| Author | Content |
ecrane3
Dublin, CA
(Zone 9a)
January 3, 2008
12:21 AM Post #4354510
| I thought I had a thread from before where I had posted some pics of my kitchen as I gradually updated it, but I can't find it now so I'll start over!
Here is the "before" picture from when I first bought the house in June '06
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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ecrane3
Dublin, CA
(Zone 9a)
January 3, 2008
12:22 AM Post #4354523
| I replaced the microwave and range shortly after I moved in--the microwave barely worked, and if I turned the oven on it smelled like something had crawled in there and died! Then in May of last year I painted the walls red. 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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ecrane3
Dublin, CA
(Zone 9a)
January 3, 2008
12:23 AM Post #4354533
| Then around August or so I had granite countertops put in 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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ecrane3
Dublin, CA
(Zone 9a)
January 3, 2008
12:25 AM Post #4354550
| And finally, I added crown molding to the cabinets, painted them, and added hardware (please ignore the misaligned handles on the cabinets above the microwave...my template must have slipped while I was drilling the holes on one of them, I'll get around to fixing it one of these days!) 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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ecrane3
Dublin, CA
(Zone 9a)
January 3, 2008
12:27 AM Post #4354566
| And one more shot of the finished kitchen (well, maybe not totally finished...I'd still like to replace the fluorescent light with something less ugly! And I'd love stainless steel appliances someday!) 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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mistygardener
Saint James, MO
(Zone 6b)
January 3, 2008
12:33 AM Post #4354610
| WOW ecrane, very, very nice! I love the red walls! DH talked me into painting ours red a while back, and I just love it! Was a bit leary about it making it too dark, but it is great, even with black cabinets. Ours is a 'madder red'. Your counter top is beautiful, too! Been trying to talk DH in to making some new cabinet fronts for ours, just haven't managed to get it done. We did put marble counter top, and I wouldn't recommend it unless you seal it with something! |
ecrane3
Dublin, CA
(Zone 9a)
January 3, 2008
12:45 AM Post #4354675
| Thanks! I love red walls, had them at the kitchen in my old house too and I knew I had to do it again!
Granite needs to be sealed too just like marble to keep it from staining, but the stone itself is pretty much indestructible, not like marble where if you clean it with acidic cleaners it starts eating away at the stone! I love the look of marble but it's too easy to damage it. |
mistygardener
Saint James, MO
(Zone 6b)
January 3, 2008
12:47 AM Post #4354692
| I would definitely go with red again if we bought a different house!
Marble is very nice, but the coffee stains will NOT come out, and we did have one crack on a vein, but thankfully it was small and was able to 'repair' it! |
Connie_W
Austin, TX
(Zone 8b)
January 5, 2008
9:17 PM Post #4365349
| Love your Kitchen Redeaux!!!! I especially love the way you ran the granite up the walls for about..what...6 inches? It's great because you can see the lovely granite from across the room! Great idea! I have slate that runs from the counter up to the cabinets...but I like yours better!
I too love the color red for walls...painted my first dining room walls red back in the late 70's...people thought I was KRazy!!!!!! Since then I have had at least one red wall in every house I've lived in...can't live without it! My only red wall in this house (MY LAST!!!) is just a little piece of wall between 2 cabinets in my bar area...and it's a rusty red mixed with a little container of copper! It gave the red a nice luster.
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ecrane3
Dublin, CA
(Zone 9a)
January 5, 2008
11:48 PM Post #4366043
| Thanks Connie! Yes, the granite goes 6" up the wall. I thought about doing a backsplash in a different material, but then decided it would work better to just do the granite like that. It's a pretty small kitchen, so I didn't want to get too many different materials going. Your rusty red with copper sounds really pretty--got any pics? |
Connie_W
Austin, TX
(Zone 8b)
January 6, 2008
3:23 AM Post #4366510
| Yes...let me look...
Edited to say...sorry this is blurry! I usually delete those!
