Yesterday was the PRETTY post, today is the UGLY post…

Yesterday I was thrilled to be able to share with you, three ladies new dolls that recently have arrived at their house. If you missed seeing those beautiful dolls, you can see them HERE.
My hubby had some surgery yesterday and my evening was tied up with him, so I had to come up with a post to keep you reading… Yesterday was PRETTY… Today is the UGLY post… anyone have a guess about what I’ll share?

The day we signed the papers on our house 13 years ago, the kitchen looked like this…

Yep, seriously, what were we thinking… she had statues, angels, a nativity set, (It was June!) garland, a disco ball, Christmas trees, and LOTS more on the counters…

This is the way it looked the night we were allowed to take possession of it… “lovely” blue plastic tiles on the walls.. a few missing too!

 

Yes, this is the post that tells why I will NEVER be painting these cabinets of ours… They are just TOO far gone… cracked, peeling varnish, veneer splitting and missing, warped, faded, scratched, dull and all around NASTY! They look even worse when I see them in these shots. I’m almost embarrassed to show them.

…and orangish too!

There is no nope for them as far as I’m concerned. I don’t have the energy to paint them when I know they will never work. Now that I have new flooring into my kitchen, it makes them even worse than before. Now they REALLY look ugly! So I am looking on Craigslist ever chance I get in hopes that I’ll find something that will work… I’ve seen a few things and I have hope that I’ll find them eventually…In the meantime I am figuring out just what I’d like to have in there.

Look at this pretty kitchen…

So I know this isn’t a dolly or sewing post, but that will come soon. Thanks for your your prayers today…

Oh… here is bit of sewing news… if you like to sew, check out Pixie Faire’s  Freebie Friday pattern… at Pixie Faire. I think you have to sign up to get the free patterns each Friday. They are pfd patterns and can be downloaded immediately.

See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne

10 thoughts on “Yesterday was the PRETTY post, today is the UGLY post…”

  1. We really did need to see that to understand the size of the problem. You are right that pretty floors would emphasize the problem that was left.
    I don’t know if you’ve seen this magazine https://artsandcraftshomes.com/ but it might have more ideas for you. You are probably familiar with This Old House Journal. And I’ll bet Cindy has several ideas. I like the pale gold in the kitchen you used as an example. You can probably find 6000 examples on Pinterest.

    Where to you want to begin — with color or style or general ideas? Why not chose 6 or 8 kitchens you like and show them to us. At least you have a floor to begin with — that will help with your other choices.

    I hope the biopsies went smoothly. It sounds like you’ll be back at the hospital tomorrow but perhaps not for long. George probably needs a relaxing day and a nice dinner. It wouldn’t hurt you either. And then you’ll probably sew.

    1. HI Marilyn,
      I’m finally here! I do know of that magazine and I bet Cindy has a few issues at her house. She has already been talking to me about the cabinets… she’s hoping I find some white ones that someone is getting rid of because she said painting cabinets is a BIG job. I knew it would be…
      I have been looking on Pinterest every night when I get in bed… that’s sometimes not a good thing, because I try to go to sleep and all I can think of is what I saw… :o(

      I think I’m going to start a folder with all the pictures of things I like… then I can surely narrow it down.

      George is better today… just very sore and slow moving. He walked out to the birds today to see them. They are very special to him… and he was right in the middle of building them a fly pen when he had to have the biopsy… he’s hoping Kristoffer can help him on Sunday when he comes over for his birthday.
      He did have a nice relaxing day with a long 3 hour nap… I’d like to think I got a nap, but too much to do, and sorry to say, no sewing was done by me today… boo hoo!
      I did see I had a bid on Molly’s dress! :o)
      Thank you Marilyn,
      Blessings, Jeanne

  2. Oh, that last kitchen is just beautiful, Jeanne! And yes, now I see that painting the old ones would never do! My goodness, what kind of a woman used to live in that house?? Christmas decorations sitting around in the kitchen in June? Yes, when one thing gets remodeled or redone, it makes the other things look worse, so you have to keep going until you get everything looking good! Oh, I just love the white cabinets! What about countertops? What do you have in mind, or do you know yet? Or backsplash? I remember trying to figure out what color to paint the backsplash, and once I picked a soft white, I could not believe how many soft whites there were to pick from! it gets very confusing after awhile, so just limit yourself to a few of anything. But you will pick the best for you, I know you will!
    Oh, the waiting game! Bless you and George!
    I need to find out how in the world you and George managed to lose all that weight. No sugar and low carbs? That’s it?

