My concrete kitchen counters are done!
Layers of gritty concrete dust have finally been whisked away.
The wood surfaces have all been scrubbed and waxed.
Fresh blue paint covers the walls.
Heaps of misplaced kitchen goods are returned to their drawers and cupboards.
And my restless DIY-ing heart is finally at peace.
I am kind of in love with how the counters turned out. True to the tutorials I relied upon, the process was involved but not particularly difficult.
I find myself running my hands across the smooth, sleek surface with unnecessary frequency.
I'm just totally delighted with how they turned out - inexpensive, durable, and stylishly up to date. I'm ridiculously happy to be done with my old outdated and worn-out 80s tile.
I'm also satisfied with the new vibe of the room. Without any drastic changes or expensive upgrades, I managed to create some new energy with my favorite dishes and accessories on the counter tops and open shelves.
^ Looking back on how my styling evolved, I can see that my inspiration can be traced back to this fellow.
A grey elephant bowl.
My fourth-born gave him to me for my birthday this year, and up till now, he's been living in my dining room.
The color of the recently completed counter tops sparked in my brain the idea that my elephant should come on over and enjoy the new grey vibe in the kitchen. And once he got settled on the shelf, I began to deliberate about what might belong in his bowl.
Umm, peanuts. Obviously. So I bought a bag of peanuts in the shell and loaded my boy up.
Now here's where it gets a little weird.
In my head, this curly-trunked pachyderm full of earthy brown legumes sparked in me a wicked 70s vibe.
Kind of a macrame hanging,
earthenware pottery,
organic wicker and woodsy,
granola-eating sort of jam.
I have no idea why I thought this look might be appealing. But it spoke to me. And I could not help myself. So I ran with it.
Natural baskets.
Stoneware vessels.
Wooden bowls.
Whole food treats.
Now, when I'm in my kitchen, I feel like I should be reading a copy of Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet and burning incense. Or listening to Cheech & Chong's Big Bambu on vinyl. So 70s.
Not every inch of my updated kitchen screams Joni Mitchell and Pure Prairie League. The updated counter stools are fairly postmodernist sleek, and my shiny ten-years-ago teakettle lives on. Ain't nothing Brady Bunch about them.
But to my eyes, the 70s references pop up here, there and everywhere. Heck, even Ranger fits with the nostalgic color scheme of pumpkins and rust.
Trust me, I am not unaware of the irony. In the wake of my noble and messy efforts to drag my 80s kitchen into the post-millennial present, I have unexpectedly taken it back to the folksy, harvest-toned 70s.
Guess my kitchen is just destined to go its own way.
* * * * *
A break-down of my kitchen upgrade adventure:
* * * * *
Want to see the rest of my house? Check these out:
Home Tour: Old Dog, New Tricks
Home Tour: She Will Move Mountains
Home Tour: Something Old, Something New
Home Tour: Old Dog, New Tricks
Home Tour: She Will Move Mountains
Home Tour: Something Old, Something New
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please comment...I'd love to hear from you!