Big Reveal, Part 2: The Kitchen

When we first saw our home, we loved the Pergo that was in the living room.

The adjoining kitchen has blue linoleum, which we imaging being replaced by the same Pergo that was in the living room. We thought it would make the main floor feel more open and light having the same flooring throughout.


However, given our limited budget and time, we were never that serious about replacing the kitchen floor.

Until the home inspection revealed some rot underneath the kitchen floor by the back door. The subfloor needed to be replaced, which meant tearing out the existing kitchen floor. While we knew this would be a labor intensive project, we were still excited, because it gave us the perfect excuse to extend the American Beech Pergo flooring of the living room into the kitchen...just like we had imagined.

But before any of that could happen, the popcorn ceiling had to be removed. That involved days atop ladders and stools, wearing masks, equipped with spray bottles, scrapers, and sanders. We've tried to completey shut that portion of the home renovation out of our mind. It was more miserable that I will ever be able to convey. But worth it. Now, a home that had popcorn ceilings through out (and when I say through out, I'm including closests and bathrooms and every single other surface that could be interpretted as a ceiling.) Like they say, things must get worse before they get better.



Replacing the kitchen floor turned out to be just a slightly bigger project than previously anticipated. Turns out, the previous home owners had installed the blue linoleum right over the old linoleum, which had be installed right over the original linoleum. Between the layer of blue linoleum and tan linoleum, and then again between the layer of tan linoleum and original red, orange, and avacodo green checkered linoleum, was an additional subfloor. So, if you're keeping track, that's five, FIVE, layers of old flooring that needed to be removed before we could reach the damaged original subfloor. We discussed not fixing the subfloor and just laying the Pergo right over the five other layers of flooring. However, the kitchen floor was already raised nearly 1/2 inch compared to the living room floor due to previous homeowners taking this same approach.

So, we gritted our teeth and did it right. Well, Hubster did it right. I mostly watched between naps recovering from night shifts and overbearing senior residents. I will say this. When you come home to scenes like this, it can be slightly overwhelming.



The paint color was another challenge. I had thought about doing a lighter version of the living room color. But because we had to work around the existing countertops, I thought that it would be too much blue-gray in one room. Then we thought yellow. A yellow kitchen is so cheerful and friendly. However, after we starting painting the kitchen yellow, we didn't like how it felt next to the calming blue in the living room. The contrast was too much, and even though we had chosen a very creamy yellow, it felt much too bright.

One evening, as we were sitting there, staring at our very yellow wall, I confessed that I thought it wasn't the right color. Hubster chips in with, "Well, I always thought the yellow was a bad idea." Well, thanks.

After more paint cards stuck to the wall and more discussions, we decided on a warm cream. The color reminds me of antique parchment, comfortable linen, and Florida beaches. While quite neutral, it is warm and welcoming and works so nicely with the antique white trim that we extended in from the living room.

Between the new floors and new paint, our kitchen is mostly done.

BEFORE:



AFTER:


BEFORE:


AFTER:


BEFORE:


AFTER:


This room also suffers from lack of accessories. But just imagine a giant iron clock on the wall behind the table.


And a larger table that would actually have room for guests to sit at it. I love the idea of a table in the same dark espresso wood we used in the living room, surrounded by cross-back chairs in white, to pick up the color of the trim.


But even without those, our kitchen is nice. It is bright with so much light coming in from the large back door over looking the back yard.

It is also a place where extremely competitive games of Phase 10 are played and new attempts at cooking are both enjoyed and, um, declined.