The day has finally arrived. The last update I did on the kitchen progress was in March. Yikes! If you missed it, you can find it here. If you want a recap of our kitchen plans, they can be found here. The counter top installation here and our kitchen picks/sources here. Now that you are all caught up, lets get on with it.
The day we moved in:
After some bright red paint:
How it looks today:
It is my favorite room in the whole house! I don't like to cook but I have found myself making more of an effort just so I can spend time in here. I love how bright, clean and airy it feels. It's a small kitchen, but it feels so much larger. We ended up hiring out for the tile installation and I'm happy we did. He did a better job than we ever could. Eventually we want to upgrade our fridge and dishwasher to match the stove and microwave.
It feels incredible to see your plans transform your home. It makes the blood, sweat and tears all worth it. It has taken us five long years to turn this house into our sanctuary. Next up, we will be preparing our house for the crazy storms that are supposed to hit the West coast this winter. That means rain gutters and hopefully a new patio cover. Ill leave you with another before & after shot, so you don't have to scroll back up.
Have a wonderful day
Amber
We desperately needed a new media center. This little black one just wasn't cutting it. It was too small and having the wires exposed looked tacky to me. It was also in the way of our fireplace key valve. Every time we moved the TV, the cord concealer would rip away from the wall. It was time to hire someone to do a proper wire concealment behind the wall and get something that hid our game console, router and cable box.
I called a recommended Installation Company. 1.5 hours later the wires were in the wall and we were left with a few patches. I really wish I had done this sooner!
After looking online and failing to find a media center with the measurements needed, I decided to design and build my own. Here is what I came up with.
I was inspired by this media stand/sideboard from Target. So I purchased my lumber and got to work. I had Home Depot cut the wood to size and I took it home to stain.
I started with Miniwax Pre-Stain wood conditioner. After that dried I mixed Miniwax Early American 230 & Dark Walnut 2716 and applied it according to the directions. I let it dry 2 days and then assembled the outside.
Next, I added the hardware I needed to attach the legs.
Then came the shelves and doors which I failed to take a picture of. (Sorry) My awesome father came to my rescue with his router to get the holes cut out. Once it was complete I was left with this creation...
Shhh don't tell anyone but the door on the right was put on upside down. Haha
The black basket below stores what is left of our DVD collection. The basket on the lower shelf houses X-Box accessories.
Art books, a round basket full of small LP's, candles and a vintage pineapple live on the first shelf.
This map of Mexico is special to us because it's where we spent our honeymoon. The yellow box contains the coasters (that never get used). Our favorite photo booth picture and incense holder sit on more art books.
I found this electric meter lamp at a yard sale. I know what you're thinking "I should have left it at the yard sale!" but for whatever reason I gave it a new Edison bulb and fell in love with it.
Funny back story....Have you heard of Lindsey from the blog called Better After? She has a yearly "ugly lamp" contest that is pretty entertaining. Guess what lamp showed up in her contest? Yep, a similar one to mine. Check it out, its #4.
So there you have it. No more wires exposed and I got the perfect, customized media center with a little bit of "elbow grease" as my dad says.
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| BEFORE |
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| AFTER |
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