Kitchen makeover revealed

The girls had a vision for our kitchen that would make it brighter and more cheerful than before, and spent quite a few hours stripping, preparing, and painting to change the wall and cabinet colors.  The finished product is amazingly brighter and it's hard not to smile when you enter the room.

New wall color, cabinets painted white instead of stained natural, new stools, new bunting over the window, window frames painted white instead of stained natural, new drawer pulls, and new trim and sill on window.  Otherwise, most everything else was here before.

Karen thought red accents would look good.  We all agreed.  We've got lots of other ideas for red accents, but we're trying to restrain ourselves.  Yes, the coffee maker is new too.

The pantry near the fridge was existing, but it got a coat of paint like all the other cabinets, and crown molding (re)applied.  New baseboard to match the window trim.

This little shelf has held aprons for a few years now, but Lily thought it would look better if it matched the wall color.  I think she's right.

Just the kind of items Karen was looking for at antique stores.

The stools are slightly taller than our old ones, more firm in the cushion, and look a lot more stylish!

We couldn't help but notice bunting in just about every English town we visited last year, and we thought it added a spirit of festivity wherever it was found.  Now we can find festivity in our kitchen!

Granted, the appliances are modern, as is the counter top, and the cabinet style, but the overall look is supposed to remind you of a 1950's kitchen.  You know, in our 1950's house.  The same house that we are trying to make look less like a 1950's house in some respects.  Sound confusing?  Don't try to figure it out.  After all, we never claimed to be consistent.

Special thanks to Kathryn for taking all the Pinterest-worthy photos of our new kitchen!