My Favorite Room in the House

I am really excited about this room!! It's my favorite room in the house, and where I spend the most time. I couldn't stand working in my kitchen until I made this quick and easy update. First of all, I was working with the original appliances from 1973- yikes! Only 2 burners worked, and the oven cooked at a faster rate, so baking was not even an option (good thing I don't have a sweet tooth). The thing that bothered me the most were the awful original brown wood cabinets. That wood was the same color on every baseboard and door and vanity that I worked so hard to paint, so I couldn't stand it anymore! Here is the horrendous before:

KITCHEN BEFORE:

I even forgot to mention the floors! They were white linoleum, and you could see every ounce of dirt. I tried my best to make the room look cute, but to no avail. SOOO, I took a huge risk and primed and painted the cabinets black ($20) to go with my 'bistro' theme, changed the hardware to chrome Ikea knobs (I think they were $1.99/pack of 4), and installed inexpensive track lighting from Depot. Then added an island for prep work, laid linoleum tiles that were beige and didn't show dirt, and bought new appliances. The appliances were definitely a splurge but TOTALLY worth it! After all, kitchens sell houses! Check this out:

KITCHEN AFTER!

Then I wanted to get rid of my old table and buy something more up to date, so I found this one at Big Lots for a really good deal. After some finishing touches, here is the breakfast nook.

Can you see why this is my favorite??!?