Redesigning the Past

We moved in the house around August 2007. I started working on the house halfway through my summer quarter classes I took online. There wasn't much to do but I wanted to paint everything so I got started.

I started with the kitchen. For all my life, my grandmother enjoyed cooking ALL the time. She spent a lot of her time in this kitchen. She would probably stroke out if she knew what we've done but at the same time she would be proud of what I've changed in the house. The entire kitchen has and still is all Knotty Pine. The cabinets had black hinged handles.

 The oven is a terracotta colored 50's GE Automatic Oven. This is just an EXAMPLE picture of one I found in pink. We also had the matching stove in terracotta.

The counter tops were this strange white with black/silver specs in it edged in silver metal. This is the closest example I could find. The white on the left was what we had but it didn't have gold stars, just specs.

The sink was white, amazingly, but did have little specs in it as well. I'm not sure if the material had worn from all the cleaning she did or if it was always that way. She loved to clean. She washed dishes her whole life because they thought they never needed a dishwasher. Every night she cooked, washed dishes then cleaned the sink. I definitely get my need to keep things tidy (and sometimes clean) from her and my mother. I can't stand a messy or chaotic house! The kitchen floor was an orange, patterned linoleum. You should start seeing a color pattern by now...everything was monochromatic. 

Grandmother and Uncle Tim, my mom's brother

That was me as a baby with my grandmother who I dearly miss!!!!


Now you can see the kitchen floor and the carpet in the den is an orange shag. This room was also the TV room. The TV was kept in a double door closet on the opposite end of the kitchen. It was used for storage as well. Next to that is a desk/shelf where she always kept an oil lamp, encyclopedia's, some antique iron's, pictures and my crayons and coloring book. That's it for the kitchen/den area. Some people would say leave it the way it is or I've heard knotty pine is coming back in style?! I can't live with all that dark, dreary color. Sorry grandmother. Here's how it looks now. I primed, painted and did the trim in this entire room by myself, while 5 mths pregnant! Yeah I'm a workaholic. We changed almost everything but the oven, interior doors, kitchen floor and carpet. It looks so different though!

We removed the counter off the back because we worried the boys would walk/run right into it. It used to be a low eating area with two chairs.

Still have the oven and it works great!

Mom had the stove and counters replaced...thank you mom!

The after....so much brighter. We kept the fridge because the cabinet is too low for Robby's fridge.

We replaced all the exterior doors. The little window used to be an air conditioner. I painted it white and like to keep plants in the window. The large white box to the left is our dishwasher. Probably not attractive where it is but thank goodness we have one! Again, thank you mom!!!

I like things simple and clean.

My wonderful grandmother watches over me when I'm in the kitchen.

The den. We don't have anything to go in here but our table which is too large for the kitchen area. I have to keep my treadmill in here because it's the only available space.

We placed it in front of the window and it actually works better here than where she had her table. (See previous old photos at top)

The desk area is now used daily. We sit here to pay bills, check email, etc.

The same spot as the picture above of me and my grandmother

This used to be a sitting area. There was a couch and some old antique stuff on the wall. Now it's where we exercise.

This is all that's left of the old cabinets and handles. This is the base of the desk.

To be cont.....