Monday, October 22, 2018

My Dream Kitchen - a Makeover


I know this looks like something that
I would do for Halloween - maybe creating
a Haunted House - but no, this has been
real life around Purple Chocolat Home
for a while here.


Over the past two years you have seen me 
redecorate and move to lighter decor.  The living
room used to have dark rich furnishings
and I switched it up to light furnishings.



It was time to do the same in the kitchen.

Although I had loved my kitchen, I was tired of the 
dark decor and ready to lighten everything up 
there too.  The dark island and chairs had to go.
Everything just seemed so dark.


The pizza oven needed a change.


I had hated these hand painted cabinets
from the minute they were finished.  They
never went with the rest of the decor.


This secretary had beautiful lines, but I
was tired of its color too.


I met with the painter and told him that
I had a party that week and he promised that he
could come in and get the island done by
the time of the party.  He was true to his word.
He also promised that I wouldn't have to remove
all of the "stuff" from my cabinets.  Whew! 
That made everything easier.


But as you can see from the tall baking cabinet
on the left, that didn't happen.  His employees
removed everything.  In the end that was a good
thing, as it forced me to de-junk.


I had a garden party the next week
(this started in September) and this was
what my kitchen looked like.  I told everyone
to enter the garden from the outside, but of
course, everyone wanted to see the mess -
thus my "haunted house"


Considering how large and complicated my
kitchen is, it probably went pretty quickly,
but it has definitely thrown my life into a tizzy.


The baking cabinet was the hardest, as it had to 
be removed from the wall and set on the floor 
for the counter to be installed.


Going through all of the junk took forever. 
It was good to get rid of so much.  I purged
five black garbage bags of cookbooks and tons of glassware. 
Now the insides of my cabinets are not over-stuffed. 
I actually breathe a breath of relief as I open 
cabinets now.


I chose this arabesque marble tile with black
dots for my backsplash.  Hubby did the tile work.
This shows it before it was grouted.




This section is now finished, with the
new counter, grouted backsplash and
handles installed.  I chose acrylic and
brushed gold handles.  I love their
clean look.


Even the fridge got acrylic handles.  Such
a difference from the huge metal ones we
had before.


My daughter and I had seen these on a fridge 
at a homeshow.


Here is a shot of the secretary all finished.


She is so elegant, she just had to have 
special jeweled pulls.


On the pizza oven, we chose to keep the
beams a dark rustic color and to keep
the rustic looking stone.  Our other doors
in the kitchen are stained wood so the beams
tie in nicely.  


I tried to take pictures as we went along, but this one
isn't quite current as the baking cabinet now has
the new counter and we have handles everywhere,
but this gives you the picture without all of the
Halloween decor which is now up.

The island still has the dark green stone on it,
which I really like because of the contrast, but
that is something hubby has hated from the 
beginning so it is going too, but we have been
out of town for the last while so it isn't done
yet, but we still have a fully functioning kitchen.
Also I removed the purple crystals from my
chandeliers and friends have thought I had
new chandeliers - funny!!!

I had purchased the barstools for our houseboat,
but they ended up being too short, so I had brought
them home.  I decided to use them in the new kitchen
and I love how they let you see the decorative trim
around the island, which was covered up by
the old barstools.


Just so you can remember what the old
kitchen looked like....

People are wowed by the transformation and it isn't
quite done yet.


So that's what I have been up to - and why I haven't
done any blogging for a while!  Remodeling always
takes more time and effort than you think, but the
results are so nice.

Thanks for stopping by.  I know I have been missing
in action for a while, and I was so charmed by so many
contacting me and wondering if I was all right.  
Overwhelmed, but yes, I am doing great.  Thanks
for caring!

I will be posting this with







Jacqueline
Jacqueline

Chocolat - French for Chocolate. I adored chocolate from a young age when I had to sneak in the cupboard to find where my mother had hidden the Nestle's Chocolate Chips. Having read about the famous chocolat shoppes in Paris, when I finally got there I was determined to try a chocolate from every Paris shoppe. I invite you to share my adventures in creating, in travel, and in life.

8 comments:

  1. Wow, wow, wow, Jackie! It looks amazing with the lightening up!

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  2. Jackie, what a difference it makes to lighten things up. I know you are going to enjoy this change. It makes the Courtly Check pop! Thanks for sharing the process. We are looking at a remodel here in the next year, a new master bedroom, bath, and sitting room. I know it will be a messy process. but the end result worth it.

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  3. Oh WOW Jacquelyn. Your kitchen looks fantastic. Job well done.

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  4. Beautiful job Jackie, such a difference. We did this a couple of years ago so I know exactly what you mean by "Halloween" but so worth it. Enjoy your beautiful new kitchen..........

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  5. What a dramatic transformation. I loved your kitchen with the dark woods too. Sometimes change is good. Such a beautiful and light look to enjoy. Beautifully done. Enjoy!

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  6. Not sure if my comment worked or not!
    It looks awesome girl! You'll be cooking up a Halloween storm soon! Can't wait to see it all!
    hugs,
    Betsy

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  7. Kitchen remodels are not for the faint of heart! This looks totally fabulous of course Jackie! I noticed you have been MIA for a while but just figured you were off on a wonderful trip somewhere! Ir's nice your kitchen will be finished for the holidays as you always have a houseful! It looks beautiful!
    Jenna

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  8. Wonderful!! It is absolutely amazing. We were wondering if Bulah was going to make an appearance this year, or if she had been kidnapped or something else nefarious!

    ReplyDelete

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