Kitchen: BEFORE and AFTER

We had a lot of work to do in the kitchen! This is what it looked like the day we bought it. For me, the red was too harsh and passionate. I wanted something light, fresh and inviting. Here's another look:


The first thing we noticed when we looked at the place was the popcorn ceilings! It had been that way for at least 30 years - and looked pretty disgusting. We knew we could fix it and make it look 100% better. So when we began working on the house, the first thing we did was tackle the popcorn ceilings. Every inch on ceiling was scraped off! Here's Dave wetting the plaster; he then used a spackling tool to scrape off the "popcorn" that resulted in a flat, smooth ceiling. All the rooms felt much bigger when we were finished!



Dave & I decided we had to prime the walls - at least 4 times- to get the deep dark red out of the picture. Here's a picture of Dave checking out our painting job...


I can't remember what I was trying to do, but I ended up peeling off not only the ugly red paint- but most of the plaster and drywall underneath! Dave's dad is a general contracter in California (works for Saddleback Church) and said it would be a piece of cake to fix. So when they came to visit - he fixed it for us! thanks Dad!

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Here are some other improvements:

1) We completely re-did the counter tops: the sink counter was from home depot. It was about $70 for that little space. So for the other counter tops, I spray painted them black, added some textured speckled paint, and then put a gloss on the top- and honestly, you can't tell the difference! It only cost me $16!

2) We completely replaced the sink base. When Dave tore it out- we found HUNDREDS of cochroaches & bugs. No wonder why it stunk so bad...




3) We replaced the kitchen faucet and added a water purifier. (kitchen faucet from Ikea $23)

4) We added hardware for the cabinets - ($2 for a 12 pack from Ikea)

5) Oh yeah- and did you notice the new floors? We used this Witex Maple laminate flooring throughout the 1st floor.

6) We changed the light fixture

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So here's what it looks like now!