We’ve been making some updates to our kitchen this year, slowly but surely.

As a refresher, here’s what it looked like when we moved in:

120831-034As you can see we had an L-shaped formica countertop!

120831-020And black appliances on the opposite wall. The dishwasher was almost as old as the stove (which is basically ancient).

So the first thing we did this spring was to knock out the old formica countertop! And we put in place two mobile Ikea pieces that provide a ton of storage and butcher block counters:



Here is it all dolled up for a get-together! It’s not perfect but it’s a huge improvement in functionality for us.

Then we got an almost-new dishwasher from a friend (it’s Bosch, all stainless interior and basically 25 years newer than the one we had).


So this is the new Bosch! And while it’s a huge improvement, I actually really wanted stainless steel. And the miracle of modern technology gave me one: IMG_2877

This is actually a giant magnet you put on the front of the dishwasher to make it look like stainless steel. Ha! It works great. We got it at Amazon (affiliate link) and it worked like a charm! I really can’t tell you how much I enjoy this particular upgrade! For some reason it gives me more joy than almost anything else we’ve done in the kitchen so far. Weird, right? IMG_2885Then on Memorial Day weekend we upgraded our refrigerator to this giant beast. YAY for holiday sales! I am in LOVE with this thing. I want to refrigerate my life.

Next up: My kitchen cabinet refresh project.