Tuesday, February 03, 2015

Kitchen Before Pics + stream of consciousness rambling

We're on day three of being gloriously snowed in.

Okay, well, we're not actually still snowed in today BUT I have nothing outside-the-house on the calendar, the local school district is closed, and after today we have five days straight of commitments.  So.  We are staying home and I am loving it.  Love love love love.

It's at times like this that I question whether or not I'm really an extrovert.  See, I used to think that extrovert meant likes to hang out with friends and talk, but now that I know that it means "is energized by being around others" whereas introvert means "is energized by being alone" I'm starting to notice that, you know, after being out doing things day after day after day I need to just hunker down a bit to recharge.  So does that make me an extremely social introvert?  Does it matter? Why am I still talking?

Oh hey, here's a non-kitchen picture:


I miss Cari's Theme Thursday photography link-up because it forced me to take photos I wouldn't have thought to take BUT my 50mm lens is broken so my pictures are mostly not turning out the way I'd like ( www . first world problems . com ) so maybe I jinxed her or something.  Anyway, I first learned how to take a sun flare photo because of that challenge a year or two ago and every now and then I say "quick!  Here's my chance!" And it works! Like magic.

 Stream of consciousness!  Weeeeeee!

Oh!  I've been intending to try and do a video tour of our kitchen before we tear it out, but I don't know how to use our editing software and I get all mental about putting a long, rambling, unedited video on here of me wandering around our kitchen, like whoa.  Dweej.  You're much funnier in writing and all that.

Want a photo tour instead?  Of course you do!

An electric blue spice rack affixed to the wall beneath a yellow, non-functional vent hood.  Neither is centered over the stove.

 The stove is covering a portion of the door frame.  It has no oven timer.  Let me repeat: No. Oven. Timer.

Oh, is this duct tape I see holding the counter top to the wall?  Why yes, yes I do believe it is.
And that burnt spot on the counter there= tres chic.

Do you like how I didn't clean the kitchen before taking these?  It'll make the after so much more legit.  Too legit to quit.

Oh my gosh seriously with the brown EVERYWHERE in this place.  Even the light switch plates are wooden!  Make it staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahp.  
Do you like how the one around that electrical socket is just kind of free-floating there?  Makes me proud.

This behemoth of a fridge is...what can I even say?  The rust on the door that makes it look perpetually dirty is one of my favorite details. 
 Also, please note the complete lack of cabinetry or countertops adjacent to or above this appliance DESPITE THE FACT THAT THERE IS AMPLE SPACE ON ALL SIDES.  I mean seriously with that plastic phone shelf and the wire just dangling there.  Wow.  NB: absence of baseboard trim.

Hey hey hey, here's the shot from the other day!  False front has fallen off, tiny dishwasher is broken but would be too tiny to bother using anyway, rusty hinges contrast the not-white cabinets in just the wrong way.  Cha cha cha!
Honestly, washing dishes by hand has not really been that bad.  What HAS been bad is that the counters are *never* clear.  Either there are dirty dishes waiting to be washed, or clean dishes drying or waiting to be put away.  When you have a functioning dishwasher, the dishes can be dirty or clean but still hidden in the machine.  

This shot gives you a pretty good view of the poorly installed floor.  Real parquet = lovely.  Linoleum parquet in BROWN (oh my gosh so much brown.  Brown brown browny brown brown everywhere) equals not at all lovely.   
No matter how clean I clean this kitchen it never looks clean so it's really discouraging and I have a hard time forcing myself to clean it.  Does that make sense to you guys?

Here's the built-ins that you've seen before (love the space, hate the look.  I mean that 1970s shade of BROWN.  Help me.) next to the furnace chimney that has theeeeee ugliest dark mortar around those weirdly colored bricks.
baby head photobomb
Don't get me wrong!  I love brick as a rule, but the brick in our living room is such a great color, with all these neat natural variations and light grey mortar, so the contrast of that against this (you can see them both at the same time if you stand in the middle of the kitchen) makes me a leeeeetle bit twitchy.

We've since moved that trashcan out of the way.  And put away all those groceries.  But can you see what I'm sayin' with this kitchen?  Can you feel me, friends? 