    1. HI Linda,
      I hated to show those ugly pictures today, but I really needed to show just how awful they were and that I wasn’t just being too picky wanting new cabinets… They really are awful.
      The lady we bought the house from, used this house as her music studio… she called it “The Fun House.” They built another house on the property that they lived in after they had their 3rd child. Our friends bought that house with 15 acres and she sold this house with 1 acre separately. When her grandkids came over she let them stay in The Fun House. She was just a little bit eccentric… well, maybe a little more than “a little bit!” She gave music lessons in our house. When we looked at it, there were 8 pianos and a pipe organ in the living room and dining room. My sewing room was stacked to the ceiling with sheet music. She also played the harp, so a great big harp was in here too.

      I just saw some pretty white cabinets on Craigslist… that would probably work, but they are down in Tennessee and I think they were laminate.She said they were peeling on a few of the drawers… I think I want all wood…oak or maple or something like that.

      I just want something creamy white and pretty… knowing the cabinets I have now, I won’t be picky… but I do want something nice. I just want a pretty kitchen… something I don’t have now…
      After George finished with Chemo, he wanted to make a change. There are some studies showing that giving up sugar can sometimes cause the cancer to stop growing. He decided he wanted to give that a try. So we did. It was hard at first and I will admit, I’ve had a few pieces of cake…a wedding cake, cheesecake when my company came over, and a few other times… but I think George has only “cheated” 2 times… once he had a small piece of cake on Father’s Day and once we went to Cool Spoons and he had some yogurt.
      We still go to Cool Spoons, we just get nuts and fruit…it’s fine too.
      We also decided to give up most carbs… so we stopped eating pasta, rice, potatoes and most breads. We have switched to a low carb pita pocket, we use spaghetti squash as our noodles (it works just fine) and we use a low carb Mission Whole Wheat Tortilla shell that is outstanding. It’s been slow going..but not really… George just hit 52 or 53 pounds yesterday… ( I forget which) and I’ve lost 25 pounds. We both feel better and look better too. So that’s it in a nutshell. It really does help that we are BOTH doing it together… it might be hard to do if you were doing it and still had to cook for your family.

      We have blueberries or strawberries with cream cheese and a packet of Truvia (Stevia) for dessert, or apples with a peanut butter dip I make, or grapes or watermelon. Our snack is usually lightly salted almonds…
      Well, that’s enough talk on that… but that’s the gist of it…
      Blessings, Jeanne

  3. Oh boy, I had a similar kitchen years ago. Ours was knotty pine solid board paneling on the walls and cabinets with the exact same hinges and pulls that you have. We did opt for new cabinets (thank goodness) but I was tasked with stripping the orange stain / varnish off the walls. What a job! Designing the kitchen was fun. At that time I took advantage of Home Depot free design and it worked out far better than I had imagined. But I was so overwhelmed by the prospect of stripping the walls I just couldn’t get started. The walls had a 4″ wide board then a 2″ grooved strip then the pattern repeated. Thank God my sister gave me a talking to and suggested I break the project down into manageable segments in my mind. Just how many boards could I strip in a day? Well once I did that and made a commitment to myself to strip 2 or 3 boards a day the stalemate lifted and it took me a lot less time than I thought.
    I agree pinterest is a treasure trove of ideas and I love the white cabinets you showed in the pic. Good Luck.
    Wishing George a speedy recovery

