Mom's kitchen renovation ...

Okay, so this picture is obviously NOT a kitchen renovation picture. You must indulge me a little, as it wasn't all work and no play, we did have a day of play time with our kids and grandchildren. Isn't she precious? She just loves this kitty! She's just shy of 9 months old.
Grandpa and the other girls had fun planting a tree in the front yard as a surprise for Mom and Dad when they came home from an all afternoon conference they attended. They were so excited. We had already planned to buy a tree for the kids and the girls insisted that we must have flowers and mulch as well!! My creative tendencies must be passing through! Ha.

Okay, girls what do you think of the new kitchen. Isn't it great? Oh, I'm sorry, these MUST be the BEFORE PICTURES!

The whole kitchen measures about 10x10, so it is pretty tight. I grew up in this kitchen and it holds so many good memories for me. My dad did everything himself, cabinets, countertops, flooring. He had to always look for ways to save money. I love that about him. He was industrious and learned how to do it yourself, before DIY was a buzzword.

My Mom has been widowed now for almost 30 years and has managed to continue living by herself and making do. She has worked hard to raise 4 kids on a modest income, gardening and canning and sewing our clothes. We never felt like we needed anything and had a rich life. She is now 85 and as you can imagine, has accumulated a lot of stuff. We are slowing trying to go through some of the things and weed out a bit.

We replaced the old worn mirror with a cute one I found at Hobby Lobby and it is the perfect size. Beadboard was installed on the backsplash and painted in Frozen Pond Behr's paint and primer in one. She loves her bird figurines so we kept those close and added a few pieces of colored glassware.

The microwave has always been on the countertop, so we made a shelf for it over the stove. I think we got it too high, so next trip, we will move it down a couple of inches. I plan to paint the cord white so it doesn't show so much and anchor it to the side of the wall bracket.

This area will eventually have a banquette built in on both walls, we just ran out of time and the next step will be laying down the new oak laminate floor. Then the banquette will be last. It will be finished out in the beadboard also. But for right now, this will work just fine. We convinced her to take the leaf out of the table as the space is just too small. I think when the benches are built she will be able to get more people around this 48" table than she thinks.

We convinced her to turn the Fridge and we put in a new 36" base cabinet beside it. The cabs my Dad had built on this side were only about 12" inches deep. This side of the room looks very different, but it has really opened up the room. I am making a new window valance for it with the fabric I showed you in the previous post. I realize the accessories look spare, but believe me for now this is a GOOD thing.

Back on the other side of the room, The new countertops and sink have made such a difference and the painted cabinets make the room soooo much brighter!! My brother and sister have helped with all this financially and physically for which we are thankful. It has been a pretty major project to do on a limited budget and small increments of time, but I am praying it has been worthwhile. Sometimes it is really hard to know how to help an aging parent. I have many frustrations in this area, but I try to just keep giving it all to God to work it out and to work through all of us. I'm sure many of you can relate. When we get EVERYTHING done, I will post pictures again. Thank you for so manys sweet comments about this endeavor. I wish you all blessings and a beautiful Sunday. Linda