Kitchen Transition

A couple of months ago I revealed our kitchen remodel.  

I LOVE white kitchens!  If you have a white kitchen, I LOVE your kitchen.  

I had thought long and hard before I decided how to redo our kitchen.  I considered a more French looking kitchen but I have always loved white kitchens so much, that I went that direction.

But when I posted pictures of our dining room a while back, I was unhappy that it looked like I had kitchen cabinets in my dining room - which I do.

And then the more I looked at it, the more I realized that I would have really liked a more French Country, rustic kitchen.

*sigh*  and then my husband sighs *sigh*

And then watches me paint again for days.

Well, anyway, I painted my lower cabinets in my dining room brown.  And then my son in law came over and pointed out that the lower cabinets were brown, the counter top was beige and the upper cabinets were white.  And it didn't look right.  (I still love him even though I might have pinched him. I'm too tired to remember.)

So I started antiquing our upper cabinets.  It's a subtle difference but the upper cabinets in the kitchen in the above picture are antiqued and the upper cabinet/china cabinet in the dining room is not.

I used an antiquing wax and painted it on with a brush, starting in the indented corners.  I then rubbed it off with a soft cloth, like an old t-shirt.  I then lightly sanded the whole thing, taking down the shine.

Warning:  if you are a do-it-yourselfer like I am, this technique will cause every flaw in your paint job to be "antiqued."  I found small mistakes I didn't know were there and had to sand them out. Also, it's a good ideas to lightly sand your doors before you start.  Even though I wiped them down, I found little drips that I couldn't see until the wax showed them up.  I used a sponge sander.

We'd still like to get a new stainless stove and put in a tile back splash.

I really like the white antiqued cabinets but I'm not sure about the brown.  I'm thinking chalk paint beige?  I'm going to finish the antiquing before I make a decision.

Our house was already in an uproar because for the last 2-3 weeks I had been pulling stuff out of the attic, the store room, the closets, the corners, the cupboards, the pantry - ruthlessly searching anywhere a tchotchke could hide.

All the tchotches were put in a pile along with extra furniture, rugs, curtains, lamps, dishes, etc, etc, etc to face the burning question - "Do we really need this?"

Then my husband joined the frenzy and began to purge the garage. When we were done, we had an impressive amount of ... stuff.

Friday morning, before the world was awake, it was all arranged "very attractively"on our driveway and notices went out on the internet that there were treasures to be had.

My daughter showed up early with my sweet grandchildren who sold lemonade - "We have plain or regular!"  and we were in business.

I had a lot of fun meeting people "who live just down the street" or "around the corner" and watching them haul away our stuff .  Our driveway emptied as our cash box filled up.

I brushed away tears as a sweet grandmother with her grandson in tow bought the bike that my son rode all the way from Big Rapids to Mackinac City in a three day marathon with 80 other kids.  A man that looked homeless bought a cheap electric guitar telling me that his uncle collects guitars.  We sold the dog crate that used to protect our sweet dog, who is now deceased.

I was blessed when an elderly couple bought a bunch of stuff and asked me, "Are you a decorator?! Everything is so beautiful!"  I told her that I liked to think so.

I hugged friends I hadn't seen in a while and had fun conversations catching up. I loved it when they bought things that I love, but are no longer my style, knowing that their homes would have something special of mine.

I gave stuff away to children and acquaintances.  I'm not a hard sell.  I ran up and down the driveway helping people load their cars.

Around one o'clock the threat of rain increased and things began to get blown over. My husband and son hurried to take everything that was left into the house or garage.
A Stroll Thru Life
I hobbled into the house, exhausted and happy.  I ate a hearty amount of food, rubbed my sore feet with essential oils, and passed out on the couch.  I slept off and on for 15 hours!  lol

I still have some stuff to decide what to do with.  But my house feels great!

In the next few weeks, we'll move my son downstairs, paint two bedrooms and get reorganized. Oh! And did I mention I'm painting the kitchen?

Hope you're having a great start to your summer!

love and blessings~

"Open your mouth, judge righteously, and defend the rights of the afflicted and needy."  Proverbs 31:9I'm joining these parties:Savvy Southern StyleCommon GroundImparting GraceA Stroll Thru LifePosed perfectionStone GableDwellingsFrench Country Cottage