Here's the before picture:
Here's the after picture, which I'm disappointed in because the lighting makes the finish look a little uneven and it's not--I haven't figured out the new camera. (Ignore the orange splotch--it's a light from another room reflecting):
I've decided that I like the way the cabinet turned out. Of course, now we'll have to do all the rest of the cabinets. And the walls, which looked hideous before, now look worse. I know paint will help. But the problem is that previous owners took the easy way out. The kitchen walls were originally plaster and tile. The plaster remains. The tile doesn't. Only the grout lines are left. Then, an early owner--perhaps the one who put 70s contact paper everywhere--put cheap paneling over the ripped out tile. (We all know how attractive cheap paneling is.) The last owner (realizing that old paneling, put up with the wrong kind of nails--drywall nails, did not make for a quick sale) decided to paint the paneling. Without properly sealing it. Now the paint is yellowing as wood oil leaches through. And the paint is beginning to peel. I won't mention the kitchen flooring that wasn't properly glued down or the counters that were installed unevenly.
At any rate, I realize now that my Platonic disappointment wasn't so much a disappointment with what we did, but the realization that before the kitchen looks "good," we've got years of work ahead.
But that's okay--my "contractor/laborer/stripping associate/polyurethaning buddy" and I have been together for 24 years, so we're in it for the long haul. And he's already got plans for the walls.
A nice update on the cabinets! And I so know what you mean about one improvement leading to another. Nothing like new paint, for example, to make one feel that suddenly the ceiling / floors / furniture /lamps / rugs / wall art / accessories also need to be upgraded.
ReplyDeleteLooks good! Very clean and organized!
ReplyDeleteYour updated cabinets look beautiful! They kind of remind me of something you might see in a beach house.
ReplyDeleteNice! I love how the cabinet looks. Forge ahead! :)
ReplyDeleteI like it. I lived in a condo that had bleached hardwood floors and it looked beachy and modern. Loved it. Reminds me of your cabinets.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a nice update. :-)
Looks great. We've been thinking about doing something like this to our cupboards.
ReplyDeleteWe've started tearing cabinets out, but I can't make up my mind what I want to replace them. I love the distressed white, but knowing these are probably are final cabinets in this lifetime, I'm afraid I'll get tired of them. So, we have most of our kitchen stuff stored in boxes. Makes it fun to bake~
ReplyDeleteOf course the kitchen opens to the dining room...which opens to the living room, then down the hall...it never ends!
It looks great!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the photo update.
I'll have to trust you that it looks good.: ) So hard to compare pictures when they're taken in different lighting.
ReplyDelete