A Kitchen Makeover for My Son's 1920's Home - Or Should I Say His "MANsion"

If you have an old house that you are fixing up,

then chances are - I read your blog!

I heart old houses

especially this one . . .

probably because it belongs to my son & his friend.

They are living in it, fixing it up,

& renting out some of the rooms to other students.

Hunny & I helped them with a little

Kitchen Makeover

& I wanted to share it with you.

Here's the before . . .

As a designer, if I had one good tip, it would be to

be true to the era of your house.

This little gem was built in the 1920's.

I feel the kitchen tile choice

{installed before my son bought the home} is unfortunate. 

It has that "mountain lodge" look -

not "adorable 1920's house". 

But, tile is a pain to replace, so they're 

working with what they've got.

I'm pretty sure the cabinets are original to the house

& I LOVE them. The paint was tired & I wasn't a fan of the

two-toned yellow-doors-on-greyish-white situation.

{It looked a lot worse in person!}

We chose a pleasing creamy white to freshen them up . . .

{The guys helped too - they're taking the photos!}

For the walls, I picked a nice neutral hue that looks good

with the white cabinets & doesn't clash with the busy floor tile.

Here's what it looks like now . . .

We cleaned the handles & replaced the hinges.

The new kitchen is fresh & clean.

The guys wanted red walls, but "their designer" 

was worried that would clash with the busy tile floor.

So we bought them some red accessories instead.

{While I was shopping, Jeff & I texted back & forth A LOT with my photos attached to a message that said, 
"Is this too girly?"}

I wanted items that look at home in a 1920's house. 
Most of these accessories are from Target or Walmart with the exception of the "Coke" sign - which was from a local antique store. My favorite is the striped pitcher from 
Home Goods {only $7}. 

I asked the guys if the fruit bowl was masculine

{since it's stainless steel}. Their response? 

"Yeah, because what's more manly than a fruit bowl?!"

{Followed by snickering.}

- Eating the "manly fruit" from the "masculine fruit bowl" -