Kitchen and Dining Area Redo Preview

Well, I haven't quite attacked the wallpaper like I should, but I'll give you a sneak peek at my plans for my kitchen and dining area. First off, let's look at the before.

I'm not going to snark too much because I know the kitchen was a labor of love by the son of the woman who bought the home in 1954. It just needs to be given a dose of things that will make me happy.

The room will be getting a basic facelift courtesy of fresh paint, hardware and window treatments. The cupboards, floors, appliances and counters aren't going anywhere for now. I'm trying to keep costs down because I do plan to eventually renovate the kitchen and let's face it, you spend a lot of money when you first buy a house and I have to stretch my dollars where I can.

Here's a collage I put together to show off how I plan to freshen up the space.

Window Treatments - Yes, I did take down those ruffled blue country kitchen curtains. In their place will be bamboo shades from Overstock. I've picked these shades as the base layer for all of the windows in the kitchen, dining nook and living room. I'll also be adding curtains of some sort for more privacy and to make the room look more finished.
Hardware - There are currently 37 brass knobs glaring at me from the oak cupboards. I found some inexpensive satin nickel finish knobs from e knobs and pulls that will hopefully be a slight improvement.
Table - I bought this Ikea Docksta table via Craigslist a year or so ago. It's a bit wobbly, but the real thing is out of reach right now.
Rug - This is another Overstock find. The ceramic tile floor is very cold and it needed a rug to warm the room and help distinguish the dining area from the kitchen. I chose an indoor/outdoor rug because I figured that if I hated it I could always use it in the laundry area or even outside. I was quite pleased with it when it arrived. It's soft underfoot and I think the black will add a nice accent to the room.

And now, the fun part -- paint! I'm hoping I can find a crisp, clear orange that will work well with the Benjamin Moore Abalone I'm using in my living room that adjoins this space. As a backup, I'm also going to test out some whites from Devine . To give the room more of a mid-century flair, I'm using turquoise and lime as accents. Here's a kitchen I found on flickr (maybe via Retro Renovation?) that inspired me a lot color-wise.

There are four shades of orange I'm currently considering. I'm sure more will be added to the list once I pick out some samples and more color chips. And, knowing me, and depending on what I find at the paint store, I may change my mind all together and flip things around and paint the room aqua and use orange and lime as my accents.

Devine Colors Mango Tango Beans
Benjamin Moore Calypso Orange
Benjamin Moore Mandarin Orange
Benjamin Moore Tangelo

So, that's the plan as it sits right now. Next, I need to find the time to get these last remnants of wallpaper and glue off these walls. Somehow that isn't as fun as dreaming about paint colors and window treatments.