Kitchen Update: Before and After

In june my husband and I finally had the opportunity to give our kitchen a much needed update. We put in tile floors, granite countertops, a new stainless dishwasher and a new built-in hutch. What a difference it's made! I love it.

Before: Old hand-me-down hutch from my aunt. Cute. Yes. But not my "style", per se. In the old kitchen we had cheapo white linoleum that was WAY past it's prime and hideous white formica countertops that were stained and peeling up around the edges. Definitely not the showcase kitchen of a cabinet maker! (I was like the cobbler's kids...everyone had nice cabinets but me!) The island is now facing the other way...notice it's complete with the plastic bag of recycling hanging off the knob? Fancy, eh? Like The Pioneer Woman says, "I'm just keepin' it real."

After: Nice new hutch that my hubby built for me! I absolutely LOVE it. It holds a TON of stuff...and the bottom portion is deep enough for roasting pans, cookie sheets, food dehydrators...it's perfect. I requested glass doors so that my cookbooks could show through. Something about the colorful covers peeking through the Seedy glass doors is so cozy and comforting to me. I love being able to see them. Notice the island is now turned the other way...which fits better and makes more sense. When we installed it originally 7 years ago we didn't have the hutch so it was fine. Once the old hutch came along it was quite cramped! You can't see the ugly lino floors in the old picture...but here you can see my nice, new, neutral floor tiles. I went with the 18" and I love it. I also love the warmth they bring. I know they say tile is cold...but the color and texture, in my opinion, add a warmth to the room that it didn't have before. Granted I haven't had them during the winter...so we'll see what I think in a few months! (Edit: In looking at this post I am realizing that my cabinets seem to have a blue tint to them. They are not blue...they're white. I'm just still learning how to use my camera and obviously didn't get my white balance set correctly!)

After: Stove area. Obviously my kitchen is tiny...10x10 on a good day. Then I had to go and fill it up with cute cabinets and useful islands. What was I thinking? Actually...I love it all. And although my husband doesn't "feel" me on the whole island thing...I find it indispensable. I use it ALL THE TIME. I chop there, can there, make lunches there, bake there...breakfast, lunch and dinner, I'm there. I love it. And yes, it takes up space...but it would be otherwise useless space if not for my beloved island.


After: The sink area...just because I have a picture of it. And you may notice that this counterspace and the bit of countertop near the stove, are the only bits of counter space that I have. So you can SEE why I NEED my beloved island! You may also notice in the dark corner there (the lighting in my kitchen is horrible) my giant zucchini. I found it hiding the other day and I was so excited! My zucchini plants last hurrah...