Blue Happy Living

When we bought our home 5 years ago I couldn’t stand the kitchen. It was tired and had no color other than the shower tile that was used for a back splash. I started complaining a lot when my husband was around hoping that sooner or later he would give in and write the check to have it redone. It worked and I got my way. I made appointments to have several of the big box stores to come give me bids along with several contractors. The bids ranged from $24,000 to $37,000. I was shocked.

No way was I letting go of that money. Every contractor wanted to rip everything out rearrange things and start with a clean slate. I liked the way the kitchen flowed and the cabinets were in great shape so why rip this all out? I decided I was going to do research on what it would take to do it myself. After all, I’m addicted to HGTV and the DIY network.

For a few weeks I studied and researched my plan and presented it to my husband. Shockingly he said “ok if thats what you want we can try it. We can always call in a contractor to fix and finish it.” I don’t think he believed I could do it.

I started with the floor and moved to the cabinets painting them first then sanding of the corners and edges to give it that worn look. We had a great local company do the White Tiger granite.

Once those 3 items where in I noticed the black cabinets and the granite made the floors look more blue. This caused me to rethink my back splash color. Adding the blue glass with the stainless steel subway pulled the floor up to work with all the black and gray.

In the pictures you will notice the cabinets with the glass fronts. These cabinets were not original to the home in there place was a bar open to the joining room to the kitchen. We closed it in and built the cabinets to give me more space to display my pretty dishes. My center island I painted a different color and glazed it with a grayish stain. I thought it was important to have it look different than the cabinets. It was painted a dusty blue color and the handle are different from the other cabinets.

Finally adding the decorative items to finish it off. The kitchen table was tossed out for the trash by someone who sold their home. I refinished it by sanding and painting adding a clear coat and now its good as new.Most everything in my home has been redone, reused, and renewed. There is something about taking something old and given up on and making it new.

Now how much did I spend? I shopped builder surplus stores for most of my supplies. Cost list: Floors $400, Paint for cabinets $200, Paint for Walls $80, Cabinet Hardware $125, Granite $2800, New stove $800, Back Splash $300, Decorative items $150 GRAND TOTAL $4855 TADA!!!!! I had set a $5000 budget and I did it.

It’s very scary to start such a big project. I think if you are willing to start to redo the space you live in start with a simple project. Repaint and reorganize your bedroom or a guestroom. What ever you do make sure you are decorating the room to make you HAPPY!