A Little Kitchen Before & After
It has almost been a year since I saw my current home for the first time at an estate sale. It’s hard to believe because I feel like it was just yesterday. I loved the location and knew it had so much potential. The layout was just what I was looking for if I was going to make a move. And I fell in love with the family that was selling their mother’s home. She had lived in it since she built it with her husband in 1953 and died at the age of 98, still living in this sweet little brick abode.
While I am still settling in and have much more on the list of things I need and want to do to this house, the kitchen is complete. And it is a dream. I thought I would share a little before and after and some of the details!
Before
The kitchen had been modified throughout the years and did not still have any of the 1953 charm that I might have tried to keep. The layout was awkward, and a strange lattice divider made it feel closed off from the den area. I did not love the range next to the sink. The fridge was on the wall by the window in the 2nd photo. The odd window in the 4th photo was an original exterior window that overlooked a back porch. At some point the porch was closed in to add a bedroom addition, and that porch is now the side entry hall. I knew I wanted to move the range, and I thought that might be a good place to put it if we could close in that window. You can see below that I think that was a good call!
After
Ta-da!
While there was very healthy pine and red oak under the carpet in most areas of the house, the kitchen floor was going to need a total revamp. We replaced and reinforced the subfloor, and I selected a porcelain brick-look tile from a local supplier. I chose a natural grout color and asked for it to mimic mortar, and we laid the tile in a traditional basketweave pattern.
The cabinets were custom made and painted in Benajamin Moore Linen White in a lacquer finish. I also used Linen White on the walls (eggshell) and trim (semi-gloss). All new GE appliances — especially my double oven gas range — make my heart happy!
For lighting, we installed wafer lights (that I rarely turn on). I selected a small brass flush mount from Wayfair for over the kitchen sink, also from Wayfair. My faucet is brushed nickel from Wayfair, too!
Dish Pantry
My favorite thing is the dish pantry. I have a lot of dishes. I inherited many of them from my mom and grandmothers, and I like to shop for more. My bestie knows my weakness, too, so she often adds to my collection for birthdays and Christmas! I wanted A LOT of dish storage, and this wall was the perfect place to put a full wall dedicated to that. I’ll share more detailed photos of it sometime soon.
Another fun component to this kitchen is the cabinet hardware. The knobs and pulls are “vintage” leftovers from when my parents built our family home in the early 90s. I have been hauling around a box full of them for years since my mama passed away just waiting for the right time to use them. The are polished brass, but are the only really “flashy” component to the otherwise neutral room.
The furniture pieces in this room are all second-hand. The Amish cupboard is from the Vintage Home Market at Carroll’s Nursery here in Dothan. The table (that I use as my prep/work table because it’s just the right height for me) and French rush-seat chairs are Facebook Marketplace finds.
All in all, I am so pleased with how my kitchen turned out. It faces east so the natural light in the morning is a great way to start my day. It does make it hard to get the lighting right for photos on a sunny day!
Feel free to comment or send me an email if you have questions about any of the details.
*Some kitchen sources linked here (commissionable link).