that our kitchen was newly renovated and never used (with all new appliances!) when we moved in 1.5 years ago. I don’t love that it’s teeny, tiny. My husband and I just decided yesterday to go ahead with swapping out the downstairs bedroom and the kitchen. Home reno is terrifying to me but my husband is pretty handy and having a big, open kitchen is going to be AMAZING!

  • Whitney April 2, 2012, 1:33 pm

    Ok, you got me with Maggie 2.0. I even showed my boyfriend and he asked, “Are you sure?” I answered with a vehement “YES!” Oh, well 🙂 Kudos to you, Caitlin!

  • Brittney April 2, 2012, 1:39 pm

    If you need help with changing light fixtures and that sort of thing, I can lend you my husband for that. He’s done ceiling fans, light fixtures, etc… Handy 😉 BTW, I’m still embarrassed I fell for Maggie 2.0 yesterday. I called myself an idiot for at least an hour after…haha.

  • Amber K April 2, 2012, 1:48 pm

    I love that I have a good food prep space in my kitchen, but I hate the lack of storage space! I need a ton of cupboards in a house so I can keep all of my fun kitchen tools!

  • Brie April 2, 2012, 1:57 pm

    I love our kitchen because it’s so huge…but sometimes I hate it because it’s so huge too! I feel like I get a workout just walking around to make dinner some nights.

  • nancy April 2, 2012, 2:17 pm

    Love the space in your kitchen! And it looks very much like mine 🙂 We did something quick and easy that brought our kitchen into the 21st century without investing much time or money. We painted just the island. Now it really pops and adds so much to the whole room. Once it was painted then our brass and ceramic knobs suddenly looked vintage instead of just outdated. 🙂 We put a similar color on the walls (one shade darker) and it looks amazing. Quick, easy and cheap but made such an impact. Definitely a doable DIY and totally worth the effort.

  • Emily April 2, 2012, 2:48 pm

    Totally on the same page realizing the need to wait for projects that just aren’t “my style” but are still functional. So smart. It drives me crazy when I see people doing dumb things they can’t afford!

  • Lauren @ Sassy Molassy April 2, 2012, 2:53 pm

    Ooh, I love how big and open the kitchen is! THe good thing is, you don’t have to change anything right away because it seems workable, but you can start changing/upgrading as you’d like.

  • Shari April 2, 2012, 4:18 pm

    Love the “believe in yourself” wall hanging!

  • KaraHadley April 2, 2012, 4:34 pm

    I don’t have a house or a kitchen (dorm life sucks!), but when I do have a kitchen I really want a dishwasher. And I hate it when the only usable counter space is between the fridge and a corner or right next to the sink.
    Luckily, your layout seems pretty conducive to actually cooking.

  • Shannon @ A Pinch of Ginger April 2, 2012, 4:47 pm

    We just moved too and I hated our counter tops. Thank goodness the BF is handy, because after a weekend of ripping out the counters (finding sweet deals at Lowes) and replacing the backsplash, we have a whole new kitchen!

  • Chelsea @ One Healthy Munchkin April 2, 2012, 6:30 pm

    I’m jealous of your new huge kitchen! I have a tiny apartment kitchen and it drives me crazy. I could list off about a zillion things I don’t like about it… the whacky oven that burns everything, the tiny area, the lack of counter space, the lack of a fan above the stove… I can’t wait to move! 😛

  • Tricia April 2, 2012, 7:16 pm

    We moved into our house Memorial Day weekend last year… we have gold doorknobs EVERYWHERE! Hate them, but we’ve moved on to renovating our small upstairs bathroom and doing little things around the house like changing out the basement door (which came with a ‘cat’ door in it) to a new one so that our puppy can’t escape from the basement while we’re at work. Our kitchen is very country and I love it… but it’s not functional. We’ll be changing out a huge side-by-side fridge for a regular fridge so we can move the whole thing over. By doing that, we’ll free up enough wall space to add more bottom cabinets (under a window). And then, we’ll add countertops to the new and old cabinets. I’m thinking wooden ones to stay with the country theme (old white painted cabinets – just love!).

