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Friday, May 14, 2010

The "Welsh Dresser" Kitchen Makeover -- Done!

Please join me at breakfast this Friday morning, as I show off our new Welsh Dresser cupboard
in our kitchen, and feast on freshly sliced strawberries and Greek Yogurt!



It's done!
Or at least near enough that we can use it this weekend,
and tweak it in coming weeks.
It is a mini-makeover in our kitchen that turned this
(the big odd cabinet/counter on the left hand side of this picture) --

. . . into this:

Previous changes in the kitchen included soapstone countertops, a big single stainless sink in place of a chipped cast iron double, and a 5-burner gas cooktop to replace a smooth ceramic electric. That was on one side of the kitchen. On this side, the ugly too-big cabinet & counter remained.

Until this week.
We reconfigured the cabinets, added a hutch top and a new butcherblock countertop,
and -- well you can read about what we did in yesterday's post.

Last night I had a blast putting dishes on the shelves.


Hope the paint was dry enough!

I couldn't stop taking pictures this morning.
Shot more than 35, but I will mercifully spare you the complete album,
which includes shots of Howard removing refrigerator magnets to make the pictures nicer.

Too bad we forgot to clear off the top of the jam cupboard, to the left of the new cabinet;
we still haven't put everything away after all the fuss and bother of the remodeling.
Good thing we're among friends here.

Let's peek at some details;
I love little corners.


There's no overhead light at this end of the kitchen.
A small table lamp is just the ticket:


There's an overhang at the end of the cabinet, about a foot of countertop;
it's our breakfast bar for one.


We tucked a drafting stool there, and
I'm having breakfast for the first time at my new/old faux Welsh Dresser.

A favorite breakfast -- Greek Yogurt and sliced fruit. Today -- strawberries.


Heavenly.

If you are a yogurt fan and haven't tried Greek Yogurt you are missing out big time.

It's plain yogurt, comes in a range of "fats" -- we buy the zero-fat version but the 4% one
is to die for -- and I do sprinkle on a packet of Splenda when I have it with fruit.

In wintertime, bananas are divine. In summer, it's blueberries, then peaches, then pears, then. . . . you get the idea. Whatever is fresh and ripe. So much better than those fruit flavored yogurts.

We are lucky that our local supermarkets always have one brand or another of the Greek Yogurts on sale.

Now I'm going back to the kitchen to gaze at my new cupboard, while I finish cleaning up the mess we created in the making of it. This was a fast and cheap fix for this kitchen eyesore, and if we'd known what we were doing we probably would have done it differently. But that's okay; it works, and we like it, and it's a vast improvement over what was there before.


Please hop on over to Cindy's My Romantic Home blog, for a look-see
at other Show & Tell projects today.

And Michael at Designs By Gollum is hosting
Foodie Friday and who can resist that?
Now . . . time to finish prepping and primping That Old House for tomorrow's big 90th birthday party for my Dad. Crunch time! Hope you enjoyed our mini kitchen makeover saga. -- Cass

37 comments:

  1. I love it! Well done - right down to the arrangement.
    Have a grand time with your dad's birthday party!

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  2. Cass, that turned out great. Have fun at the party.

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  3. Oh....fabulous!!! Great re-do. That one section of cabinets now in the fantastic black revitalizes the whole kitchen!!

    Hugs, Lana

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  4. Yay!! You finished the cabinet and hutch...with time to spare. What a smash up job!! I love it!

    Thanks for the tip on the Greek yogurt. I have heard that it is wonderful with onions on burgers.

    Have a great party, Cass and Happy Birthday to your father!! :-)

    xoxo
    Jane

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  5. This is an 'extreme makeover' in the best possible way. Can't stop looking at your photos!

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  6. You've done a fine job, it looks fabulous!
    My daughter has painted black cabinets mingled with wood stained in her kitchen, and they look so nice, the contrast is perfect.
    Love, love, your blue dishes, and arrangements, so inviting and yet functional...
    The strawberry's and yogurt don't look half bad either :)
    Thanks for sharing, such a lovely kitchen.

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  7. Cass, it is jsut great and how nice to see "our" dishes so artfully displayed!!! It is a great makeover and probably a lot nicer than IF you would have had cabinets built. Are you really going to use the butcher block (noticed the knives) -- I use mine and I love the "patina" it's gotten over the last 5 years! And the wee statue of Dion -- how cute!

