Apartment Kitchen Make Over

Our kitchen, the day we moved in

Just about a year ago, Tom and I were less than a week away from our wedding. We were also in the middle of moving into our apartment. Over the last 12 months we have definitely transitioned our apartment into our home. Rooms that were once full of boxes are now full of furniture, and we have put rugs on the floors to make everything seem more "homey". You know, about as much as you can do when you are renting. A couple of weeks ago, I had an epiphany of sorts. I realized that I  absolutely hate our kitchen. I know I am sort of stating the obvious by saying this, but our kitchen looks like an apartment kitchen. More specifically, like a college student's apartment kitchen. Do not take this the wrong way, I'm not trying to bash on college students, what I am saying is that I graduated college 8 years ago. (Holy crap, has it really been that long?!?!?!) I'm married now, it's time to have a grown up kitchen.

Up until now, our kitchen was made up of hand-me-downs and stuff that we have individually been hanging onto for a decade or more. I was not blessed with a bridal shower before I married Tom. Due to the fact that I was young and stupid once, my marriage with Tom is my second wedding. In my family, bridal showers are reserved for first time brides, as they should be. I am not bothered by the lack of a bridal shower; however, the amount of ivy kitchen stuff I had left over from my bridal shower to my now-ex does bother me. Out with the old, in with the new. It's time to update our kitchen, well, as much as we can in a rented apartment. My mother-in-law gave us a gorgeous 1950's vintage table before we moved from Kansas City to Maine. Even though the table sits in our dining room with a set of matching reproduction chairs, I opted to use the table as design inspiration for our kitchen. Ideally, we will be in a home of our own in the next couple of years, which means the table will eventually make it into the kitchen.

Source My new dishes! I have a set in red and black

This brings us up to now, we are updating and redecorating our kitchen, on a budget. Our color palette comes directly from the table, red and chrome with a little black thrown in for flavor. Originally, I wanted to go full 50's vintage, but now I think I am going to go for more of a vintage flavor with a modern feel. So far I was able to acquire a vintage chrome canister set, we also have a new set of dishes, bakeware, and knives thanks to sales at shopworldkitchen.com. If you have not heard or visited this site, I would strongly recommend it. They carry brands like Corelle, Pyrex, and Corningware and they are always having sales. We are just waiting for a Revere sale so that we can upgrade our pots and pans. I'm eyeing some other decorations from around the web, and I'm also trying to work some DIY projects in, just to add that personal touch. We are about 1/3 of the way through right now, and I am already so much happier with my kitchen.