Our Kitchen.

This kitchen.. a labour of love, that's for sure! Upon moving into this house, I wanted the kitchen refinished immediately - I made it a priority. It felt dark and dated and I wanted fresh and bright. The funny thing is that when I look back on it, I sort of the like the mid-century vibe it had going on back then. It's funny how our tastes change so much or time. Regardless, it had seen better days and needed a major update.

Back then, my brother, a cabinetmaker by trade, happened to be between jobs and offered to build my cabinets. I had to be his gopher for the couple of weeks and had to paint them myself but it was well worth it. I was absolutely thrilled with how they turned out.

At the time, I couldn't afford a solid surface countertop (still can't!) and wanted something other than laminate. My brother used some pine stair treads, pieced them together and I stained and varnished them. They are definitely unique and have held up incredibly well.

The floor was several layers of linoleum over tiles that had been stuck to the floor with tar. Stephane and I spent hours lifting those tiles with little scrapers. Then, my dad and I punched the hundreds of holes from the sub floor into the wood floor in hopes that they could be refinished. It was hours of work but worth it after the refinisher came in and made them look new again. They are soft wood and have gotten marked up over the years by many dropped kitchen items and Beaufie's nails but I think it just gives it all character.

There have been many changes since it was renovated the first time. Originally, I had painted all the cabinets white but opted to update the look by painting the base cabinets grey. It totally changed the space. Also, the "crystal" chandeliers that were once hung in the kitchen moved to the bedroom. Instead, I chose a couple of simple pendants from Ikea.

We had Prestige Kitchens make us a peninsula for a bit more storage. We chose high gloss flat panel drawers so that it would be a complete contrast from the cabinets, rather than try to find something that looked similar. It has a butcher block countertop.

photos by Stephen Harris Photography

I have to say I still love our kitchen. I wish it was a little bit more open to the rest of the house and had more natural light but for an old house, I'd say it serves us well and we've made the most of it.

Sources:

Cabinetry: Marc Gallant

Cabinet paint: Uppers - Natural White, Dulux / Base - Whale Grey, Benjamin Moore

Peninsula: Prestige Kitchens

Pendant Lights: Ikea

Shelving: Ikea

Bar Stools: Home Sense

Love Food Print: Kim Roach Design