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  8. You did a really wonderful job on that! It certainly looks as though it belongs there!

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  9. Wow - you did a fabulous job, Cass! It looks beautiful.

    xo
    Claudia

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  10. Bravo. The little overhang for the stool is just right. You've got enough dishes to have the whole neighborhood over for dessert. Our designer friend banned our fridge magnets forever at our place. Got us a metal bulletin board for all the stuff, and put in a non-focal point place. Bravo again.

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  11. **clapping of many hands** Fantastical! What a great make over and LoVe that you did it inexpensively. **kisses** Deb

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  12. Cass,
    It is simply gorgeous! I love your dishes on display and the vignette you created for breakfast. Matching lamp, plates, candle holder, etc. So very pretty.

    Enjoy your party tomorrow.
    Hope you can catch a little rest before the company arrives.

    Becky K.

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  13. What a pretty house - and you did a beautiful job of that lovely dresser.

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  14. I think we are twins separated at birth. I love my Welsh dresser in my kitchen and my collection of pottery and I have the same coffee press. Yours turned out so nicely, Cass. Breakfast on the stool with your pretty plates, lamp and dog figurines (I collect those, too) will make the day start out so nicely. Great job.

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  15. Very nice transformation! Love the cabinet!

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  16. It's wonderful, I love everything you have put in there. The light was the perfect touch. I'll bet that is your favorite spot for sure! You have such wonderful treasures, they deserve to be shown off...

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  17. Absolutely love the way you decorated it.
    Changes the whole look of your kitchen. Enjoy!

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  18. It is absolutely beautiful! I love the detail on the corners and the shelves; stunning.

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  19. What a beautiful dresser! And I love the blue & white dishes. I did a post about my small collection of blue & white for Show and Tell Friday.

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  20. So pretty! I love all the blue and white and the strawberry desert is just the finishing touch!!

    Miss Bloomers

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  21. Wonderful!!! It is so pretty. And breakfast looks great too.

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  22. Wow, fabulous makeover. You had good insight - much, much better!!

    :)
    ButterYum

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  23. LOVE LOVE TOTALLY TOTALLY LOVE IT! I adore how you dressed it up too. IT LOOKS WONDERFUL, I wouldn't want to leave my kitchen... ha! Jenn

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  24. Oh my goodness, Cass...that turned out BEAUTIFULLY! I can't believe the difference in the whole room now! WOW! You were very smart to think ahead & plan this down to every detail. I just ♥ it!!!

    p.s. I have that same little blue & white tea light. At least, I think they are exact. I will use it in a TT very seeon.

    Hug your Dad & wish him a "Happy Birthday" from all the bloggers!!!

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  25. but especially from ME...I go for older men, ya' know! LOL

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  26. Looks good all dressed up!
    Have a great party for your Dad and wish hime Happy Birthday!

    Melinda

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  27. What a wonderful addition to your beautiful kitchen. Even the yogurt tastes better I'm sure!

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  28. This is absolutely amazing. Bravo Cass, bravo.

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  29. That looks perfectly wonderful!! And your collection of blue and white dishes looks stunning!!! Love it!!

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  30. Totally fabulous!! Your hard work has certainly paid off. Good for y'all. Your hutch is a real inspiration. I'll be back to look at it again for sure.
    Karen
    Ladybug Creek

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  31. Cass, I LURVE IT!! :)
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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  32. How charming! It makes all the difference to the room. Wonderful job!

    Smiles,
    Diane

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  33. Wow, everything looks fantastic! You have a beautiful collection of blue and white china and it looks prefect on your new hutch. I can see why you took so many pictures-it all looks fabulous.

    Best wishes,
    Natasha.

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  34. What an incredible transformation! It gives the kitchen a completely different look. Nice job! Susan :)

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  35. I love it. I'm a new Greek yogurt fan - I agree it's to die for.

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  36. What an incredible transformation! I love the butcher block and the adorable little stool tucked under the counter. I just found your blog, and can't wait to read more. Two staircases! What a dream! We're in the midst (will it ever end?) of renovating our 1935 Colonial so I'm loving reading about others' old house tales.

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