Kitchen Reveal!

Finally, after weeks of sneak peaks and broken promises, it's here!  The long awaited kitchen reveal!

 

You've already seen the breakfast nook.  Even with the table half finished at Christmas, the in-laws loved it and sat there all the time.  Even when the hubs and I were trying to cook Christmas dinner.  That may have backfired a bit.

The coffee bar was a HIT.  So accessible, so much storage, so much regarding counter and cabinet space.  The hubs hasn't even complained about having to walk over to the sink to fill up the water container for our combined Keurig/coffeepot from Amazon.  This was a GREAT buy and we use it multiple times every day.

Even with all the time, money and effort put into this table, I smile every time I come down the stairs and see this table.  It is EXACTLY what I wanted.  This is why I DIY - to make my visions come to life.  It's a nice touch of "us" in a rental house, desperately needed.

 Next, let's take a closer look at what sold us on renting this house, the skylight area of the kitchen.  We definitely needed more storage in the kitchen and used the island the owners left behind in this area, to hold some of our appliances and pantry items.

On the table is our tiny Christmas tree, bought from a colleague's daughter for their school sale.  It came with its own decorations and continues to grow since the holiday.  The hubs also has the porch plants wintering in this area, and they have done very well.  Except when Bob sneaks into the kitchen and snacks on them.  CATS!

Behind the island in the window are the clipboards I made in our old place, patterned off of Love Grows Wild's version.  We have our old Blue Apron recipes up there.  We did Blue Apron for about a year or so, when the hubs was "funemployed" and wanted something to do.  It was SO GOOD and he became really good a cooking a variety of things as a result.  We now just order the ingredients and rotate through the different recipes each month.  We take turns cooking depending on who gets home first.  This move has really been good for both of us, though my efficiency/productivity has taken a bit of a blow due to the increased commute.   

These wire cubbies are from World Market, kind of a spur of the moment buy one day when I was shopping for something else.  I have wanted more storage on this wall and these cubbies totally worked.  The homeowners had something similar but more French Country style, which didn't work for me.  Anyway, this holds our sundries, kitchen towels, and paper towels.  The hubs had to reinforce it after we started putting heavier things in it.

Across from the skylight is the "working part" of the kitchen, with the refurbished island, dishwasher, sink, and stove.   The island has really been working hard for us and might need a new sanding and sealing as well as some touch up paint.  I read somewhere that there is special paint for cabinets since they have so much use.  I'm going to have to look into that with my next projects.

This island has so much storage.  It's got three drawers and 6 shelves.  It holds our bowls, foils and plastic wrap, tupperware containers, plastic bags, bottle openers, oven mitts, and kitchen towels.  And it's cute!

The pass through was a problem - from the first day we signed the lease, we knew the cats were going to be trying to jump into the kitchen through it.  Still we wanted the light from the kitchen to come through into the living room and dining room.  So I bought these room dividers from Amazon and the hubs suggested using fishing wire and a curtain rod at the top to hang them up in an easily removable way.  Perfect!

 

I think I saw these vases on a now defunct HGTV show from one of the Design Star winners.  I found this one on Amazon and bought another on Amazon that is no longer for sale.  One is in the kitchen and one is in the living room.  They are just elegant and simple.

So that's it.  The long awaited kitchen reveal.  Hope it was worth the wait.  This is my favorite room in the house right now.

Here's a few more picture - spring is almost here!