Lettin' the Light On In

Update! I've linked this post up with all the other awesome bloggers for Katie Bower's Pinterest Challenge- Winter Edition. C'mon and join the fun!

Has another week passed already?? Sheesh. I'll be honest, guys. I totally bombed the photo challenge this week. Not one picture. :(

BUT!

I did make up for it by KNOCKING OUT some serious projects this weekend! *Happy Dance*

I've finally gotten our spare bathroom lookin purty- a post on that process later this week. :)

What I'm realllllllly excited about is our kitchen.

I've always liked the layout of our kitchen. Tons of cabinets, a generous pantry, dated appliances but in decent shape and good working order, and gorgeous laminate floors. I posted some weeks ago an update to the kitchen. We started its transformation with some "Gleeful Green" Ace Premium satin paint. I love this color! It truly is gleeful. :)

Next I took some scrapbook paper and put it into two 8x10 frames to hang above the stove.

I then hung a basic curtain rod and using Heat 'N Bond and my trusty iron fashioned a curtain for the window above the sink.

The result of it all was something like this:

I liked it. It was cozy and reflected our my personality a lot better than the 'before'. I was okay with my faux Roman shade curtain (I simply used a tension rod and draped the fabric over it to give the layered look) but it meant I couldn't use the blind because it would pop the tension rod off. I didn't like the loss of function because I looooove sunlight in my kitchen!

So needless to say, I fell in LOVE when I saw this on Pinterest:

Gorgeous, right?! I just knew I could do this, and it would be a perfect solution: Lots of natural light in the kitchen, cute curtains, and privacy when I want it. I convinced Hubs to take down the blind and the brackets that held it along with my cheapo curtain rod. He then helped me hang the cafe rod (I could've used a tension rod, but there wasn't one in a bronze finish) and I got to work making the curtains. All I did was take apart my original curtain, cut it in half, re-adhere (is that a word?!) the edges to make each mini-curtain smooth, attach each to rod clips and slide the curtains onto the rod.

While at the store my first go-to would have been satin nickel metal, but after following the Petersik's kitchen reno over at Young House Love, I decided to be bold and go for the bronze!

The result:

 

 I am SO in loooove!!!! The photo does not even do it justice! It's so perfect. Tons of gorgeous sunlight fills the kitchen now, bringing life and energy to a room that needs it! The bronze really sets everything off and complements the other colors/metals in the room; in my opinion, anyway.

The other touch I added to the kitchen this weekend, in my husband's words (and trust me, his comments on decor are few and far between!) 'make the whole thing'. Again, thanks to Pinterest and this pin I found some cutie patootie art to give our grub hub a breath of fresh air:

 

Can I just say that looking at this makes me want to have a 'Legally Blonde' moment?!? Like, I just totally love this art! It's sooooo cute! Eeek! Okay, whew. I'm done. For now. :)

I liked my kitchen before; I really did. But now I am totally head over heels for it.

I won't mind coming home bone tired at the end of a long day and cooking dinner in such a bright, cheery space! It will be wonderful once our yard is fenced in and I can watch our pups, and one day our kiddos, playing in the backyard out this gorgeous kitchen window.

So what home projects are you up to? Sometimes something as little as an 8x10 print can really make a big impact on a space! Lots more projects are on deck here in the Atkins household- finish painting the kitchen (you can see the spot above the cabinets), fencing our yard in, planting our flower bed, doing a lil landscaping, and finishing up the guest bathroom. Stay tuned!

Hopefully I'll get my rear in gear on this photo challenge and do a better job this coming week. Feel free to follow on Instagram- ajatkins4120

Much love and until next time,