Before & After: Kitchen

The kitchen is done! Well, we still want to add hardware onto the cabinets and the walls could use a second coat of paint....and then there's the free standing counter I want to get from Ikea and some shelves... Ok, so the kitchen isn't really "done", but doesn't it look 110% better?! I love it!

Before:

After:

We primed the cabinets with B-I-N Zissner primer tinted gray. This primer is amazing! It's made especially for glossy surfaces and it works great. Then we painted the cabinets Behr "Black Silk" semi-gloss. It took one coat of primer and 2 coats of paint. The wall color is Ralph Lauren "Cotswald Breeches". Who names paint colors anyway? Anyway, it's like a khaki color just a shade darker than the living room color. And since this photo was taken, we replaced the ivory outlets with new black ones. I absolutely love the way it turned out! We've registered for some red appliances (like a kitchen aid and a blender) that I think will look amazing against the black, white and khaki colors.

The carpet is getting installed on Thursday...stay tuned for more pics...

Official Homeowner

I bought a condo! Crazy to think that I now own a home. I'm so excited! We didn't wait long before we started fixing & painting. Here are some before and "in-progress" pics:

Master bedroom before









Master bedroom "in-progress"
































The paint color is Behr Creek Bend and I absolutely love it! All three photos above have the same paint color but all look different depending on the light. LOVE! And yes, we've already picked out new carpet. I'll post more pics once it gets installed.

Kitchen before









Kitchen "in-progress"









The cabinets are going to be Behr Black Silk and I can't wait to see them completed. The doors are in the guest room waiting to be painted as well. (And as you can see, only the top cabinets have been done so far.)

Living room before









Living Room "in-progress"


















The walls will be painted Behr Sandstone Cove. I had John install the blind so I could see what it would look like...and again, I love it! The mahogany wood looks great against this wall. With the window being so close to the fireplace we didn't think that fabric curtains were a good idea. We might put curtains on the sliding door though. (That leads out to the screened in porch.)

DIY nightstand

My first Do-It-Yourself project....painting my nightstand white. I think I'm actually going to use this as a file cabinet from now one. The bottom drawer is perfect for hanging files. :)













Next...painting my headboard and dresser to match...

Texas de Brazil

Last night I took John to one of his favorite restaurants for an early birthday dinner. We went to Texas de Brazil, a Brazilian steakhouse that features incredible service and an all-you-can-eat fabulous dining experience.

The food is always amazing, but the two stand outs last night were the Lobster Bisque and the Flank Steak! Yummm! Did I mention that the meat is served on skewers by men carrying large knives? I think that's why John likes it so much...and because they only serve top of the line meat. Filet, filet wrapped in bacon, flank steak, top sirloin, parmesan crusted chicken, pork ribs, brazilian sausage, to name a few.

If you've never been there before, you should definitely go. It's worth the trip...and the money. :)

Dining in style

This weekend, our friends gave us this Bronx Run 5-pc dining set....and we love it! It's pretty much exactly what John wanted - counter height pub table, black finish, comfy chairs. And for me - foot rests. :) It is going to look great with our color scheme in the kitchen, which is going to be black cabinets, white counter tops and a khaki color on the walls. Woo Hoo! We are very excited to set this up in our new house.