Kitchen Redo On A Budget - Phase One

In my wildest dreams I would live in a big old farm house with oodles of history, that I could peel back the layers and discover what it's all about, all the while slowly transforming it into a dream home.

My reality however is...

When hubby and I were married 25 years ago, this coming Tuesday - we bought our first home shortly after. We live in a rural area of the small town that we both grow up in, and over the years we've made a few minor changes like new carpet, flooring, paint, upgraded windows and doors those kinds of basic things.

Now back to that reality thing.

Our first and only home is a 1700 sq. ft. 3 bdrm, 2 bath double wide manufactured home. (Notice the way I say manufactured home instead of mobile home?) Hee Hee, makes it sound more important doesn't it? Either way it's home and I've never thought the way mobile or manufactured homes are stigmatized is fair.

While it is a well built house and has served us well over the years, it lacked personality and has always looked like well just a double wide from the late 1980's.

So fast forward and here I am determined to spruce it up a bit and give it a little pizazz on a DIY budget. Here are a few before shots...

The kitchen and dining room before I started with the most recent changes.

If I had before shots from when we purchased the house 24 years ago you would be able to see the wall paper that had a hideous mauve and blue fruit print on it. It was probably considered gorgeous back in the day of 1987.

What could be more lovely than the faux wood look cabinetry? The sage green wall color was due to my love of green phase, it was enjoyable for awhile and a huge improvement over that wallpaper - trust me. Formica counter tops and original stove, complete this lovely corner.

The same boring cabinets, flooring and counters, but we had upgraded the fridge, dishwasher,

light fixtures and faucet. 

Now for the positives of my kitchen...

It is spacious, although if it was just a little bigger I would love to have an island in the center. I have a nice amount of storage space, mostly because years ago I removed a countertop and shelf area that served no purpose and added a bank of vintage cabinetry I had convinced my dad to yard out of my childhood home before it was torn down.

That would be them to the right in the photo, with the missing doors on the bottom and chalkboard paint on two of the other doors...what was I thinking - "giggle"

So to date I have managed to...

Paint some of the walls a more neutral color called "Moccasin," and an accent color along the sink wall called "Acorn Yellow," but the name is deceiving, it's more of a yummy Pumpkin Spice color and then painted the trim white.

After lots of sanding, two coats of primer and two coats of paint in a warm medium brown color that reminds me of hot cocoa, the cabinets have a new lease on life and I prettied them up with brushed stainless hardware.

Before painting the cabinets I removed the section of shelving from over the snack bar area and placed it on the wall to extend the length of the cabinets into the dining room. Much better and a more open feeling.

The stove area with a new stove, overhead combo convection, microwave and fan in place of the old stove hood. Tiled back splash that has the Pumpkin Spice color in it and a pressed tin stainless panel behind the stove, definitely an improvement.

and that bank of old cabinets looks like they belong with their fresh coat of paint and new hardware, next to them I added a mini fridge for beverages and some open shelving for a little more storage.

 So now for the future plans...

That snack bar area will be raised up to counter top height, and have pendant lighting installed overhead, new counter tops of a natural stone, new flooring...I'm thinking a warm toned plank wood flooring. The new flooring will extend into the laundry room as well for a better visual flow.

In the dining room where the sliding glass door is now will be a gorgeous new double french door that leads out onto a deck where we BBQ and hang out often. It's one of my favorite places to sit with a cup of coffee and watch my horses graze in their pasture.

It's a definite labor of love, and even though my dream of an old farm house is still just that a dream...our double-wide is home. and home is what you make it, and honestly it would be hard to leave this place because we have a lot of ourselves invested in the things we've done over the last 24+ years to make this...HOME!

What labor of love do you have going on in your home?

I would love to hear any suggestions on decor choices for my kitchen that you may have as I get ready to start on Phase 2, so please do share.

See you again very soon!
Toodles