This message was edited Jan 6, 2008 1:24 AM
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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ecrane3
Dublin, CA
(Zone 9a)
January 6, 2008
12:33 PM Post #4367306
| That is nice--I like the metallic effect! If I decide to do any accent walls anywhere I'll keep that in mind. |
pepper23
KC Metro area, MO
(Zone 5b)
January 26, 2008
9:40 PM Post #4458621
| Love your kitchen ecrane!! Our kitchen is falling apart and needs new cabinets. The cabinets have had a weird smell in them the whole time we have lived here (10+ yrs) and now the doors are falling off. But the kitchen probably won't get done unless we win the lottery. LOL |
ecrane3
Dublin, CA
(Zone 9a)
January 26, 2008
10:03 PM Post #4458678
| Thanks! I'm so much happier with it now. For yours, you might consider painting the cabinets (and replacing a few hinges where needed). Paint can really work wonders on old tired cabinets and make them look like new. I've done it twice now and it made a world of difference, and I've seen them do it all the time on those HGTV shows where people are getting ready to sell their houses and it works wonders there too so I don't think you can go wrong. |
pepper23
KC Metro area, MO
(Zone 5b)
January 26, 2008
10:10 PM Post #4458697
| We thought about painting them but the doors themselves are in bad shape. Plus no matter what we do the cabinets stink. We have painted the insides and it made no difference. Otherwise we would. Just one of those things that we have to live with til we are able to afford to start work on it. |
Connie_W
Austin, TX
(Zone 8b)
January 26, 2008
10:47 PM Post #4458821
| That is strange that the paint didn't take away the offensive odor! I'll bet it's something behind them, or could it be mold in the walls? Paint gives all wood a new lease on life as far as a fresh smell is concerned.
My ex and I used to flip houses for a living, and painted MANY houses reeking with smoke, and after replacing carpet and painting...voila...great, fresh smell.
Perhaps the odor comes from years of grease permeating the outside wood? I'll bet if you painted the outside you would like them a lot... I used to paint old cabinets--no matter how banged up--and then sand like crazy...back to the original wood (you have to take any lacquer off first) and the look is great.
I even had that done on my new cabinets ...painted black and then sanded back to the pine. Here it is...Well, I can't find the pic right now...will take some tomorrow and post. |
pepper23
KC Metro area, MO
(Zone 5b)
January 26, 2008
10:54 PM Post #4458846
| The smell is unusual. It almost smells like pot but that's not what it is. There isn't any mold for sure. That's something that would be caught in this house.
One reason why we want new cabinets is the layout isn't efficent and we need to enhance it. The kitchen will bump out into the dining room a bit and the back door will be moved, a wall will become an island, and another wall will become a pantry. That's our goal but even though we have a small house and kitchen it still costs more than we can afford at this point so we live with it. Doors haven't fallen off yet so it's still useable. lol
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Connie_W
Austin, TX
(Zone 8b)
January 26, 2008
10:57 PM Post #4458857
| That plan does sound like a 15 - 50k investment to me!
I guess I've always wanted to go ahead and spend about 150.00 for paint supplies and go ahead and spend the time and money to enjoy it while waiting for the huge change! But then I love projects that take a lot of time...kinda hyper here...ha
I understand that everyone is not a "project seeker" like I am!
This message was edited Jan 26, 2008 8:58 PM |
pepper23
KC Metro area, MO
(Zone 5b)
January 26, 2008
11:05 PM Post #4458895
| Our house is "half-finished." lol. My dad remodels for a living and he gets burned out when it comes to our house. We have 3 colors and styles of trim, several different floors, mismatched doors, and a few other things half done. And our house is less than 900 sq ft. But we live with it just as long as the important things work and work great. lol |
Connie_W
Austin, TX
(Zone 8b)
January 26, 2008
11:20 PM Post #4458959
| Well, I'm a teacher and overworked, but I love to come home and have something to do! I just finished making a storage room into a studio for me...well, carpenters put in the window, but I did all the painting, and it has taken be about a month!
I first painted a peachy-pink color (flat paint) then glazed it with orange---rubbed it in with rags. Then I sanded back to the texture which was applied with a trowel...lots of elbow grease! |
