In the middle of January, I walked into our kitchen and thought to myself, "I can replace those curtains." For some reason, I had never realized that those ugly plaid curtains were something I could change. I simply saw them as an extension to the dark wood paneling walls and cabinets. I don't know exactly what spurred this realization. Maybe it was the lack of sunshine during a particularly rainy January or my general distaste for the feel of our kitchen, but this revelation led me to restyle as much of our kitchen as possible.
Of course, I called Mom to brainstorm ideas, and we talked through possible ways to brighten the kitchen without painting (my lease won't allow it).
We settled on three main changes:
1. Covering the kitchen table in laminated fabric
-Our kitchen table is actually an old Singer sewing table, which my mother had covered in formica and used in her sewing store.
2. Making two new curtains
-I used a coordinating pink fabric from our local fabric store to construct these curtains and give color to the walls
3. Hanging a pegboard
-Thanks to Julia Child and my mother, this pegboard functions as storage and art.
I loved throwing my creative energy into choosing fabrics, sewing, painting, and researching the pegboard. Now that I have finished these three projects with help from Mom, Steve, and Collyn, I am delighted to reveal our results.
First, a few BEFORE photos:
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| The table was my first project. I completely forgot to take a photo before I covered it. Imagine a dark grey formica instead of fabric. |
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| These curtains came with the house. |
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| The wine rack and the pie safe are here to stay, but the little curtain had to go. |
So, you see the dark floor, dark walls, and dirty green curtains. Something had to change. The prints over the table were left from undergrad. I don't mind them, but they were only aiding in the darkening of the room.
Now, for the AFTER photos:
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| Thanks, Collyn for decorating the washer and dryer! |
Just a few photos of the rest of the kitchen:
Well, there you have it. I am beyond thrilled with the outcome of all three projects and now love walking into our kitchen. In the coming weeks (after the end of the semester), I will post descriptive, how-to guides for each project.
