Living On Island Time

Popcorn Ceiling

Elyzabeth reporting.

One of the first things that happened for the kitchen remodel was the removal of the "popcorn" texture on the ceiling. The only good place for popcorn in your house is in a bowl, with butter.

We had the crew remove the popcorn on all the ceilings in the house, re-texture and add a fresh coat of paint. They also installed new ceramic tile flooring throughout the downstairs. That set the stage for us to start on our part of the fun and games.

New Pot Rack

First, Mum and I switched out the black recessed lighting fixtures for new white ones. They just looked better. Then we installed a brushed stainless pot rack right over the island. Anyone who has been in our kitchen in the old Phoenix house will recognize the style. After looking at numerous styles of racks available, we chose one that was identical to our old one.  Fortunately for us, the ceiling joists were conveniently located so that we could anchor the thing into the wood and still have it centered over the island.  This insures that we can load it down with plenty of pots and pans and not have it crash down on us someday.

The Island, Before

Next, we gave all the kitchen cabinets a fresh coat of white paint.  First we removed all the doors, sanded and then gave everything a coat of Kilz. Last, we finished with two coats of interior semi-gloss white.

The old tile top from the island went away forever and we decided to add a new butcher block top to it. We bought it unfinished from Ikea. It's their NUMERÄR counter in beech. Very affordable and worth the drive over to Sunrise to pick it up. The only finish on it is several coats of Watco's Butcher Block Oil.  It gives a nice hard, non-toxic finish and a lovely gloss.

Island During

There were no handles on any of the cabinet doors, so we added them.  These are an oil rubbed bronze finish, which is essentially black with a faint copper sheen to it. The island cabinet doors have hidden hinges, but the remainder of the cabinets have visible hinges. We saved those and painted them all a flat black which matches the handles and knobs pretty well.

Finished Island

In this picture you can also see the new ceramic tile. It's a creamy taupe color in a smooth finish. Our last home we remodeled, we went with a textured finish for the tile and later discovered how hard it is to keep that clean. Dirt settles in every contour and crevice.

Stick with me and tomorrow, I will show off some more of our awesome and affordable kitchen remodel.

Regards,
Elyzabeth