Saturday, July 31, 2010

Before & After

On Wednesday, our kitchen looked like this.


Take note of the brown countertops which have lived with us for twenty-five years and enjoyed infrequent use for serious cooking purposes.
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Unsurprisingly, not a single scratch disturbs the leather-grained surface, but this look is out and granite is in.



Thursday morning, I snapped these photos of the miracle workers who were about to bring my kitchen into the twenty-first century.
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As you can see, the old countertop is nowhere in sight, discarded as if it's of no value to us anymore. Call us heartless homeowners, if you must.



The sink's out of sight as well, but not for long. The plumber removed it yesterday and it's on the floor in the corner. Fortunately, it's quite new (sporting granite as well) and won't be banished from our home, but returned to its place later today.

We hired the best cabinet/countertop makers and installers that Lon knows since we'll undoubtedly keep the new countertops forever.






I came home during my lunch hour and was greeted by this entirely different look.
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I think the shades of black, brown and off-white in the new surfaces, blend in nicely with the wall, floor and appliance colors.



The sheen is a change as well and I like it, especially at night, when the lights reflect off it.









I think I should let the new countertop "set" for a few months before I actually use it. It wouldn't be polite to expect too much of it before its acclimated to its surroundings.
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Let's pause and reconsider. Perhaps I'm not as heartless as I felt earlier. Laziness I'll admit to, whereas, lacking heart could prove to be fatal.





Our bear, standing aloof behind the television, isn't the least bit interested in our project. He could at least turn this way and appear life-like for the camera, if he's expecting us to keep feeding him.














18 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love your new granite countertops, the contrast with white cupboards is quite elegant. I hope you donated your flawless old counters to some less fortunate soul.
You are so lucky to have a interior decorator husband, I can never convince your Uncle that I need a remodeled kitchen. Love Auntie

Cheryl Peters said...

AUNTIE BABE: If you like them, I'm tickled pink. I honestly don't know where the old countertops ended up. The installers took them. Unless we were having a rummage sale, I don't know how we would have gotten rid of them. Often, it's hard to even give things away. I'm glad they're gone. (Maybe I am heartless, after all!)

If I so much as mention that it might be nice to change something in or around the house, Lon takes it and runs. I have to be careful of what I say because he could be halfway done with a project before I've thought it through.

Jana said...

Thanks for making my kitchen seem dull and boring. :)
The colors, and the swirling pattern are so pretty and elegant. It looks fantastic.
And, you're so thoughtful to give it a little time to adjust before you actually use it.

Cheryl Peters said...

JANA: It's a small kitchen but plenty big for our needs. We seem to gravitate to earth colors whenever we decorate our house so this choice of countertop will work for us no matter what changes we might make in the future. Lon's great at wallpapering and painting so I'm sure there will be some changes in the kitchen eventually, like in a few years.

Thank you for commenting.

WillenaRose said...

This is my first visit to your blog... I found my way here via Walk... and Christian Writers. I love your new countertops! More interesting to me, though, is your blog name. I wondered why someone who works in a dental office would call her blog "Paper Cut" screams. LOL. Now I know.

Willena

Gullible said...

Oh, Shaddy. Great choice. The kitchen looks fantastic.

Cheryl Peters said...

WILLENA: Thanks for coming here via Walk. Some run here while others walk. As long as they come, I'm happy!

Hey, I never associated all the paper I handle at work to my blog title. You're a clever one!

Now you know AND I know.

GULLY: It looks too good to cook in, don't you think?

Linda McMann said...

Your new countertops are beautiful and they look perfect with your kitchen. I love the swirls and changing colors. One of the other benefits to granite color is that "spills" can go unnoticed for a bit and no one is the wiser. Enjoy!

Gullible said...

Absolutely too good to cook in. Eat out every night, even if it's in the back yard.

Cheryl Peters said...

PARROT: Spills were obvious on our old countertop, but, like you wrote, they're much less obvious now; they're camouflaged!

That bothers me a bit. Now, I'll have to wipe off the entire countertop to make sure I haven't missed any crumbs or spills. Or, just let it "set" forever!

GULLY: Abolutely! We do use our outdoor grill and eat on the screen porch all of the time in the summer. It's great. Even rain and mosquitoes can't get to us. The screen porch is one of the smartest additions we made to our house. I love sitting out there when it's raining.

Stephanie said...

You kitchen looks great! It's hard to believe there was anything left to remodel! Love the countertops :) Tim's parents put new countertops on last week. It's amazing how different it can make your kitchen look. Have fun :)

Kathan said...

It looks great! It's amazing how a small change (though I'm sure a litte pricey), can make your entire kitchen look current. Love it!

Cheryl Peters said...

STEPHANIE: Everytime I walk into the kitchen, my eyes go to the countertop. I'm not used to it yet. The sad thing is that before long I won't notice them anymore, although I'll still like them.

KATHAN: Having a small kitchen keeps the remodeling costs down. I'm glad you like it.

Anonymous said...

Oh WOW! They're gorgeous Shaddy! I love the colors in them. What a difference huh? It looked great before, but I LOVE this! I just want to reach out and touch them, lol!

Cheryl Peters said...

SARIE: Come on over and I'll let you touch them all you want.

Thanks for reading and looking at my post. I love it when you stop in.

Natasha said...

Wow, this looks fantastic! Really beautiful. Yeah, you're wise to let this new countertop get used to the kitchen before you actually cook on it.

It's really lovely.

Cheryl Peters said...

NATASHA: Thanks for the support. Perhaps when winter arrives, my countertop and I will be ready to work together on a meal! For now, I'll just look at it.

LenoreNeverM♡re said...

WOW Shaddy, it's gorgeoussss...(notice I added extra 's') Nature continues to amaze me!
You are truly blessed~
xo