After identifying what really bothered us about our kitchen and picking out a photo for inspiration, we’ve compiled a to-do list. The list is broken down into large tasks - tasks that would shut down the kitchen’s operations - and smaller items we can do over time while still enjoying the use of our kitchen.

Major Tasks

  1. Skim coat, patch and paint walls with Devine Vanilla (essentially cream colored). Hopefully this one change will dramatically brighten up the kitchen. The only exception to the white is in the china cabinet of our butler’s pantry. I wanted to choose a light green color…wish me luck in finding the right one!
  2. Remove the upper cabinets around the sink. Repair and patch the backsplash tiles affected by this change.
  3. Reinstall the sink with a fresh batch of plumber’s putty and seal around with silicone caulk. No cost, just time.
  4. Fix the faucet; we suspect the the faucet is clogged with calcium deposits. Also a no cost solution.

Complete over time

  • Build new upper cabinet shelves in either side of the sink and in the butler’s pantry. The shelves will echo the original butler’s pantry detail and give the kitchen additional character. Although this is not a small task, it won’t hold up our using the kitchen, so we can complete this at our leisure.
  • Replace the tiny butcher block island with a larger one, like this stainless steel beauty from IKEA (Flytta)

new island

  • Switch out the brass knobs with satin nickel ones
  • Replace the dangling light bulb with a proper light fixture
  • Install the magnetic knife rack above the island
  • Wax the wood rails in the butler’s pantry so that the wooden drawers don’t disintegrate into sawdust from constant use
  • Paint the inside of the butler’s pantry china cabinet after agonizing over green paint chips
  • Hang a small hook for an apron, either on the back door or on a wall
  • Get a better paper towel holder
  • Hang a picture to make it feel like home!