An Apartment Kitchen Restyle

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: 

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.

These curtains came with the house. 

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: 

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.