A not-so-mini kitchen redo!

Helloooo there! Hope you had a great weekend!

I am SO EXCITED to share some fun news with you � I�m talking giddy, I am not worthy, glorious news.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I have been planning a mini redo of our  kitchen:

It�s usually a bit more dressed up than in this picture, but I had just decluttered, so the extra stuff was outta there that day. :)

I think I totally freaked some of you out when I said I might paint the cabinets. I kid! I kid! I�m not going to paint (most of) them! Really, I love our gorgeous cherry/maple cabs and I am not planning on touching (most of) them!

I am so annoying. I know.

My mini redo plan was to do a new backsplash and replace the sink and faucet. The faucet I told you about a long time ago in this post:

It is the most fantastically annoying faucet ever made. It�s SO low, so basically anything I wash/fill/rinse smacks into it when I am trying to wash/fill/rinse it.

And since we moved in six years ago, the sink has bothered me because it was installed crooked. I showed my husband once and he just shook his head at me, but it�s true. A whole half inch. That�s like, two feet in Sarah-length. It drives me mad.

Plus, I realized ohhhhh, about two months ago, that the wrong sink was installed. It�s not what we picked out. Six years ago. So I notice a half inch of crookedness within days, but the wrong sink I don�t notice till last month.

Fantastically awesome, I am.

Anyhoo � my mini redo was going to be enough to lighten up the space and make me happy.

And then I heard birds singing. Actually I didn�t hear anything � it was an email from American Express. My dear friend Jessica (she�s a dear friend now anyway) asked if I would like to participate in their spring home makeover initiative to promote their Membership Rewards program.

Um. Yes. Yes I would.

Jessica, my BFF, explained that they are trying to show how card members can use their Membership Rewards points to pay for home improvement and decor items. I know many of us use them to pay for travel, but I was completely shocked at what you are able to get for your home with points as well. I�m talking gift cards to Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel, Restoration Hardware�swoon.

Because I am the crazy nut that I am, the one that got me the most excited was a big orange gift card that said �Home Depot.� You�ve got to be kidding me.

Sooo�Amex has given me reward points to transform a room in our house! I am completely beside myself and feeling quite blessed that I was chosen to be a part of this opportunity. I was asked to pick a redo of our master bedroom, family room or kitchen. And since the kitchen was in the works anyway�it was a pretty easy decision.

I am pinching myself! Gleeeee!!

It's hard for me to pay to have anything installed, so I hope to show you the how-to on a lot of the projects I have planned. Your dollar goes so much further when you tackle it yourself.

So here�s the rough plan for the kitchen over the next few weeks:

Pretty self explanatory with those nifty arrows, but I hope to master the art of coping with crown molding � and I�ll show you how it goes. We had the ceiling painted (same color as the walls) in our great room space years ago, I�ve been positively itchin� to get white crown up there against the wall and ceiling since then.

I have a grand plan to drive two hours to our nearest Ikea to purchase butcher block to replace the island counter. I�ve never been to Ikea. Never used butcher block. Never replaced a countertop. We�ll see how that goes.  ;) It will have to be cut to the size I need, and I�m still working on that as well.

From what Nice Ikea Guy told me on the phone, they don�t have the dark wood tone I want, so I am doing a little research � I think I can stain it and then finish it off to protect it. (We will not be prepping food directly on the counter.)

I�d like to look into some new accessories for above the cabinets. It�s been years since I changed much of it out, so I�m really excited about that. (And I may be able to buy some items directly from Pottery Barn?! What the what? Without making my own knock off?!)

I�m also getting rid of the black, shiny backsplash and I have an idea to give the refrigerator area a more custom look:

I also hope to put glass fronts in a few of the cabinets to break them up a bit. You know how it goes � I see it in my head�but we�ll see how that vision turns out.  ;)

I have this dream of a gorgeous chandelier over the island, but I think it would be too much with the light over the table, the sink light, the recessed lights, yes?:

So instead I�ve already removed the pot rack to see how it looks without, and I cannot tell you what a difference it has made in here!! It really seems twice as big. Hubby and I both stood back and were in awe. Crazy what a difference the simplest changes make. (I�ll show you soon!)

I hope to darken the stain on the top of the kitchen table, and perhaps paint the base � maybe cream, maybe black. I�m not sure yet.

The bay window area will get some changes as well, including a lighter coat of paint on that wall. (It�s quite dark there in real life.)

By the way, bear with me on these pictures � I copied them from different posts over the years.  ;)

I have MANY more projects in mind � and they won�t all get accomplished over the next few weeks of course. But I�ll share my plan, the process, and the purchases along the way.

Starting with this week � I was asked to use 50,000 Amex points to start, and with that I was able to buy a $500 Home Depot gift card. (Hate me, I know. I�ve been there. Seriously.)

So this weekend I bought the black granite kitchen sink I�ve been ogling for two years now:

And because I thought an oil-rubbed bronze faucet may disappear against the black sink, I got a stainless set (to match the appliances) similar to this one:

And this is where I�d love your thoughts � does anyone have a single bowl sink and love it? Hate it? I love them but don�t know if they are practical for us. I am constantly rinsing paint brushes and sanding blocks and all that good stuff, and that all ends up in the right bowl in our sink for weeks days. So I feel like I need a spot to put clutter. Isn�t that great? :) But I would love your thoughts if you have a large, single bowl sink.

Also, I was thisclose to purchasing the faucet that you pull out, with the sprayer on the end of the nozzle -- I wasn�t sure how well it would hold up though. Anyone have one? Can you adjust the spray pressure? Has it held up well?

Basically � is there anything concerning a new sink or faucet I need to know? We�re having a friend (or my Dad? Wanna come over?? Smiles sweetly.) help us with the installation, but we are just a teensy bit clueless on what to pick out. I�ve never done this before peeps. I would love your thoughts!

And because I am so excited about this redo, I already started this:

Aren�t you SO GLAD you don�t live with me?  :)

I�m thrilled that there�s a little somethin� somethin� from Amex coming for one of you too!  Stay tuned for a great giveaway in the next few weeks!

 

TDC is one of five blogs picked to promote the Amex Membership Rewards program.
I have received reward points to use as I wish to redo a room in our home.