Kitchen Makeover

So I promised pictures of my kitchen renovation a few days back and here they are!

As you can see from the picture below the kitchen was quite dated. Outdated cabinets, hardware, light fixtures, etc. I desperately needed a quick fix since I can't afford to renovate the whole kitchen right now!

 This kitchen was a nightmare!  At first we thought we could just paint over this dated mustard color....only to find out that there was a layer of wallpaper, drywall mud, and another layer of wallpaper underneath!  It turned into a stripping wallpaper nightmare!

 

Justin attempted to repair the walls after the wallpaper was removed...only to decide they were to bad to save. So yes, a day and a half wasted stripping wallpaper only to decide to rip out all the drywall!  That was not a fun week!

Preparing to paint the cabinets...

 Can I just say I have a fabulous mother-in-law, who worked her booty off painting these cabinets!

 The cabinets were painted a cream, and glazed to give a tea stained effect, to play up the older style of the cabinets. We also updated the hardware to give a more contemporary feel.

 

 We chose Sherwin Williams "Heart of Palm" green for the kitchen. I love green and white kitchens, and the fresh clean vibe they give.

(The green in photo below appears more lime than actual color.)

 A new fridge and pantry door helped update the space. (The old pantry door matched the wood cabinets)

The End Result: What do you think? An improvement?

Here is the before photo of the breakfast room...

 

 The first thing we did was rip out the built in...and you can see all the old trim was dark brown.

 The breakfast room was the same wallpaper removal process as the kitchen...as you can see below it was quite a mess!  The nook in the wall is what seems to be a closed in window. We plan on putting in a double window there in the future.

 Justin added crown throughout the kitchen and breakfast room which makes it look so much better!

I must say, I thoroughly enjoy chilling in my calming tropical breakfast room in the morning sipping my coffee, and enjoying the view outside! It is quite soothing!

~ Elle

Renovation Madness

Phew....We are finally moved into the new house!! Halleluah! I thought it would never happen. The last two weeks have passed in such a blur I don't even know what day it is anymore!

 Here are some pics of the new house!

 The previous owners were major LSU fans...we plan on painting the purple asap!

 I love the covered patio area! I plan on putting some nice comfy outdoor seating here!

 That bench below is going to get replaced with a lovely hammock!

The moment we walked into that door the demolition began!

 Left: listing photo, Right: Justin & Corey ripping the built-in out as soon as we walk in the door!

 Left: listing photo, Right: The kitchen after the built-in has been ripped out!

We thought we could just paint the kitchen...but unfortunately it was latex paint over wallpaper! You have to use an oil base to paint over wallpaper!  Oh and it gets WORST!  I started stripping the painted wallpaper only to find out that there was a layer of mud and more wallpaper under the top layer of paint and wallpaper!  Seriously!?!?  After spending a whole day stripping wallpaper, my husband and I decide to just remove the drywall and start from scratch!  (Now, normally I would be mad that I wasted a whole day removing wallpaper, but I still had another days worth to do!)

Now my poor husband is stuck floating drywall and mudding...something he HATES to do!

The kitchen before we got our hands on it...

...and the kitchen in its current state!

(Please help me decide...should I keep the cabinets natural or paint white? I'm so torn!)

The living room, which we thought would take 2 days, took a whole week to paint! We painted the walls, trim, fireplace, and ceiling! And let me tell you it takes a lot of time to edge around all those beams! But we finally got it done! 

I had a lot of opposition in my decision to paint the living room off white.  I am glad I stuck with my decision! I chose Creamy White Behr paint and I love it! It is exactly the warm white I was going for! (FYI, you would be amazed how difficult it is to pick out the RIGHT white!)

Here I am loosing my mind amongst all the whites and creams!

 

There is still SO MUCH to do, but at least we aren't running back and forth between houses anymore!