One Room Challenge – Kitchen Redo

This spring, for the first time ever, I decided to join in on the One Room Challenge. This is a bi-annual challenge set forth by the site Calling It Home to encourage bloggers to makeover one room in their home and share it in a six week saga. I had a hard time deciding which direction to go with this, and I eventually decided on a minor kitchen redo.

So if you are new to my blog, here’s the skinny. I live in a bi-level where you enter my home to a tiny foyer and then walk up a short number of steps to the main living space (kitchen, living room, and dining room). Our house was flipped, so a lot of it was “builder grade” because the flipper put in laminate counters, stock cabinetry, etc. They also painted every single wall the same color beige. Desperate for color, the first week we painted the nursery green and the kitchen red. Here’s what our kitchen looked like shortly after we moved in:

And here’s the dining room:

Like that picture quality? Anyway, I’ve done a few things to update these spaces since moving in, we replaced the windows and painted the window trim white the first summer. This made a huge impact! I have also purchased new bar stools and a table and chairs set over the years.

So this is with the white window and new bar stools.

The only other thing I’ve done is my tedious faux painted back splash project last spring. If you have never heard of a painted back splash, you should check out how I did it! I was seriously inspired by the blog Reality Day Dream.

So this is where my kitchen is at today. I have to be honest, since I did my faux tile, I have not loved the red. I feel like it clashes with the back splash I worked so hard on. I also have been meaning to paint the baseboard trim white to match the window trim in our upper level FOREVER and I’m finally going to do it. And of course, there’s more. My whole to-do list for the kitchen redo is as follows:

• Paint walls
• Paint baseboard trim white
• Place interesting decor in dining room corner
• Paint light switch & outlet covers white
• Purchase curtains for dining room window
• Paint fabric curtains with a modern design
• Perhaps buy a dining room rug
• Plan a task that doesn’t start with “P”

Here’s where I need your help. I’m struggling with the decision to purchase a rug. I have two little children who make an obscene mess on the dining room floor every time they eat. This is why I don’t usually place a rug under my table. However, I know a rug would really warm up the space and give it more character, not to mention comfort. Do you think I should buy a rug for my dining room? Do you have a dining room rug that you despise because you’re always cleaning it?

Thanks for visiting my blog and joining me for this kitchen redo! I hope you enjoy following along the next six weeks as I introduce projects I’m DIY-ing for the space and progress I’m making towards the final result.