Our new kitchen countertops were installed today and I am already so in love with them even though I haven't even used them yet! When I came home for lunch, the workmen were just leaving, but since they sealed the granite we weren't allowed to wash them or put anything on the surface for a couple of hours. I really had to resist getting my sponge out and washing the counters off so that I could put all of my kitchen junk back. While the toaster does fit quite nicely on our dining room chair, I think it's place is definitely in the kitchen.
We decided on Uba Tuba granite (you can see the color here) because we wanted a dark color to offset our maple cabinets and stainless steel appliances. And since we're trying to keep resale value in mind (since we'll be moving in a couple of years), we figured granite would be the best way to go. It's actually the same granite we went with in our bathroom remodel too. And the end result? Gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. I took some "before" pictures this weekend and took some "after" pictures at lunch so I'll upload them tonight. Notice that we extended the countertops out so that we will now have a bar area and more counter space. We bought a new, deeper sink too, which is so very exciting to me. Gone are the days of me trying to wash a baking sheet in the shallow sinks and ending up with water everywhere!
We still need a new paint job, but that would involve actually picking out a paint color, a task that I seem to be miserable at. After two different colors on the bathroom walls, I'm still not happy...and that's why I haven't shared those pictures yet. The problem with picking a kitchen paint color is that it has to be a color that will look nice in the living room and dining area as well. Our condo has an open floor plan so everything just kind of flows right into each other. The current color is light tan and I'm thinking I'll probably go with another tan sort of color. Again, being mindful of selling it in a few years, we would like to keep the color neutral. I'm very open to suggestions though...lord knows I need all the help I can get! Keep in mind that we want to keep our red accent wall in the living room though so the color we get has to compliment that.
Oh, and before I forget to mention it, this former pack rat would just like to say that I cleaned out all of my holiday decorations this weekend and cut my Christmas decorations down to two large Rubbermaid containers (one of them is all ornaments) and my Halloween decorations down to one container. This means that one can actually walk into our little storage shed on our balcony now. (Translation: More room for man junk.) If that doesn't convince and inspire my husband to buy me a designer handbag, I don't know what will!
Before:
Jon and his Dad knocked down half of that wall on the left there and tore out the extremely high (and ridiculously nonfunctional) bar that backed up to our sink. We wanted to tear that whole wall down but unfortunately there are pipes in there.
During:
After:
Oh, how shiny and pretty!!