  • m April 2, 2012, 7:39 pm

    Ha! Its so fun to see different priorities/homes in different areas (this is why I love shows like House Hunters, My first place, property virgins, etc)…. I currently live in a studio (yes, that would be one room) w/ my husband which seems to be approximately the size of your kitchen. That said, it makes for good bonding and works for us at the moment…however, we are also expecting a little one (not til the fall) so I think we might have to think about trading up into a one bedroom or even a 2 bedroom… someday we’ll move to the suburbs but it right now, that would mean a long commute for me and I’d trade space for time with my family. Either way, so happy you found a place you love and like many posters stated above, the fixtures can be changed for a reasonable amount. Good luck with the unpacking!

  • Stellina @ My Yogurt Addiction April 2, 2012, 9:17 pm

    Hahaha!! You had me with the pet cloning! I mean I didn’t think you would actually do it, but the post sounded serious! I like that your kitchen is big! Have fun remodeling, it can be a long but rewarding process!

  • Shannon April 2, 2012, 9:36 pm

    My current kitchen is seriously the size of a cubical. I hate it. It has zero counter space the the fridge opens awkwardly next to the wall. My new apartment I’ll be moving to in June is two or 3 times the size and I can’t wait. It’s nothing fancy, but I can’t wait for the upgrade!

  • Beth April 2, 2012, 10:33 pm

    I hated our gold hardware as well. My husband just changed them out this month after a year and a half of gold. Major improvement!

  • Sarah w April 2, 2012, 11:43 pm

    Replace the cabinet door handles if u don’t like them!!! U could also try spray painting them by removing them from cabinet and going to town ala YHL.

    I also suggest ORBing the chandelier! I haven’t done mine yet but it’s on my list. I did however ORB a huge ollllldddd lamp which had a very gold base – I made the lamp “new” by ORBing it and then buying a $10 lampshade. Beats the hell out of looking for and paying for a $70+ lamp…

    Good luck!!

  • Emily April 3, 2012, 1:48 am

    Wow I totally fell for that! (100% no sarcasm in tone). It could’ve been because America’s one day behind Australia but I’m still dangerously gullible:P I don’t entirely disagree with cloning pets especially because they don’t live that long, but when Africa has millions of starving children I get a little annoyed when people spend 20 grand on photocopying – or that’s what it seems like – a pet. Anyway a terrific joke!!:D

  • Life's a Bowl April 3, 2012, 7:44 am

    My momma moved when I was in high school into a home that was built in the ’70’s and the original owners still lived in it… They were the sweetest [super] old couple who had never done any renovations so when we first walked through the door we felt like we were in some psychedelic Austin Power movie! It took a lot of work to get it how it looks now but it’s always fun to put a personal touch on things 🙂

  • Alett April 3, 2012, 8:50 am

    We are currently in a major kitchen/bathroom/living space renovation (so much so that we have been living at our friend’s house for the past three weeks).

    I really LOVE the open space in your kitchen and the amount of countertop space! Pawsome! Our kitchen is very small and we really cannot do much to change the footprint. Additionally our kitchen is circa early 80’s – yup! EARLY EIGHTIES!!

    Please, please, please do you mind telling me what the color of the wall paint in your kitchen area is? I’m looking for a “taupe” like color and am having a difficult time choosing from paint chips.

    🙂

    • CaitlinHTP April 3, 2012, 9:26 am

      It’s actually grey – Silver Drop by Behr. It’s just the lighting. 🙁

  • Sara April 3, 2012, 10:48 am

    “I know location is everything in real estate, but you got to live there, too. Consider me a changed woman.”
    (I agree! We bought a home a little further from work and shopping places, etc. but we love it! My mother told me that you have to live there and even if it means driving a little further–it’s so nice to have a place you love to come home to… I did an awful job quoting her.) Love it!

  • Mary Wildeman May 3, 2012, 9:05 am

    just a note to you about your gold fixtures…I had the same light fixture in my kitchen along with other shiny gold fixtures…I took it apart and painted the gold a bronze color – metallic looking (just a spray paint from Lowes). They look amazing and give the house a completely different feel. Much cheaper than replacing!!

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