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thanks everyone. Limited budget for the time, then we will save up for more as we can. I really appreciate your thoughts. And for the record, I can't just 'teach' my son to be gentle. He had 3 strokes before he was born and do to that has cerebral palsy, epilepsy and cortical visual impairment.
Just adding some color and some interesting items would bring a lot of life to the room (which of course looks quite stark in your photo). I don't like to keep a lot of appliances or clutter on my kitchen cabinets, but a few interesting pieces can look great! Some possibilities would be a brightly colored vase or other container for kitchen tools (spatulas, etc) to set next to the stove, an artificial flower arrangement for the island, a Scentsy-type lamp (inexpensive versions at WalMart), a basket with a few brightly colored kitchen towels rolled up (I prefer to keep my kitchen linens easy access like that instead of in a drawer), a small rug in front of the sink and door, a valance for the window. Regarding the stove vent, I'd take it outside, sand, prime, spray paint black to match the appliances, and finish with a clear protective coat (I've done this with Rustoleum paints to countertops and faucets & handles. Works beautifully!)
Are you or your husband handy enough to trade out the light fixture for some pendant lamps? That would be a great update.
Do keep us posted, and have fun making this house your home!
thanks everyone. Limited budget for the time, then we will save up for more as we can. I really appreciate your thoughts. And for the record, I can't just 'teach' my son to be gentle. He had 3 strokes before he was born and do to that has cerebral palsy, epilepsy and cortical visual impairment.
Make your life easier. Start with the light fixture and the stove vent. Honestly, just changing out those two will have a huge impact on your kitchen. After that, step back and take a look. You might be surprised on how much of a difference it makes.
I would start with changing the countertops (quartz is very durable but pricey), replacing the ceiling light and changing the vent hood. Also to consider adding a backsplash, painting and adding pulls to the cabinets and replacing the faucets. Match the metal of the pulls to the metals in your new island light and faucet. White metals are will lighten the area, oiled brass appears to be a major trend and is "homier" That should hold you until your son matures and you do a major makeover.
As others have said, I wouldn't do much (at least yet, it looks fine for now), but if you were to do anything, the above post has the best ideas imo.
Thanks. We can change out light fixtures. We've had to do a lot of those types of things to get the house we are leaving ready for market. Also the fridge is on the opposite wall as the sink. A pantry is on that wall too. It's nice because our old house had the sink and oven so close it was hard to navigate. Also, we are looking for bar stools for the counter island. I'd like to find ones with backs and a swivel feature but they can't be too flimsy. I'm bad at this so I'm not sure what style stool will look ok with it. We can't get a table in there. There isn't enough room. Is that going to look horrid without a table? The dining room is right next to the kitchen and we have decided to make that less formal and just be our general eat in table area. I'll see if I can post a picture of that area.
Ok here is a view from the other side of the kitchen looking at fridge. We currently have a black fridge at the house and will swap it out with the white one until we have enough money to do stainless steel. To the right of the kitchen is the dining room (yes the hexagon archway atrocious and can hopefully be fixed later). The additional picture is the dining room which will be our table eating place. The floors in the kitchen are laminate and already peeling up on the end. We are replacing it with wood looking tile as well as doing that to the dining room and living room and entry area. Son has a service dog so does not do well with real wood or laminate. The wood tile will mean I have to redo the cabinets eventually but for now, it is what it is.
You can Google "swivel bar stools with backs" to see a lot of choices.
We bought ours from a billiard store here in town that had a lot of variety. They also were much more solid than those from some furniture stores.
I think having stools instead of a kitchen table will be fine, and is a good compromise.
One thing I noticed in the other photos: Painting the wood trim an eggshell/off-white and painting/replacing the wood doors with paneled doors will do a lot to bring the house out of the 80s.
Leave the cabinets as is, but painting the doors and trim to off white would brighten up the place.
Make your life easier. Start with the light fixture and the stove vent. Honestly, just changing out those two will have a huge impact on your kitchen. After that, step back and take a look. You might be surprised on how much of a difference it makes.
Agree with this. A new light fixture will make a huge difference as will the vent. Live with it and then decide what is most important (if anything) after that. It's a good layout and there's nothing "offensive" about it.
For bar stools watch for Lamps Plus to have a sale. They actually have some very nice inexpensive bar stools.
If you are getting one with metal on it, try to match the metal to the metal in your new lighting fixture.
I would keep the style simple. Something like this might work.
I usually begin my search on Amazon because the site has great filtering tools letting me zero in on type and style. They also post reviews. Once I find a particular item that I want I do a google search for the best pricing, shipping and return policy.
One thing I noticed in the other photos: Painting the wood trim an eggshell/off-white and painting/replacing the wood doors with paneled doors will do a lot to bring the house out of the 80s.
Leave the cabinets as is, but painting the doors and trim to off white would brighten up the place.
This! It's time consuming but an inexpensive fix that will make the space look SO much better.
Ok, so:
limited budget
occupant who is harder on finishes
special needs (service dog- special flooring)
Do you enjoy doing reno work? do you have time to devote? My bro is special needs so I could totally understand if you don't.
For the look, I agree with another poster who suggested painting out doors and trim. That will make a huge impact. My current place is very similar. apartment white walls with wood stained hallow doors and skinny trims wood stain. Carefully sanded, primed and painted white against an actual wallcolour the house no longer looks like it resides in the early 90's. It appears larger and brighter too. I don't use stark white- I always tint trim paint slightly to take the "frost" out of it, it still appears white.
The kitchen, while dated that type of cabinetry is at least durable, it will as-is hide damage from your son if he happens to create scratches in the finish. Until you have a massive budget- try to keep them if possible. Another options is using paint to create an antiqued finish that could also hide areas of future damage (where another colour shows through on raised edges). Swapping counters, tiling the back-splash and adding a nice roman in the kitchen window for softness, swapping the light fixture could go a long way in transforming the space. If it were me, slate grey colour counter, lighter cabinetry and simple white subway tile splash. I would also try to turn the wall above the uppers into looking like they are also part of the cabinetry with trim. and painting to match.
Flooring, I would speak to some flooring professionals about options. Does your son have a wheelchair as well? Depending on the joists in the home tile can turn into a costly endeavour. Here 90's homes typically have a lot of flex in the original floors that need to be addressed before any tile is installed. There are some very durable vinyl plank floorings on the market (not from big box stores) which could be more cost effective, pretty and durable enough for your kiddo and his service dog.
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