    1. HI Leigh,
      My sister in law had a knotty pine kitchen, living room and family room. I know exactly what you are talking about when you mention the grooves in the walls. Hers were the same way. Smart sister you have there..telling you to break it down to small segments each day. I think if I end up with cabinets I’ll have to do the same thing…maybe do one cabinet a day and eventually they will all get done!
      I have been combing Pinterest like a mad woman looking at ideas and tips and colors and designs and what to do and what not to do…Lots of info on there…
      Thank you Leigh,
      blessings, Jeanne

  4. Yikes, that before picture is exactly what my poor mother-in-law lives in. Her whole house is like that! We’ve all tried to clean & declutter it, but it upsets her too much. Everything is a treasure. (She’s 98!)
    I love that concept picture. When you’re ready for cabinets, try a builders outlet. They have seconds that builders couldn’t use, but there isn’t anything terribly wrong. You just need to be sure they have enough of what you want.
    There’s a designer joke about replacing carpet, then the furniture has to go, and so on, until the wife looks out the new windows and decided the car had to be replaced.
    Praying for you and your husband.

    1. HI Debi,
      I’m sure the lady we bought this house from thought the same way… treasures, treasures everywhere! You’ll probably just have to “wait” for things to change…
      I have been looking at some discount and outlet places… there are some good solutions. I have plenty to do in the meantime… I need to figure out what to do with the soffits above my cabinets… I’d like to extend my cabinets up to the ceiling, but my ceiling is just that old cellulose tiles, so I need to figure out what I’m doing with it first… I guess then work my way down… :o)
      Thank you Debi,
      Blessings, Jeanne

  5. I absolutely love that kitchen before photo. That former owner must have loved Christmas and wanted to keep it going all year and perhaps also to cover up that blue plastic tile. 🙂 I’m going to love seeing your kitchen remodel, because we need one too. I can certainly now see why you didn’t want to patch the old cabinets. They are really quite used. I’ll bet your idea file is bulging. Love the island and the white cabinets. I’m not a real fan of the apron sink because then you can’t have a tip out drawer in front of the sink. That little space is one of my favorites. Perfect for little brushes, sponges, scrubbers that can hide all within reach but out of sight. Hower, if you are keeping the original farmhouse theme, it would be great. We had a kitchen all picked out and surfaces too for a flipper house we had a couple of years back. The design people at Home Depot are a great help fitting everything in and then give you a print out of it too. I’m a fan of Silestone for counters because it is durable and doesn’t stain or have the maintenance of granite and has tons of colors. I know granite is beautiful and some comes with a protective finish, but we are pretty hard on our kitchen. If you are on a budget, the large size porcelain tiles with matching grout are a good option. Our daughter has that in her white kitchen and it has held up very well and mimics granite beautifully. Looking forward to seeing this next project.
    They are opening up certain areas here today for former residents to be escorted to what is left of their homes. A very sad time. They are still searching for missing so some parts of town will not be accessible for some time in the future.
    Hope George is not hurting too much today. Those birds need his attention. How are they doing?

    1. HI Joy,
      She was just a little eccentric…not so much into the Christmas season…
      “Quite used” on the cabinets is “quite” the understatement… just say it.. “They are as ugly as anything I’ve ever seen!!!”
      I love that kitchen picture too…and it would be lovely to have something like that. I’m not a big fan of the farmhouse sinks either…I’m sure I’ll just get a plain old sink…
      I was looking on Ebay at some kitchen cabinets and I saw that word Silestone counters and it caught my eye since you mentioned it. It looks really nice… and it might be something for me to consider. We do have a place here in town that cuts granite to fit.. I have no idea how expensive they are, but they are in town.
      I”m so glad that some of the residents around you are being allowed to come back to their homes (well what used to be their homes). I bet it seems like a nightmare to those who have lost everything… where to begin, what to do next… wow..

      George took it very easy today after he had is catheter out this morning. I wouldn’t let him do anything… :o) He did walk out to the birds with me when I fed them… they are still cute! :o)
      Thanks Joy,
      blessings, Jeanne

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