Welcome, this week I write with the good news that with my kitchen makeover now complete I submitted the results to my course tutor and now have the news that I have now gained my certificate in Home Styling!

To complete my assignment I had to submit two before and after photos and had to write the story of the transformation as below:

Before Shot 1

Before Shot 2

and now for the after shots……….

After Shot 1

After Shot 2

I am pretty pleased with the results, if I do say so myself!  It did take a lot of hard work and some expense which is why I had to spread it out over a few months but I do think all the effort has been worthwhile.  My tutor had some good comments about the the new brightness of the room but did make a suggestion that it would help to paint the window surround to blend in with the new grey shelves.  I totally agree, but unfortunately at the moment I think that would be one step too much for hubby, so they will stay as they are for now.

Please find below my story:

For this assignment I have chosen my kitchen as I would possibly like to move house in the not too distant future and thought that this room particularly was letting our house down.  In reality if budget allowed I would like to knock through to the dining room and make one large open plan space.  However this is not the point of home styling.  Home styling is all about making the most of what you have with some tweaks here and there to make the room much more appealing to a wide range of perspective purchasers in order that they can imagine themselves living in the space.

As you can see from the first two photos the room was very dark; we often had to have the lights on for most of the day.  The pine cabinets were stuck in the 1990s and together with the pine table and chairs I feel the look seemed very dated and just not what prospective buyers looking for a modern family home are after these days.

On a small budget I really wanted to brighten the room up to give a more fresh modern feel and also to give a taste of the kitchen/living/dining that is so popular these days.

The first and most important thing to do was to paint over all the pine units in an off-white colour.  This was a big task but the results are very pleasing – the room now looks so much lighter and brighter.  The door knobs were rotting away and so were replaced with some white ceramic ones with black centers to tie up with the black appliances in the space.  I took away the worn out kick-boards at the bottom of the units replacing them with smart new chrome cabinet legs which helps to open up the space.  One thing that I did was to take down a wall cupboard on the wall above the washing machine – this was actually a nice open cupboard with space for plate racks but I just felt it looked quite heavy.  In its place I now have two open shelves in a lovely grey colour to stack plates and bowls and other accessories.  Much more pleasing to the eye and much more modern!  The walls were all repainted in a similar greige colour (as this was one of the things I did like about the room!).  The floor tiles are a bit of a bugbear as I no longer like them and they do not really fit in with the room but could not afford to replace them and so have put down a flat weave floor rug to try and achieve a more cohesive look.

To complete the look of the room and as my hubby didn’t want me to paint the pine table, I have thrown a large wipeable tablecloth on top and replaced our old pine chairs with some lovely Eames inspired ones which are very popular these days and appeal to a broad market.  In the corner of the wall to the right of the table there are a couple of small semi-circular shelves for added display.  I have added lots of plants, pots of herbs, a shabby chic lamp, picture and mirror to make the space feel loved and lived in.  Also updated is the bread bin to a more contemporary style and some new storage jars on the counter top.  There is a display of three attractive dressing oil bottles and some lemons under a cloche.  I have also styled some popular healthy eating cookery books in this area.  I have candles alight and glowing and have a scent burner giving off a welcoming aroma.

I believe that my improvements to this room have made it much more appealing to a wide range of purchasers, and would entice them to look at the property as a whole as a bright, welcoming family home.

After Shot 2

After Shot 1

Finally if anyone feels like they need some home styling tips I will do my best to try and make some helpful suggestions!

Until next week…………..