Minor facelifts

For the first two years we were in this house, we dedicated much of our home improvement efforts (and money) on the outside of the house. A new paint job, cleaning up the overgrown and neglected landscaping, getting the sprinklers working well, removing a few trees, you get the idea . . .

Now it's time to tackle the inside!

We started in the rooms we spend the most time—the kitchen and family room. A fresh, warm coat of paint on the walls did wonders to liven up the space. It went from a drab off-white to a warm yellow-gold.

A new sectional and a few new pieces of art for the walls make the room feel a little more complete.

We've still got some work to do to finish it up . . . an area rug, sofa table, and TV cabinet are on the docket, but we're getting there.

The construction of the kitchen has always seemed strange to me. We have awesome appliances—a huge built-in Sub-Zero fridge, double ovens, and a six-burner Thermador stove are a dream come true. But the cabinets were basic paint grade cabinets, painted white with stainless steel hardware. Yuck. The paint was starting to chip, and looked pretty awful, and it was just so . . . white.

Since a total kitchen remodel wasn't in the budget, we opted for the next best thing . . . to paint over them!

We chose a soft greenish gray color for the cabinets to tie in the green in the countertops, with a coffee glaze in the grooves to give them an antiqued, semi-distressed look. We added green wainscoting along the backside of the bar. The result?

The new cabinet color ties in beautifully with the granite, and the distressed look adds dimension and interest. We pulled off the weird gaudy golden scrolls and added wainscoting to the back side of the island bar, to tie in the cabinets. The wall color is a soft, golden hue and the whole area looks much warmer now. I'm a happy camper (or, should I say, a happy cooker?)!