Blog

   

Around the House: Kitchen Window Refresh

Our ugly brown kitchen window has been bothering me for a while now. After all the work we’ve put into this kitchen, including painting all our cabinets (before blog project), adding open shelving (also bb, but you can see them here), updating all the appliances, putting in a new sink, removing the bulky fluorescent lighting, and painting our countertops, not to mention making artwork for the space like this and this, it was just one of those little things I kept putting off.

Here’s what it looked like when we moved in.

And here’s that same view before we did our most recent makeover:

There are still a few things I really want to do in here, like finish updating the overhead lighting (with the help of an electrician), and hopefully add more storage, but the old gold oak window was really starting to get on my nerves. Probably because it was a fixable problem if I could just get on it already.

For a while, I tried to just hide the window with a full white curtain (like in the photo above). And it sort of worked. But I hated not having as much natural light as possible in the kitchen, especially since this is one of the only windows on the back side of the house. So I finally broke down and broke out the paint.

It took one coat of primer and three coats of glossy white paint to get it done, and it was a pain. in. the. rear. Our kitchen window is set back quite a bit behind the sink, which is nice for counter space, but makes it difficult (really impossible) to reach standing on the ground. Or even on a chair. (Another reason I wasn’t thrilled with the curtains. They were either open or closed– too hard to open them daily. Can’t you just picture me shuffling side to side on tip toe trying to open the curtains without falling in the sink?) So I had to awkwardly climb up and crouch on the counter for painting. Four times.

I just kept reminding myself how much better it would look. And it does. If you just ignore those dirty dishes…

But this refresh doesn’t stop here! Oh no. Because, you see, we still needed something for privacy. The too-hard-to-open curtains were a no-go, so I started looking around and decided on matchstick blinds. I wanted something that would bring a little texture and have a welcoming, homey feel. (Comfy homey, not gangster homey… I’m not even sure what that would look like.)

Anyway, I found these decent priced ones at Lowes and ran with it. And I must say, I LOVE the transformation. :) Doesn’t it look so much better? The contrasting browns make it feel so much more collected and welcoming, and the cord is easy to reach and pull.

But this transformation doesn’t stop here either!! And this is where I get super-duper-geeked-out-excited. Because we’ve had this amazing Moravian star light sitting in a box on the dining room table for like 5 months now.

When I ordered it, i thought it would be simple to change out the current recessed light for a pendant. After all, we’ve replaced several lights since moving in, and never had an issue. But then we started removing the light in question and very quickly realized that there was an issue. Namely, the wiring is a bit different for built in recessed lights, and the hole was too big for the pendant to have anywhere to hang. Plus there was a metal cylinder built in as part of the can light, so we couldn’t easily remove any of it. Boo. Double boo. Pretty light sitting in a box for months while I pouted boo.We resigned ourselves to needing an electrician (ie having to save money up) to get this one done. Did I already say boo?

And then one day a miracle happened. I discovered google. Haha. But seriously. I was thinking about how much I wished we could get that light up, and it occurred to me to google how one would do such a thing. And what do you know? They make a kit for that.

I swung by the closest Home Depot faster than you can say pendant-ho, and that weekend we went to work!! It was really quite simple. You just follow the instructions on the box.

Since it really is as easy as following written directions, I’ll skip a full tutorial and get straight to the goods. Here she is ladies and gents. My new baby:

Do you love it?? I LOVE it.
dawn sig

 

20 Comments

  • DIY Glossy Painted Counters | AD Aesthetic

    […] UPDATE: To see what our kitchen looks like now (after even more updates)… click here! […]

    Reply
  • Felicia

    what color stain did you use on your cabinets? I’m looking into redoing mine and really love your colors here. and think it would be great with my green kitchen!

    Reply
    • Dawn Sailors

      Thanks Felicia! They are actually not stained, but painted. The color is Valspar’s Brown Velvet and there should be a swatch on my home tour page in the kitchen section. Hope that helps! Good luck with your project!!

      Reply
  • Dana

    I have just updated my kitchen – well “just” is a stretch. It has been a long process, slowly doing things, as the budget allows over the last several years. Very similar to yours – cabinet and wall color. I did save and save and just got quartz counter tops. I have had mosaic tile back splash in the basement for three years that I picked up on clearance at Home Depot, and I honestly designed the colors around it. To my question for you… I purchased two moravian star fixtures that look much like yours only with frosted glass, and they both arrived with one panel cracked. New ones are being sent out, and I am not sure I am going to have to send the damaged ones back. Fingers crossed! I already have plans to hang one over the kitchen table if not. I love your idea of hanging one over the sink. That area looks identical to mine. Love your blinds and am stealing that idea! May I ask what diameter your fixture is? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Dawn Sailors

      I’m sorry for the late response! I had to try to remember where I ordered the fixture and look up the diamater. Here is a link to the one I ordered. It says it is 9″. http://amzn.to/1PgWedY Hope that helps!

      Reply
  • Karen

    it looks great! we just stained our cabinets dark and are trying to find the right color to paint the walls, do you mind sharing your wall color?

    Reply
    • Dawn Sailors

      Thank you! The wall color is Woodlawn Silver Brook by Valspar. 5001-1B I hope that helps!

      Reply
  • Lynda

    I love your counterttop and am planning on doing this to my counertop. Did you just use a primer and 3 coats of white gloss paint? Did you use any sort of clear polyurathane over the paint. And if not, how’s it holding up?

    Reply
  • Jody

    Awesome job!! I would love to paint the cabinets in my son’s house but I am too afraid! Just got to decide I can DO this!

    Reply
  • Dawn

    Dawn my name is Dawn also and my kitchen layout is just like yours and I have the same design ideas that you did. How ironic :) love it. Changing my mind on the dark cabinets for a bright green. Hoping hubby gets on board.

    Reply
    • Dawn Sailors

      That’s crazy! What a small world. :) Good luck with your cabinets!!

      Reply
  • pat asquith

    Great job! Also , loved the blog itself!

    Reply
  • Hilary Foster

    I am so glad the light is hung! It looks awesome!

    Reply
  • Ashley

    seriously IN LOVE with your kitchen Dawn! Especially now, with the white trim and that KILLER light!!! Seriously one of my favorite kitchen makeovers on a budget! You guys did awesome! Oh… and I might be stealing your idea about the recessed light swap kit!

    Reply
    • Dawn Sailors

      Thank you so much! What an awesome compliment. :) And I hope you do use the light kit. It is so easy. I wish I would have known about it a long time ago.

      Reply
  • Dania

    I love it.

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Ashley Cancel reply