All photos via Pinterest
It's hard to believe we've been in our current place for a year already and that our lease is up at the end of this month. We haven't been totally in love with it, so when we got the letter saying our rent was going way up, we started throwing around the idea (again) of buying a house. We've hit the open house circuit pretty hard the past two weekends in addition to scheduling private showings with realtors to see places in the area. My head is spinning from everything we've seen, but there's one thing that stands out. The kitchens. And not in a good way.
About half the kitchens we've seen have been updated. Except they usually have dark wood cabinets, and dark granite countertops. The other half haven't been touched. At all. Like since they were built. Shudder. The moral of the story? It looks like a kitchen reno is in our future when we finally settle on a place.
But since we haven't actually decided on anything yet and all this is still one big hypothetical, I did the only logical thing: turn to Pinterest for inspiration for when the day comes. I should probably note that the houses we're looking at look nothing like what's in these photos, and these kitchens are probably the size of the entire downstairs living space in most places (that's DC suburb living, for ya). But even a scaled back version of any of the above would be a dream come true.
And since we're not spending actual money, I'll also take this flatware, this milk bottle-shaped vase, and these gorgeous salt and pepper mills.
Happy Monday!
I feel your pain! We ended up farther out in the 'burbs then we wanted but the allure was too great of both space & getting a dream kitchen with a reno. Not something we could've done in Arlington, especially with the tiniest kitchen spaces you've ever seen.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
Finding a house with a kitchen we liked was the most difficult task when we were looking at houses to buy. One of the most frustrating parts was looking at a remodeled kitchen and thinking, "who thought pink granite was a good idea in here?" That house was great and move in ready, but I couldn't get over that stupid pink granite! And the tree hugger in me couldn't justify replacing brand new granite!
ReplyDeleteWe ultimately went with a house that needed a complete and total kitchen renovation and it was a pain in the rear, but now one year later post-renovation we're still absolutely in love with our kitchen. I highly suggest buying to renovate because then you get to pick every single thing you want and you're not stuck with anything else someone else thought through (unless they were awesome of course.) Good luck!
http://jax-and-jewels.blogspot.com
In. The. Same. Boat. After 8 years (8! I still can't believe it) of being in our house, we've finally saved up for the ultimate kitchen reno. Just like I'm sure you've seen, I've been living with 1980's cabinets and counter tops just itching for this change. After living with dark and dowdy, light and bright is the game plan. Good luck in your search!
ReplyDeleteJenn @ www.jenninspired.com
Dark counters aren't always the worst but nothing compared to the marble tops you've picked out... gorg!!
ReplyDeletehttp://chelseascollection.com
Now is definitely a great time to buy! We bought in NE DC a year and a half ago and I'm already considering refinancing with the new lower interest rates. Our kitchen was new but not at all what I wanted... no natural light, oak cabinets, purpleish granite. We couldn't afford a full kitchen reno, but the budget route worked wonders. We painted cabinets, installed undercabinet lighting and we're finishing the new backsplash this week – it feels like our dream kitchen now and for less than $1k.
ReplyDelete