As I mentioned in my first post, we are in the process of updating/renovating our kitchen.  Our kitchen looks great from a distance, but once we moved in we realized there were some issues.  The tile countertop was laid in place when it was put in almost 20 years ago and unfortunately due to the weight of the tiles pulled away from the wall.  It left a big gap at the back of the counters which has been driving us nuts since it is a spot that always collects crumbs and water.  The other problem is that some of the tiles have been broken and the grout is started to break down.

I love the tile countertop since you can pull things straight of the oven and place it on the counter without damaging them.  Last week-end we checked out countertops and made a final decision (beech butcher block from Ikea- for those of you with butcher block counters, how did you seal it around the sink (linseed oil, beeswax, marine finish, water lox)), went to look at sinks, faucets, hardware and picked up the paint for the island.  We decided to go with Behr Pencil Point.

The main cupboards are going to be a slightly brighter cream than what they are now. We are then going to give the walls a fresh coat of paint (a very light brown) and will have to decide on a backsplash. We have the sink on order. &It is the Kohler Hartland Self-Rimming Cast Iron Sink. It should be in the end of April. I love the look of a white cast iron sink and the durability will be great as well.
Now to make our final decision on the faucet and we will be well on our way. I can’t wait to see the end result. I think it may be a bit before we paint again now that the temperatures have dropped, it is too cold to take the cupboard doors outside to paint. Here is a sneak peek at the island so far, it has only been painted so far, but it makes a big difference already.