Finishing the Kitchen

So, for a long time the window in our kitchen was BORING. There was a white roller blind against a white wall, accented by white tiles, and - you guessed it - a white fridge, oven, stove, and washing machine. The counter top is tan, the floors are a medium faux-wood vinyl, and the cabinets are faux-birch veneer. As rooms go, it was pretty same-ish.

It took me ages, but the other day, after letting the Husband take all the time to come back to B&Q with me to get proper materials and then building the structure of the thing himself (and even hanging it for me), I finally got around to upholstering the cornice box I'd been dying to put over that naked-ass window.

The Spoonflower fabric is no longer mocking me from its bag.

Seriously, people. That window was nekkid before. It wasn't pretty. I have now dressed it. But I really couldn't let matters stop there. If you've been following my domestic exploits for long enough, you'll know that my whole plan for that back wall of our kitchen involved a new coat of paint, as per my ideas board in this post. Well: I did it. That's right! I finally got the whole project finished and painted the back wall of the kitchen in a lovely colour that Valspar calls Cool Springs. At least, I think it's that one. I've officially misplaced the paint chip and the name isn't printed on the tester pot I picked up from B&Q this morning. #bloggerfail

Looking a bit dark in the backlighting of the midday sun.

E and I went out on a quick B&Q run and just grabbed a tester pot of the colour I wanted. I'd done all of my agonizing over paint chips months ago, so my paint-inspired, long, dark tea-time of the soul was all done and sitting at the opposite end of months' worth of apathy. So thankfully, though I'd picked what was probably the hardest wall in the kitchen to paint (thank you, awkward boiler), it was also the smallest. This meant I could do the entire job just with a brush and not bother breaking out the roller for anything.

Once E was down for his nap, I heated up the oven (hey, it was lunch time and Mama wanted a pizza!), grabbed my handy-dandy Frog Tape, and got to work. Obviously, the cornice box and picture frame came down, but everything else was taped up. Incidentally, the hardest part wasn't painting around that pipe in the upper left of the picture, it was getting into the space behind the boiler. Sure, you can't see it from most points in the kitchen, but you can if you're at the sink doing dishes, so I figured it didn't have to be perfect, but it did need to look presentable if ever you chanced to peek into the space that otherwise would have become a spider sanctuary. The cobwebs I cleaned today...I shudder to think what is still lurking and living in my house.

So, once the painting was done, I had my lunch, called my mom, and then once naptime was over it was off to Bracknell for some fun swimming. E enjoyed this place much better than our last trip to the leisure centre...possibly because there were bits of the pools he could wander around in on his own. Plus, who doesn't love rapids and geysers? And since we just made the cut-off time for the cheaper adult admission rate, it was a steal since we got way more pool for the same price as our local set-up.

All of that swimming gave the kitchen wall plenty of time to dry, so by the time we were sitting down to some chicken Jalfrezi and pasta carbonara in front of Dr. Who, I was able to pop everything back into place and snag this photo. I wish the kitchen was always so tidy...

...pull back for the full effect.

I just love how that colour makes the tiles in the backsplash pop. And you can finally see the roller blind! All in all, I call it a job well-done. Though, more truthfully, I should admit that I'm on a DIY bender to pass the time until The Husband returns. Good thing he's only gone a week or he might not recognize the flat he came home to!