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New Home, New Kitchen!

First thing I must say, I love my new kitchen. The previous homeowners took such excellent care of everything and it shows. I was also thrilled to find out there is a double oven! Bonus! The kitchen is  not huge but it’s big enough for our family to hang out and there is a large counter that is perfect for grandkids to gather around and make gingerbread cookies. A very important feature.

Love my new kitchen. Just needed a few updates.

Lots of Cabinets for Portmeirion Love

I have so many more cabinets compared to our kitchen in Tampa and I love being able to display my extensive Portmeirion  collection on top. If you are curious, yes I do use my collection. I’ve been collecting it for almost 50 years since we got married so it’s pretty substantial. We use our Portmeirion dishes for our everyday use and I really enjoy that. So pretty!

Updates Needed!

All of that being said, there were a few things I needed to change. The first thing I had to do was replace the faucet. The existing faucet was chrome, short and only sprayed, no flow. There was no other setting, just spray that would splash you in the face if you filled something. It was so frustrating so I ordered a black faucet from Amazon that was so reasonable and absolutely beautiful.

So much nicer than the original!

The lighting in the kitchen was not ideal. It still had the original fluorescent light and a mushroom light. I know, yuck!
I looked online trying to find something that was not too fussy and would upgrade my space. I ended up finding exactly what I wanted at Costco, of all places. I was able to get the chandelier and 2 ceiling fixtures. Costco is a great place to purchase things like this. I actually looked online for the same lighting and found that Costco had the best price.

I had the lighting and faucet installed at the same time and I was thrilled with the new look! Just getting the builder grade fluorescent fixture out of there made such a difference. I was also happy I wasn’t getting splashed in the face anymore. The new black faucet and lighting gave our kitchen a more modern, upscale look. 

Next up, the cabinets were pristine. Unfortunately the handles were chipped, ugly and really dated. I ordered some simple black bar style handles from Amazon. I really liked the price and how it updated the cabinets. I do wish that the hinges were the hidden type but they are not so, at some point, I want to paint those black.

To Paint or Not to Paint? That is the Question.

I know a lot of you feel like the cabinets should be painted. I’ve considered that but they are in excellent shape and I like them with my Portmeirion. That doesn’t mean I won’t change my mind in the future but for now, I like them the way they are.

The original homeowner did a DIY on the outlets and switches. It just wasn’t my personal taste so I ended up changing out the covers.

Linen Cafe Curtains for the Win!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I did change out the window treatment. I found a Pinterest post showing a similar window treatment and it was exactly what I wanted. I found these linen cafe curtains online and I really loved that they tie on. It was an easy installation.

Beautiful linen cafe curtains. Block the view while letting in the light.

They were also more reasonable than the ones I found on the post and I liked them better.

Treatment did not block the view. When the blinds were open.

So, there you have it. Small updates can make such a big change. I’ve still got a lot to do like painting the walls but, that will happen eventually. I also want to get all the hinges painted at some point and the counter stools and chairs around the kitchen table. I’ll share when I get those updates done. For now though I’m liking the way things are looking with the updates I’ve made.

Thank you for taking time out in your day to visit. I hope it inspires you to make some easy updates in your home that you might have been considering.

Wishing you health, happiness and Sunny Days!