Ask the audience [kitchen edition] + update

Update:

It is fun reading through your ideas. Keep them coming by leaving a comment -- I read them all.  From those who commented so far, I heard, "no to the curtains," "for the love of all that is good and holy, get rid of the soffit," "try an island," and "yes, paint the cabinets a darker color." Good, good ideas here.

Jeff also enjoyed reading your comments. We had a very calm and introspective conversation about the kitchen. He understands my complaints. I've got a good man here. Soft and chewy oatmeal cookies are in the oven as we speak to reward that good man for having an hour long conversation about my kitchen woes -- a conversation that ended with him agreeing to back-breaking work. The Handy Man said he thought skinnying up the cabinets and taking out the soffit are do-able. I am sure he would swim through shark infested waters to get me a lemonaid. Stay tuned for "How Blogging Saved My Marriage," coming soon in paperback.

As we speak (hypothetically speaking), I'm trying out an island. I have a small table that and I'm trying it now in the middle of my kitchen. The jury is still out and my hips are bruised from crashing into it 147 times already today. Another ideas we tossed around are to move the computer desk to the back hallway and add a work station to the kitchen for baking.

I'll have more questions for you soon, oh wise blog audience.

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There is no way to more quickly strike fear and trepidation into my husband's heart than for me to say, "I've been thinking about changing some things in the ______ room." Whether the living room, the bathroom, a bedroom, or the kitchen, he knows that all my thinking amounts to a whole lot of work for him. Dreams come cheap.

So, I've been dreaming about my kitchen. And my husband is quaking in his strong, manly boots. This is what I've been dreaming about:

(photo credit from Better Homes and Gardens)

Interestingly enough, a $50,000 kitchen remodel is not in the budget right now. No kitchen remodel is in the budget right now.

My kitchen is not super functional and is showing the wear and tear of a busy and not-so-clean family.  I would like to, ehem, make some changes. Small changes that would make the space more inviting, more functional, and not a lot of work for the hard-working man of the house.

Here is what we are working with, oh smart, creative, and amazing audience:

The issues:

• Cabinets painted white are chipping and show every dirty paw print. There are a lot of dirty paw prints around here.

• The top cabinets sticks out nearly as far as the bottom counter making the space very cramped. For a prep space, it doesn't work because I can't see what I am doing. Not sure what the builder was thinking there.

Those are really my only problem. Small, right? No $50,000 kitchen makeover required. I've been throwing ideas around in my head.

I ended up with something like this:

Open shelves on the left, take out the soffit, add pendant lights, paint bottom cabinets brown, replace the doors on the left cabinets with a fun, changeable fabric, (maybe make the top cabinets less deep if I sweet talk the contractor) and add another row of white tiles on the backsplash.

Okay, now it is your turn. Leave a comment with an idea to make this space better-homes-and-garden worthy on a bologna budget. Post a link if you have a great idea too! Thanks for your help. My husband thanks you too...