The Kitchen Dilemma

My style has evolved over the years. I appreciate that things need to be comfortable, and you cannot impose a style on a structure that was not built with that style in mind (unless you want to spend BIG BUCKS). I have always allowed the house to tell me how it wants to look. I literally try to listen to it and give it a fair shake at what is going to happen. I don’t believe I’m hearing any voices, but there’s time yet for that. Just call it a form of mutual respect between ME and HOUSE.

My biggest challenge in this house is the kitchen. I am already tip-toeing towards country with the Paris corner in there. I have my little landscapes all crowded around the eat-in table, with “The New Yorker” print thrown in for good measure. This house is screaming “cottage” at me, and I have to listen.

If I could, I would rip this kitchen out completely and start again, but I can’t. That said, I have to work with what is here. I LOVE the Farmhouse sink. That will stay through whatever renovations happen over time. And the farmhouse sink is…. country.

Sometimes, if a room is so bad, I feel like I can’t face it at all. It is completely overwhelming. Where do you start? This is how I feel about this kitchen. The other day, I was busily trying to ignore the faux-painted backsplash again and decided I had had enough. I went into the basement and grabbed a leftover can of paint, Benjamin Moore’s Rich Cream, put the baby down for a nap, and started to paint.

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The cream color is soothing and giving me the feel of a clean slate. I am getting ideas and thinking I can make a lot of change here for not a lot of money. The hardware is outta here! I will replace it with these black distressed pulls and get rid of the shiny chrome.

The scalloped pieces of wood hiding the fluorescent lights are as good as gone! And the floor! I am going to put down some multi-colored slate tile and the linoleum will soon be history.

The island that I found on Craig’s List for $75 about 4 years ago fits perfectly into a country kitchen.

I still have to finish painting the rest of the kitchen Rich Cream. Paris still has the old paint. This space will be transformed a little at a time, just wait and see. And for now, I am saving the switch plates, faux-painted with love, as mementos. Something to keep me going, so that when I am down, I can remember how far we have come already.

© copyright 2013 Mariam d’Eustachio.