Home Stretch Part II

Only got about an hour before I have to leave, but I would like to start out by sharing that I have just spent the entire morning sitting in the kitchen, something I haven't done since Christmas! And there may be no countertop, so sink and slabs of wood leaning against one wall, but it's still a whole lot nicer than it was the last time I sat in here!

So, where were we? Oh yes, I remember. The pantry had just been finished, the walls had been papered and beadboarded, and the microwave and Mrs. C had just been moved in. With that, it was time to bring the fridge back in.




Shortly after the cabinets and their doors were painted and reassembled, the Viking turned his attention to the spaces on either side of the stove and under the sink. We pulled cupboards out of there, used them elsewhere and didn't have it in our budget to buy new ones so he decided to create custom units to replace them.

Here you can see the shelving units on either side of Mrs. C. They're going to be painted green like the cabinets and left open with baskets for potatoes, onions and other items I'd like to have handy.

The sink "front" and legs are going to stay white and I'm making a skirt out of red ticking I bought on Fabric Row a few weeks ago. You can also see a corner of the finished island in this shot.

Once the new cabinet units were built and the cabinets for the island were anchored, measurements for the countertops were FINALLY taken and the order was placed. We decided to go with the red quartz for the island top. It came in about a week ago and looks better than we had even imagined.

We painted the "front" of the island the same green as the cabinets and I sanded them a little to distress them. We found these great porcelain knobs and chrome drawer pulls at Home Depot that I think add just the right touch of vintage charm.

Here's The Viking, resting on his laurels for just a moment, looking very tired and proud, as he should.

Completion of the island left little else to be done besides little jobs like trim and crown molding while we wait for the butcher block to come in, so we put in the light fixtures and started on the ceiling. We put the chandelier in a few years ago and have decided to keep it (though I am seriously considering spray painting it so it better matches the chrome of the stove, sink and drawer pills, but don't tell The Viking). The fixtures over the sink (which you'll see a few pics down) are new and provide lots of task lighting over the sink.

I don't think it shows very well in this pic, but this is the ceiling camoflauged with the faux wood planks made by Armstrong. It's not the real thing, which we originally wanted to install, but it looks pretty darn good, was easy to put up and was much kinder to our budget.

So, here it is, the most updated pic I have of our kitchen renovation, including my sweet Viking, sitting at the computer, checking his email. As you can see, we wrapped the "back" of the island with beadboard to match the backsplash and lower half of the walls. You can't really see the color of the island (it shows up much better in daylight), but I think you can get the general idea. The large piece of cardboard to the right of the island is concealing the dishwasher (or protesting it, according to The Viking), and yes, the bulb is blown in the far right lamp over the sink. It keeps blowing out for some reason...have to check that.

The plan now is to relax a little, finish the trim, paint the side door (not pictured), find some kitchen rugs and a few stools, make the sink curtain and valances, and wait for the countertop to come in. Once that's here, the sink goes in, the disposal and dishwasher get hooked up and we are back in business! I was hoping this would all be finished by next week, but at this point I'm hoping to be back to normal by My Boy's birthday the first week of March. We'll see.

Okay, gotta run. Hope you enjoyed all the new pics and the first view of our new vintage cottage kitchen!