Kitchen Before and After + Dishwasher Cabinet

The eye adjusts to light and dark, and, often, when the eye becomes familiar with something, it no longer notices it.  This is how clutter breeds unnoticed and yet right out in the open.  Probably this is what happens to hoarders.  It's certainly happened in my own home. 

Example: there's a pile of coupons that I haven't clipped yet, that have been sitting on there on the end-table.  After the first day or so, I didn't notice them.  Then we had company this week and in the process of cleaning the living room, *bam* it became noticeable again.  As though a cloaking device had been turned off.   How long has that pile even been there?

This is what happened in the kitchen too.  When we bought the house, the kitchen looked like this

Before!

Then we repainted it, bought a dishwasher, and D built a cabinet for it out of plywood. 

Painted!

He fashioned a black-and-white tile counter to go on top.

A chunk has chipped off already.  What kind of glue should I use on tile?

And we promptly forgot about the naked boards. And thus it has remained for the last three months.  Aesthetically scandalous, I know. 

It was mentally filed as just one of those things we'd get around to eventually, surely.  Not a priority.  However, while emptying the dishwasher this weekend I thought I noticed some darkening of the wood.  Maybe the beginning of water damage or mold, maybe not, but the wood needs to be protected from the moisture and spattering water from the dishwasher.  So that's what I did Sunday morning after my sister-in-law left, and before our friends came over for football, okonomiyaki, and Cranium. 

Bobby helped

I found a can of paint in the basement that looked white-ish and said "kitchen and bathroom"  so I figured it would work with either what the wall tiles were painted with or what the cupboards were painted with. 

After + dog

This is the result.
Blends right in.  It looks like it was all painted at the same time to me, and I couldn't ask for better than that.

One less thing to do.  

*Update 1/17/12:  "Materials used were plywood for the side and non-treated lumber for the main fixture.  2x4s on the sides to mount and top to fix the counter in place.  The whole thing supports my weight.  ...  Regular lumber can handle the heat and humidity just fine."  from D

Befores & Afters : Paint Edition

Yuuki is still getting accustomed to things. 

Pantry Cat is learning about the food attic

So I wanted to show some shots of the painting work that we've accomplished.  This took so much longer than I anticipated, but the results are drastic.  Indeed, the correct word is "drastic."

 

The master bedroom was a shade of green that I believe we can call "un-restful."  

  

Don't get me wrong, I like green.  Kermit the frog?  Love him.  Somehow though, this color managed to have a sick-looking quality to it.  It even managed to detract from the fabulous wood floors.  And since the floors are in great condition that means it was just a really ugly color.  In the photo it manages to look a bit more calmed down, but in reality it was less Agave more Technicolor-Mint-Ice-Cream-Hell.  It was not very conducive to either relaxation or sleep, both of which I wish to do in this bedroom.  I don’t want an “energizing” bedroom, I want to wind down in here.  There’s no tv in here, we sleep and read books in here and that’s all (all that I will mention on this blog, thank you very much). 

The paint took forever because we primed it first (I didn't want an undertone of sick green in here).  This at first seemed more blue than I would have liked. But its really grown on me.  It looks pretty good, I have to admit.  I had wanted a grey color, but I compromised with D.  I'm glad. 

We still have a dearth of furniture. 

I also ended up compromising with him on the kitchen color, god help me. 

 (before)

It wasn't special, but the color was an adequate tone, nothing to dislike or like really. 

(after)

D has always been talking about a red kitchen.  The change after we painted was so shocking that I couldn't speak.  Did I like it, he asked.  No I did not like it, is what I did not say.  Sitting in the brown living room and looking into the kitchen makes you feel like a peeping tom because its almost as if you’re looking into another house entirely.  The transition, to me, is jarring.  D told me matter of factly that there needs to be a marked transition because, after all, "it’s another room.”  

I've had a week to get used to it now.  It doesn’t look awful.  It goes well with the white and black. I'm not entirely settled on it.  D loves it.  shrug.  You can see the fridge has moved, the new dishwasher has been installed (thanks dad) and there's the wooden frame D is trying to build because cabinetry is darned expensive.  I think there is a re-store somewhere in the area that sells cast offs from contracting jobs etc.  Maybe we'll get lucky...