Kitchen Progression

While I was updating the blog the other day with new pictures of our kitchen, including our new appliances, I was thinking about what a change it's taken on since we moved in.  The cost of new appliances (minus the refrigerator since it'll go with us when we move someday) is all we've had to spend to make this transformation.  So, about $1300 considering we got a great deal buying from Goedekers (previously known as number1direct.com).  (Read our review here.)  We weren't planning on forking out money for our new appliances so soon until we had a run in with our dishwasher, followed a few months later with our stove.  But, as usual with unexpected expenses, we bit the bullet, pulled money from savings, researched for days, and then got cookin' with our new stainless steel beauties.  We know we can't exactly call our kitchen "completely upgraded", but it's much better than what we started with.  Let's take a look:

Here's the kitchen right before we moved in:

This is after we painted the cabinets Valspar's Cabin Plank and the walls Valspar's Cream In My Coffee - both leftover from our first house...a.k.a. FREE!

And this, of course, is where it stands now, with our new appliances:

But wait, there's more.  We really love the chocolate brown, and it was great fun while it lasted, but since we have such a small, galley-style kitchen, we're leaning towards a lighter, brighter, and more updated space so...

This is what might be in it's future, courtesy of Photoshop:

Without paying the high price for new cabinets, we'd love to completely update this space with new paint (guilt-free since the last coat was free), new countertops, a new sink, new lighting - on the ceiling and over the sink, and some other aesthetic details - beadboard in a few places, shelving, new molding, and some other wood inserts.  The 'plan' isn't fully tweaked yet though.  For example, knocking out the hollow soffit above the cabinets, raising each cabinet to the ceiling, and then adding floating shelves underneath each cabinet is another idea.  When all is said and done, the first option will cost us around $600, and that's if we pay full price for all of the updates...which we just don't do.  :)  And, it can be done over a period of time, allowing us to continue using the kitchen, instead of all at once which is tougher on the pocket book.  But, for now it's a 'maybe'.  We're not sure yet if the investment will be worth it or if it will even make a difference to a potential buyer someday.  It sure is fun planning though, especially since that's always free.  :)