Mish Mash Part 3... Kitchen Reveal

I began this mini Mish Mash blog series a bit backwards.  

You see, it all started with the purchase of this monster of a sectional for our living room.

In no way shape or form do we have a large "great room" (living room, kitchen, dining in a big connected space), but trying to cram the fam on our three-seater sofa comfortably while watching an awesome episode of The Walking Dead or Game of Thrones was a bit of a challenge.  "You bought a bigger sofa, so what?" you ask?  I'll emphasize again - this sectional is a MONSTER and took up the already very little space (about a foot) we had to walk in between our kitchen island and our former sofa.  To add to that, our kitchen island was somewhat of a danger hazard.

Here's another reminder of how the Smitten kitchen used to look like:

I have jabbed myself in the ribs too many a times on this island corner.

Having to walk all the way around the kitchen to get to the dining room became a chore and we weren't about to return our new super comfy, bed-like, constantly falling asleep on sofa.  Our only option was to give the heave ho to a huge chunk of the island.

Discovery of the original selection of
flooring by previous homeowners.  WT Fuuuudge?

Look at all that wasted space!

 That also meant we had to get a new counter top.

Which then led me to analyze what I've had to live with since we moved in:
ALL OLD COUNTER TOPS MUST GO!!!

And of course which also led to new paint for the entire main area, an added back splash, new flooring and a completely new look for every room I could think of before the hubby could get a chance to give me a red light.  All of this on a limited budget.  It's been a crazy few months, to say the least.  

Here's how we pulled it off...

Our close friends gave to us this solid sturdy Boos Blocks butcher block as a gift.  Thanks, Matt and Jodi!

With a little muscle weight and sweat, sanded the piece until smooth and finger paint free.

Compromised with my need for an all stainless steel back splash and got a bit creative for a fraction of the cost:
A mixture of tile and stainless steel capped tiles and faux wood floor tiles = One hell of a savings!

Here's another recap of the evolution of the kitchen...

Yecchh

Meh

And now the new 

Smitten Household Kitchen...

I'm in luuurve...

Scored these fantastic lime green Tabouret metal stools from my have consignment warehouse: Rock Bottom Sales

My favorite part of the entire kitchen.

Different.. You know how I love different.

Bunt cake pans I found thrifting.  $0.75 each

Menu chalkboard: $1, Vintage Neiman Marcus mug: $0.75, Keurig: Priceless - I could not function if  ours died.

And check out ALL of this SPACE!!!  

Stay tuned for my next post so you can stop asking yourself why the heck I stuck Mr. Smitten in the pantry with a spray gun and a face mask.

xoxo,

~*Abigail*~