Finally. It's happened to me.

By the look on my cabinets, you just can't deny it. (Am I the only one who remembers that song?)

My poor, poor, kitchen is finally "done". The befores weren't that bad, really, but the wall color was driving me ca-ra-zay. Oh yes, it needs 3 syllables and extra "a"s. A little refresher course on what it looked like before:

 

In corner 1, we have the countertop space. The sink, the dishwaser and the island, pulling together as one team. 

And in corner 2, team stoves heats up the room. (Take note of the too-high counter stools, please) The struggling shelving does it's best, but I think it's going to need a little help to really pull off a victory. 

 

In corner number 3, well, the fridge is pretty much on its own, perhaps with a little help from all the clutter? 

And finally, in the last corner, well, it's a good thing the door is nearby, because there's nothing there to help that corner...

After a long list of to-dos, including painting nearly everything I could get my hands on, I give you, team kitchen, unified and ready for battle:

 

Perhaps, the area I am most proud of, the stove went from being a lonely island of not-very-usefulness to a unified storage-friendly cove of usefulness.The shelves and the trolleys got a couple coats of black paint, they were all mapley in tone before.

 

The island also got a coat of black paint. I wasn't ready to commit to painting all the cabinetry, especially since that would have made the backsplash look very out of place, so I restrained myself and just covered the island, and  I love the result. When/if we change the backsplash, I will likely be painting the rest of the cabinetry, but let's face it, I'm lazy and that is a long way off. The fridge also got cleaned off. 

 

Another, better shot of the island, and the gorgeous buffet we purchased, the only expensive thing we bought for the room, the rest was just accessories and paint. And we even had the black paint before we started. A lot  of the accessories too, come to think of it. 

I know accent walls are "so 2005", but frankly, I don't care. I really wanted more color on the walls, but four walls of the blue would have been overwhelming. So I went with one, and I love the effect. I don't have any neutral furniture in my house either, so there. I don't really care about "current" style, I just care about my our style. At least there's no oak, right? 

 

Another shot of the buffet in all her glory. 

A little dark, but here's our entryway bench, and the newly remodeled stools. Black paint, a hand saw, cushion and a half a yard of fabric turned my old stools into height-appropriate comfy counter stools that fit right in.

So there you have it. I love it. I go in sometimes and just sit on the counter by the sink and admire. I also may or may not lovingly stroke the buffet as I walk by her, but that's really between her and me.

Someday I'd like to put a sea-glass backsplash up and paint the rest of the cabinets, but for now, it's a more functional, cozy place to cook our meals in.