Pretty, Pretty

I kept putting off posting pictures of our new kitchen, because I wanted those pictures to be perfect. You know what I mean: sun shining, kitchen sparkly clean, everything staged just right, etc. But you know what? Perfect is never going to happen around here. So this morning, while the kitchen was relatively clean, I just decided to snap a few photos and put them up on the blog. No staging, no photoshopping, no perfect pictures. But they are good enough, and this perfectionist is learning to be perfectly happy with good enough. :)

Without further ado, let's look back at what our kitchen looked like in the beginning of July:


Ah, 1986. I don't miss you at all. Because now I get to use a beautiful new kitchen every day. Are you ready to see it???



TA DAAAAA!




Some of the major changes include:

*Cutting down part of the short wall that separated the kitchen and family room so we could make one huge counter with a bar area. (I love this! So great to have the kids sit there when they want to help me cook or have a snack.)
*Installing new granite counters.
*Painting the cabinet frames white and installing bead board on the backs and sides.
*Replacing the cabinet doors with new, Shaker style, white doors.
*New sink and faucet.
*New wall oven, built-in microwave, stove top, and hood.
*New white subway tile backsplash.
*New brushed nickel hardware for all the cabinets and drawers.
*New pendant light over the sink.
*New floor (which actually looks clean, unlike the old one!).

I ADORE my new kitchen. Have I mentioned that yet? :) It is so much more pleasant to cook, clean, and deal with kids when you are surrounded by pretty things. Here are a ton of detail pictures, just because I couldn't narrow down which ones I wanted to post!

{The beautiful milk glass fruit bowl is from my Grandma Jaynes, and just perfect for this spot!}


{The chalkboard you see in the background above was a happy accident. The company that made our cabinet doors messed up on two of them, so I took one of the mistake doors, painted it with chalkboard paint, and now I can leave happy messages for my family!}
{This is my view of the family room as I work in the kitchen. We used the same turquoise blue color as an accent for both rooms, to make everything feel cohesive.}

{We chose seeded glass for the doors on two of the cabinets.}


{I love our new curtains--and my addiction to white pitchers continues...}

A few more before and after photos, so you can see them side-by-side. (Feel free to enlarge them and get a good feel for the beautiful changes!) :)


Many people have asked what it was like to take on a kitchen renovation on our own, but I'm actually quite thankful that we did the work ourselves. It made for some chaotic weeks, but it is so awesome to know that we were able to make the changes we wanted. We appreciated every little step of the process in a way that I don't think we would have if someone else was doing it. And now we're so proud every time we look at it and think of all we accomplished. Of course, we definitely need to thank those who helped us along the way, including my dad (who had a big hand in the demolition and showed us how to install tile, among other things) and my mom and some of our church friends who all brought meals to us during the process. We are so grateful for all of the assistance! Having this new kitchen really makes our house feel more like our home, and I thank God for it every day. Thanks for checking it out! :)