Kitchen Before & After(ish)

I believe I've posted before about what a nesting mode I'm in.  I'm sure much of it has to do with McBaby #3 coming, but I've kinda always been one to nest, really.  I've always loved projects, messing around with stuff, getting my hands dirty, and trying to give new life to old crap items.  

This last few months, the big project has been the kitchen.  It was fine before, but it needed wanted (see how I've personified it?) a facelift.  Last summer, we visited McHusband's family in south Texas.  We drove (uh-huh) and the trip home included 30 bliss-filled hours with 2 sick children, peeing (among other things) in cups (being that Jeff is from the edge of the map and bathrooms can't be either found or trusted down there), crying (on my part), and, what led to the kitchen redo, a hutch, table, and 8 chairs stuffed in every nook of the van available or on the top.  Someone has to be white trash, right?  We looked like the Clampetts.  No one in the family wanted McHusband's great-grandmother's farmhouse dining room set.  What?!? We couldn't stand to leave it!  It still has the leather tag on the back with the name of the town where McHusband was born.  The pieces must be at least 75 years old.  

Anyhoo, new furniture meant shuffling the china around and so it began... Being that the blog is about how much of our life centers around the table, I'm happy to show you how the rest of our house has also revolved around a table lately.  Here is where we are in process...

For some reason, the before picture (left) is reversed.  Not sure how that happened??  I don't have a shot without my family in it, sorry.  This is what it looked like when we came to show our family around as we were closing on the house.  As you can see, the after(ish) (right and others below) has new painted greenish/gray cabinets, a new white dishwasher, new white hood, chalkboard wall, floating shelves along wall, new curtain, new tile backsplash, new paint, among probably a few other things.  Here are a few more shots - the top is from the dining room which shows the new table and hutch.  We replaced the knobs on the hutch and added my grandmother's collection of vases along the top.  

Here's a shot from the other direction.  Still need to organize (don't I always?) the desk area and make some curtains, but we added bookshelves to the left and right of the double doors to make a more useful office area.  Found the perfect width at IKEA... gotta love that place.  Here is the backsplash we did... my first real tiling attempt.  It lines the area under the window by the sink and down the long counter too.

Maybe you've noticed how clean my kitchen looks?  If you haven't noticed and think this is normal, maybe we wouldn't make for good friends.  I'll go out on a limb and show you what is normal around here... here is my head chef...

Here is what it often looks like because of my bad habit of starting too many projects at once.  Yikes!  There are cords to be organized, invitations being made, oranges being juiced, crafts being, uh, crafted, stools out for my little helpers, and various other stuff.

But this is my favorite way of all and how many-an-evening is spent.  Here is a shot of family over for a pitch-in dinner.  Full tables, happy hearts.