It's gotta go, go, go.  Yep.  Go far, far away.
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21 comments :

  1. Oh, my eyes eyes eyes. I didn't realize it was that bad! Tear it all out now, friend!! DO IT!!!! When we moved in our place the kitchen was all the brown all the everywhere, too. Brown wainscot, brown cabinets, brown striped wallpaper, brown fan, cutesy wood outlet covers, and then black stove. Ugh. Awful. I feel your pain.

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  2. All I can say, "Wow, so much potential!" I can't wait to see the after, it's going to be spectacular...whatever it is!

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  3. Can't wait to see your new kitchen! Thanks for sharing the "before!"

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  4. WITH ALL THE BROWN! Whoa.

    The good news is that no matter what you do, the after pics are going to look ah-maaaaaaaazing.

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    1. I keep saying it because it's true: Even when we rip it out it's gonna look better than it does right now!

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  5. I totally get not wanting to clean it because it's just going to look gross no matter what you do. That's how I felt about our sublet apartment. The perk was less cleaning for 4 months.... So there's the silver lining.

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  6. OK, so… let's take your mind of all the brown and talk about what your plans are. What are you thinking about doing? Do you have a color scheme? Thoughts on flooring material? When does the demolition start? Let us help you escape into your mind and the future!!!

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    1. Yes, yes! I have all sorts of visions in my mind. If you look at my Pinterest boards I have one called "new casa new kitchen" with lots of ideas swirling around but maybe I'll do an inspiration post tomorrow for 5 faves??? Yes. That sounds like a faboooolous idea.

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  7. Hmm, reminds me a lot of our kitchen when we bought this place. I just found "before" pictures that my dad had taken. Keep these photos, you will forget just how bad it was, trust me. One thing I can say is we recently put laminate "wood" flooring in our kitchen. It looks beautiful but is so slippery that our table and chairs are constantly sliding. Not a good situation when you are only 5' 3"! Just thought I'd bring it up because, wish I had known before we put it in.

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  8. It will be great when it's done! You could try to white wash the brick, it could help it blend in.

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  9. Can't wait to see what you do with it! I've had some bad kitchen times, with plywood for counters, broken dishwasher, broken disposal, leaky pipes...so glad all that is behind us. It just takes the soul out of you. And I totally get the why should I clean if it won't look clean anyway thing. Yep yep.

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  10. Sooooo brown. And not-white. And wow. Can't wait to see how awesome it's GOING to look though!!

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  11. It's ugly. However. I have yet to see a home where the backsplashes AND the OUTLETS were mirrors. MIRRORS. Until we bought our current home. Count your blessings, woman! ;)

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  12. ^^ outlet covers. And I was 10 weeks post-partum, so I got to see my flabby flabbiness allll day long. Not fun!

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  13. That's a lot of brown in a lot of places (my house has this problem but with this really awful beige color). And I agree with what a few others have said: no matter what you end up doing, it's going to look fabulous in comparison to the "before." Can't wait to hear about all of your ideas for it. :)

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  14. Even that outlet is sad about the kitchen!

    Just so we're clear, though, you really like this house, right? See, I kind of don't get remodeling. I am generally just fine with whatever is in a kitchen/bathroom/whatever that makes other people go WAAAAHHHHH. Except peeling paint. I kind of do want to redo my bathroom that has that. (But not enough to actually do it.)

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    1. Oh yes, the property is amazing. The landscaping the fencing, the outbuildings, the location, the quality of construction, the size. All the things you can't fix are awesome a d if it had been lovely in every room, I don't imagine we would've been able to afford it, so YAY! :)

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  15. I feel ya. I have a.bathroom like this. It even has all the browny brown. And I hate hate hate cleaning it. Who the heck wants to mop ugly broken bathroom floor? Who?!

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  16. Ha! If it makes you feel better, our home's previous owners used to fry everything in a counter top fryer. When we moved in ALL the cabinets had a layer of grease on them. AND there is a massive melted spot from said fryer. It makes the counter look dirty all the time.

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  17. I cannot WAIT to see after pics!! You'll get there! Laundry room/mudroom = Done. Next up = kitchen. Unless you did another room that I missed. :)

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  18. Oh my. I cannot wait to see the after pictures!

    Also, yes, being a social introvert is TOTALLY a thing, and we can be it together, because that's how I describe myself. And why I love snow days. :) We got about four feet of snow in a week, and we're supposed to get another foot tomorrow into Sunday. Fun fun! Maine is totally rocking the winter now, after a horrible start.....

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