Kitchen Update | One Room Challenge Week 1

Ever since I attended a Kentucky Derby party a few years ago, I’ve really wanted to host one myself. Think about it–an excuse to put on your finery (most importantly your HAT) and gather with friends to eat and drink all afternoon for the occasion of a sporting event that lasts only one minute. It’s ingenious. That’s why I instituted a self-imposed deadline to have the first floor of my house presentable in time for that first weekend in May.

It also luckily happens that the spring edition of the One Room Challenge (an event where designers and bloggers across the internet revamp one room in 5 weeks and share weekly progress) coincides with this deadline, so I’ve decided to participate! I’m going to focus on our kitchen. Those of you who have been reading a while probably remember the kitchen.

A while back, I talked about how we want to basically gut this space down the line, so for now we are aiming to do some budget-friendly updates that will make it a little more our speed.

Target budget: $300-400
Planned updates:

• Paint the walls cream (Valspar Woodrow Wilson Linen) and the trim white.
• Paint the cabinets white.
• Put glass or plexiglass inserts into to the upper cabinet doors around the windows.
• Swap out the oiled bronze hinges and hardware for a satin nickel finish.
• Replace the over-the-sink light.
• Install a subway tile backsplash.
• Paint the floors, probably a deep green.
• Scrape the ceilings
• Replace the sunroom ceiling fan with recessed lighting.

This is a long list, but thankfully we’re not starting totally from the beginning. Here’s where we are right now.

 

Remember when I mentioned how I tend to tackle projects in a bit of a willy-nilly, free-for-all, lasseiz faire, smash-it-if-you’ve-got-it fashion? That’s what’s going on in the kitchen right now. Lots of things are started but nothing’s finished just yet. The good news is that we have mostly gathered our supplies, and the weather is getting more amenable to doing outdoor painting, so I think we are ready to dig in and get things done!

That said, if you’re a little underwhelmed by the transformation so far, I hear you. Right now everything is beige on beige, and it all adds up to BLAH. Not to mention, mounds of wood filler where cabinet knobs should be and an old tube light with no tubes in it are two things that never made anyone say, “How chic!” I’m not worried, though. I think that when the floors get painted, the whole look and feel of the room will change instantly.

I’m excited to be working on this project in the context of the One Room Challenge; I’m hoping the positive peer pressure will help keep me on track and make both my hat-wearing, Mint Julep-drinking, Derby party dreams and my successful kitchen reno a reality.

You can also find out about the projects other One Room Challengers are taking on here!