Your Kitchen Questions Answered

Thank you so very much for your kind comments regarding the Storybook Cottage French Country Christmas Kitchen Makeover. Your Kitchen Questions Answered and More B & A Kitchen Photo’s

The most popular question was about the kitchen table. Although I would love to have an antique wood table it was a bit out of our budget. While I save though our family needed a place to eat casual meals, finish homework and create crafts. Our budget was $500. I scoured Craiglist and a few estate sales but the pickings were slim. We finally settled on the Ingatorp table with Ingolf chairs from Ikea. The table is pretty ingenious that it can extend to seat 8-10 and the leaf is stored underneath the table itself.

Your Kitchen Questions Answered

The Vinter chair pads came from Ikea as well and were a great deal at just $7.99 a piece.

On the table, Grandma Mary’s vintage elves frolicked in between the red and white antique Royal Tudor Ware. But the velvet toadstools came from Cost Plus World Market.

The Shelf

The shelf that the vintage aprons hang on came from Ross for just $13.00!

The Wreaths

The cheery window and chair wreaths both came from At Home (formerly known as Garden Ridge). The smaller chair wreaths came two to a pack for $2.98 and the window wreaths were $7.98. Everything was also 50% off. Both were hung from grosgrain ribbon I had on hand but you can find similar ribbon at most craft stores.

All of the appliances we already had. They are a variety of brands and all work well. I am not a big fan of stainless steel but it works for now. The hardware on the cabinets also came with the house. They were sort of a grimy 80’s gold.

All were given a good cleaning in TSP and then given several coats of Rust-Oleum Universal oil rubbed bronze.

The walls were painted in Lowe’s Valspar Reserve eggshell finish. The color is “Du Jour” which is a lovely white that is often recommended by designers as it is a clean white with a hint of warmth.

The Paint

The doors, baseboards, trim and ceiling also were painted in “Du Jour” but in an oil-based paint with a semi-gloss finish. I believe the oil-based paint is only sold in certain states and you have to be a professional painter or designer to order it. I selected this paint because once it cures it is much harder than acrylic and therefore wears better. However, it does take up to 30 days to fully dry and you really shouldn’t touch it at all for 7 days. So be prepared to have a kitchen full of opened drawers and cabinets for a week. The smell is also P. U. for about a week.

With the paint, the dated cabinets will work for another few years. They were pretty torn up in their interiors so I made the decision to paint the inside as a way of camouflaging their appearance. Each cabinet shelf and drawer was also lined which helps the appearance and protect both the cabinet from scrapes and chips on dishes.

A few of you were wondering why I wanted to change the countertops. The previous owners just laid granite tiles over the existing Formica. (You can see where the white Formica shows through.)

This treatment can work if time is taken to ensure the tiles are laid straight and evenly. Unfortunately, this previous DIY was not done well. Cups and dishes tip over all the time due to the uneven tiles. 

Even so, the paint made a world of difference.

So here are a few more “Before’s” and the accompanying “After’s”

Dark and depressing.

Lighter and brighter!

A Temporary Solution

In the end, these are all somewhat temporary improvements that were done until a total gut job is given to the kitchen. But the paint is truly such an improvement.

And what of Mr. Décor who DID NOT want to paint all the wood? Well, he admitted that it looked “So much better!” 

The last question answered….the rug came from Dollar General.

If there are any other questions I will keep adding them to this post. I do plan on changing the look of the kitchen with the seasons and will share any updates.

Now I am off to write the Christmas crafts posts!!!

Laura