My Kitchen Before and After

While cleaning up my email files yesterday, I came across these photos my husband took of our house before we moved in almost four years ago. Lots of people including dear friends managed to miss out on our old kitchen, so I thought I would share these before and after photos.


Here are a couple before shots (with the prior inhabitants' furnishings and accessories):

It's your basic cherry-stained cabinet suburban kitchen. For me, it was WAY too dark. I like light and airy. Can you see the counters? Wait, I've got a closer shot . . .

They are some sort of greenish-gray or grayish-green (I'm not sure) tile with gray grout. Next to the reddish brown cabinets. Not a good color combo. Several months after we moved in, we tackled a modest kitchen renovation.


We didn't have a ton of money to spend on a total kitchen re-do, and overall, the layout of the kitchen was fine. So, I went with what I thought would make the most visual impact. I had the cabinets painted and new counter tops and a new backsplash installed. Oh, and we got a new sink and refrigerator but kept the rest of the appliances (for now).


So, without further ado, here's the way the kitchen looks today . . .

Overall, I'm very pleased with my kitchen . . .

I would have loved to have had carrara marble counter tops, but I went with cream for the cabinets (white seemed too stark for this house) and I don't think the white marble would have worked. So, maybe in my next home, I'll go with the all-white dream kitchen. 

I must say my favorite part of the kitchen is the backsplash. They're hand-glazed caramel-colored ceramic subway tiles from some California-based company (the name escapes me now). I love them. Of course, there's more that could be done (pendant lights over the island, a gas cook-top and a fancy stainless vent-a-hood), but for now it makes me happy.