Cooking at Home

Whoever said that eating at home will help you lose weight lied! I feel like I have put on the quarantine 19 and I don’t like it! The issue is that my husband is a good cook! This has been a time to experiment with all kinds of new dishes and since it is just us…….we may if the meal is really good, just go ahead and finish it up.  Add to that scenario that I happen to be a pretty good baker and I have tried a few new things myself, like thick rich homemade vanilla custard on banana bread with homemade whip cream. Again, since it is just us we may go ahead and just eat it so we can get it out of the house. We will promise ourselves that we will eat lighter tomorrow and that may or may not happen. Though I may have packed on the pounds, it has been wonderful cooking in a kitchen that I love. So if you don’t love your kitchen, consider a re-face to update the most important room in the house. Let’s take a peek into an Amarillo model kitchen to see how a re-face left this kitchen feeling light, bright and ready for baking somewhere in the heart of The Villages.

• White over faux wood
This kitchen is a great example of why I always choose white or off white when re-facing. This kitchen was re-done due to a tornado experience many years ago. The homeowner at the time chose a faux wood cabinet to replace the original damaged kitchen. The doors were laminated with a wood look maple and they were very shiny so the finish looked like plastic wood. I usually choose white or off-white doors in a satin finish because they look like painted wood doors but have the durability of a coated door. The look is timeless and bright if you chose white!

• Taller cabinets
If you notice in the before picture, the cabinets look very short which make them look like stock cabinetry. We added to the height of the cabinets to make them look custom to the space. The cabinet re-facer added another level on top of the original cabinet and ordered a larger door to fit the new size cabinet. So the entire kitchen received another level of storage. Adding to the height of the cabinets also makes the kitchen look bigger by drawing the eye upward.

• One custom cabinet
We had to have one new custom cabinet made to cover the outtake vent for the microwave. This vent was fed through the ceiling at one time and we wanted to minimize its visibility and retain the microwave in the original position.

• Crown molding
The new taller cabinets are finished at the top with crown molding. The before cabinets did not have any finish molding at all which added to the stock cabinetry look.

• Window
We wanted to tie the window into the kitchen without adding cabinetry over the top of the window. We installed large molding around the entire window and painted that white like the cabinets. The window looked finished and a part of the kitchen while maintaining the use of the blind and the granite pass through.

• New granite
The homeowner hated the color of the existing granite. Usually, I feel that white cabinets will brighten darker granite but the homeowners wanted the old granite gone! They chose a light color granite with just a touch of golden tan and it does look beautiful. If you are getting new granite, remember to ask for the fifteen-year sealer.

• Island wainscot
In the Amarillo model the kitchen is one of the first things that you see when walking in the front door. I like the island to visually tie into the kitchen because when the island and the kitchen are visually cohesive it makes a great focal point for the home. This wainscot is wood with thick molding to make it look chunky and rich but not dressy. The wainscot ties into the design on the doors of the kitchen cabinets creating visual continuity.

• Repaint
In the before picture, the indented space on the back wall of the kitchen was painted a burgundy red. We wanted the walls to blend together and blend nicely with the kitchen. We chose Patience 7555 which is the perfect crème color. The space looks updated and timeless for much less than buying all new cabinets!

P.S. –Attention all club presidents! We give free decorating seminars. It is lots of fun and very informative. Call and schedule your club today. Also, we are on-line check out our web-site at www.ruthdyer.com and you can always e-mail us at ruth@finishingtouchfl.com or Call Ruth your full service decorator at 352-804-2056.

Before and After Pics Below