I no longer live in the sea of blue Formica!

So when we bought this house, we knew it needed some "fixin up".  Did we realize it needed SO MUCH "fixin up"?  Not as well as we thought.
A few financial road blocks and speed bumps later - and things are finally starting to happen around here..

This was my kitchen in May of 2009 when we bought this house... 
You'll notice my LOVELY plywood cabinets (that were stained, but never sealed so they were etched with dirt that you couldn't wash off) and the ocean of blue Formica.   Oh My Goodness, even the walls had blue Formica on them as a back splash!
OH and that thing in the middle of the island?   That's where the power outlet for the island is...  It was very Space Odyssey 2000.  Isn't that special?

So in the spring of 2010 it was time to make a few changes.  I ripped off the back splash, did some sheet rock repair, texturing, painting, and hardware installation...

Still with the ugly blue Formica, but BETTER, no?

And fast forward to Spring of 2011....
(These are "in progress" pictures.  I haven't kept my kitchen clean enough to take "Finished" pics of it yet..  Once I get all the fabric scraps and school papers out of there, I'll take "FINISHED" pics..  At least til we re-do the floors anyway.  LOL)

Of course we've grouted since then and have all our crap things back on the counters...

I have some pillows for the breakfast nook in the works, and a table runner, and some curtains..  Hopefully those will be done in the next couple of days weeks..