Our Kitchen Renovation: Before + After

I've been dying to show you guys the dramatic difference from frumpy 1970's kitchen, to a chic and welcoming space. It's by far my favorite room in the house since I enjoy cooking and baking frequently, and I am loving how it turned out.

Our kitchen inspiration was a light and fresh space full of colorful pops of green, yellow and turquoise. We chose to conserve our tight budget by painting our current cabinets and switching out the hardware, which added the extra light and modern feel we were going for. We painted the walls a nice neutral gray to provide a clean contrast to our fresh white cabinets. It also set the perfect canvas to play with colorful accessories!

Due to the limited space, we chose to maximize what area we had in clever ways. I can't tell you how good it felt to knock out a few unused cabinet nook and crannies.

AKA... goodbye outdated bread box and hello fabulous counter space!!

Need a good tip? I simply tried to explain to Adam that the more counter space we have means the more baked goods I'm able to whip up with the extra room. ;) Instant win.

How do you think we did?

And to wow you even more... here is a photo that was taken before Adam purchased the house almost 4 years ago. We've come a LONG way! 

We changed the little corner of dead space into a cute little coffee bar area and we love how it all came together! We took our sweet love print from our wedding to add some art deco and personalization.

I am typically not great at visualizing spaces or decorating, but I am pretty proud with the accessories that we chose. i love how the space reflects our personalities and contemporary style.

And of course, a HUGE thank you to my sweet daddy who dedicated hours and hours to re-wiring our electrical, installing our range hood, and dealing with our home's 1970's eccentricities! It was a wild ride.

Oh yeah, and his studly assistant was a pretty big help too!! Love you both!

I know a few of you have seen little glimpses on Instagram and asked where you can find certain items used, so I listed out the details below for you!

Project Materials //

Wall Color // Sherwin Williams Functional Gray

Trim & Cabinet Color // Sherwin Williams Dover White

Subway Glass Tile

Granite

Sink

Drawer Half Cup Pull

Door Handle

Accessories //

Baker's Rack

Retro Wall Clock

Green Apple

Lemons in Vase 

Scentsy Yellow Plug-In

Blue Glass Vases

Green Potted Grass

Yellow Stand Mixer

Votive Candle - sold out // similar one here

Printed Coffee Mugs - sold out // other Crate and Barrel mugs here

Lemon Towel - sold out // other Crate and Barrel towels here

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What do you guys think?!

Pinterest Projects + Photo Proof

I have been excited to share fun photos and projects with all of you since I finished them last night! As we all know, Pinterest is a big jungle where we can easily get lost in the vibrant colors or general ideas of the pinned photos, and being the blonde that I am, it's easy to get lost when I see shiny pretty things! ;)

So I needed to figure out a system that could help me better organize my Pinterest boards and actually USE what I'm pinning. As I said on Twitter last night, I don't want to just pin to pin, I want to pin to improve/challenge myself.


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My system is fairly simple.

1) I make sure that I only pin things that I actually think I will use.

2) Clearly name/organize boards so that things are easy to find.

3) Create a board where you can move pinned items to, where your goal is to accomplish those things in a set time frame.

The name of my board? "This Week's Projects" ...clever.

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{ This Week's Projects }


+ Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars

These were delicious and such a hit! My inspired recipe on my blog post here.





+ Kitchen Organization

I saw the title "Become More Organized in 2012" and was hooked. This website, Delightful Order, is unreal and so inspirational when it comes to organization.

I tackled the kitchen pantry portion in order to tame my baking supplies. Stopped by Target for some cheap ($2.99 - $3.99) storage containers, shelf organizers ($7.99), and love how good the before and after pictures make me feel! Less stress in the kitchen (my happy place) is so great! Case in point...

{Before}



{After}




+ Weight Loss Visual Motivation

Saw this idea, and knew it was for me. I know it's such a simple, straight forward idea, but I'm a visual learner. Al you need is 2 jars, marbles (each representing 1 pound), and stickers to label the jars however you'd like. Each time you lose a pound you move a marble over into the "Lbs Lost" jar. Love it.

Whenever I see these jars I am reminded of my gol. After losing 5 lbs. i often want to celebrate, but I can't slack because I can see that I still have 20 marbles to go. I loved how these jars turned out, and they have now moved from my living room to my kitchen counter. May the remind me of the healthier lifestyle I am working toward - Woo! :)





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So there you have it! I'm hoping to move more projects over to my "This Week's Projects" board soon... being productive feels good!


What projects are you working on?