Kitchen Transformation

After Photos

Okay are you ready for a shock?  Well here are the before photos.

 She was dark and out dated.  She had been used as a rental (most of these pictures were taken before I got her and a bunch of college kids were living there).  She was sooo sad.

 The upper cabinets were painted dark green.  I took off the doors and painted her white with a touch of red on the inside.

 Her spanish tile floors were falling apart.

I added cabinets on the side where the stove was located.  It made for lots of counter space, which helped with the two roommates I had for most of time I lived here.  She is a big house for one person  (probably a bit over 2,000 square feet).  I was able to use the rent money to help with repairs.

How she looked after the college kids moved out.  Less stuff but still sad.

It is amazing how well she transformed, and I think she likes her new look.

Until next time….
Kathleen

I never intended to be gone so long…….

I never intended to be gone so long from this blog.  As it is, two years have gone by and I've got "Grace" on the market.   I'm moving to be closer to Suzy.

I had intended to make post all along with the transformation of "Grace" into the beauty that she has become.  She has always been special for me and I thought when I purchased her that I would take five years, not two to fix her up before moving on.

So much has happened in the past two years.  I will have to fill you in later on that, but for now I will post some after pictures of grace.  These pictures were taken for the real estate listing.  It will be hard to appreciate the transformation until you see the before.  I will do that in many post and I promise not to take two years to get them up on the blog.

One of the many reasons I fell in love with "Grace" was because her front exterior reminds me of homes in San Francisco.  If money were no object, I would live in San Francisco.  I think it is one of the most beautiful places.  Certainly in my eyes.  I will miss being close to it, but I intend to visit at least once a year.  I am looking forward to other adventures in the Northern US though.

I will show you close up pictures of things in later post.  You may notice though, that I am very fond of Asian things and the beach.  They tend to be reoccuring themes in my decorating style.  I am also very fond of Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic style.  I like to think of my style as "Touched by Asia".  I am extremely fond of the Asian culture and San Francisco Chinatown is one of my favorite places.

The Chandelier is from Pottery Barn.  I picked it out years ago before I moved from Oregon.  I couldn't wait to get the right house so I could buy it.  It is one of the most statisfying purchases I have ever made. 

The kitchen is a long gallery kitchen but it is very wide.  You can open the oven or dishwasher door and still have plenty of room to walk pass.  The kitchen and the bathroom were one of the first things that got redone in the house.

I tend to like open shelving.  The doors were so bad on these cabinets that I just got rid of them.  Believe it or not the kitchen use to be orange and the cabinets were dark green. 

The red kitchen stool is one that use to be in my mother's dining room.  It was right under the phone and I would sit on it while talking on the phone to girl friends (or boy friends) :)

I would have loved doing more to the master bedroom but when I realized I need to move to be closer to Suzy (I'll explain later), I just needed to do what was necessary so it is not my dream master bedroom.  It is very comfortable and the koi pond is right outside so when the window is open I can hear the water feature.  It is very soothing.

The laundry area is at the end of the kitchen.  It use to have doors but I like everything open.

I've been very fortunate to have two wonderful roommates this year.  This was Rachelle's room (pronounced like Michelle but with a Ra on the front instead of the Mi).  Yes, "Go Giants"!!  I guess I will have to cheer for the "Twins" now - I'll need to think about that one.

The bathroom separates the two front bedrooms.  I purchased the sink from Ohmega Salvage in Berkeley.  It is an amazing place.  I thought this was fitting for the house "Grace".

Jill was in the back room.  You can see the beautiful dark hardwood floors from her room.  The floors didn't look anything like this when I started out.  They were blonde and very damaged.  I'd read that dark stain would hide the flaws and it did.  I am very pleased the way they turned out.

I'll do other post of the outside and more close up of various things in the house.  Some of my creative things but I hope that you enjoyed the little tour.

Until next time…..

Kathleen