Friday Kitchen Ideas (Part 2)

First off, before I start talking about Christina's kitchen I want to show you the passage I read in Luke this morning:

Then Jesus entered and walked through Jericho. There was a man there, his name Zacchaeus, the head tax man and quite rich. He wanted desperately to see Jesus, but the crowd was in his way—he was a short man and couldn't see over the crowd. So he ran on ahead and climbed up in a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus when he came by.

When Jesus got to the tree, he looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, hurry down. Today is my day to be a guest in your home." Zacchaeus scrambled out of the tree, hardly believing his good luck, delighted to take Jesus home with him. Everyone who saw the incident was indignant and grumped, "What business does he have getting cozy with this crook?"
Zacchaeus just stood there, a little stunned. He stammered apologetically, "Master, I give away half my income to the poor—and if I'm caught cheating, I pay four times the damages."
Jesus said, "Today is salvation day in this home! Here he is: Zacchaeus, son of Abraham! For the Son of Man came to find and restore the lost."  Luke 19:1-10 The Message

I love that passage because it shows two things: Jesus doesn't care who he is seen hanging out with... rich cheaters (picture Bernie Madoff type) or lepers (picture the worst outcasts in a society). He loves them both equally! Second, I just love the last line... he came to find and restore the lost. Yes! There is HOPE in that.

Okay, kitchen design time! :)
Blog reader Christina is moving into a rental this summer but she's allowed to do some "sprucing". In all fairness to Christina, these pictures were taken with the current tenants messy belongings in the house.
First off, these colors are OUT. OF. CONTROL. Christina, I'm not sure if you had this in mind or not, but paint the cabinets base and the wooden strip on the cabinet doors white. It'll make for a more seemless look. 
Second, did you know you can buy Rust-oleum appliance paint at Home Depot? Maybe get some white appliance paint and go over the dishwasher, my guess is that it is between $20 - $40 (the counter and tile paint Rust-oleum makes is in that price range).

Christina specifically asked for some paint ideas to make the whole house flow. I found this amazing website Design Seeds and took these image inspiration photos from there. You know me... I love the ocean and beach so that's where I took photos from (especially since Christina said she loves gray).

I think I would use all the lighter colors for the main rooms and then maybe the teal for a bathroom or something smaller.

I like all these colors except for the darker brown.

I love all these colors, but don't think the two darker colors would look great in the space.

I'm a big fan for the more vibrant color to be in a smaller space, like a bathroom, especially if the bathroom has some beadboard or wainscoting in white to balance out the bright color.

Lastly, Christina, I'm not sure if the owner would be up for this but if you hate your current countertops Formica has a great option for a $16 / square foot laminate that looks a lot like real Calcutta granite. See below.

 

IKEA also has some pretty great butcher block counters for $39 for approximately 49" x 25".

 

Lastly, two simple ideas:

You know the desk like spot where the mini fridge is sitting? You could either frame some really great artwork in the area above the desk and use it like a buffet or use it as your command center with a bulletin board and some bins to catch mail.

 

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The side of the fridge seems like it is lost space... would the owner allow you to paint it with chalkboard paint so Caden could doodle or you could write yourself notes (or leave an inspiring quote up there). 

OR put a skinny bookshelf in that space and display things on the top shelves and put things on the bottom that you wouldn't mind a little guy ripping off the shelves. :)

 

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Do you feel like you have an idea for your space now?