It's the Little Things that Make a Big Difference- Kitchen Range Hood:

SNEAK PEAK! Ideally I'd love to use appliance spraypaint on this and paint it either black or white, but I rent, and can only do so much. The range hood and the sink are the same color yellow, which inspired me to pull of a black, white, gray and yellow kitchen.

I found these removable, translucent decals from Dollar Tree (for $1.00) and had planned on using them on the wood over the sink... but they were too sheer. I popped one on the range hood, just playing around, and it really turned out cute! It would have been even cuter if the wood grain didn't come off onto the sticker, but you can hardly tell!

After: (PS See what a difference NEW HARDWARE makes on those cabinets?!)

Before: (never mind the walls they were a work in progress, as you can see [in the AFTER picture] the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser works wonders)!

Close ups:

Inexpensive No Sew Kitchen Curtains:

My kitchen is black, white, gray and yellow. I personally would love yellow curtains, and will get them later on, but for now I purchased 3 3/4 yards of this gray and black scroll material for $6.00 at Mardens.

This was EXACTLY enough to do my kitchen sink window and my large kitchen window.

I love that I can see out of the windows without having to move my curtain over (which is surprisingly what I HAD to do with my WHITE and blue curtains from WalMart). I also love that they allow for the light to come into the kitchen without having a glare.

(Here is a sneak peak of some of the BIG changes we are doing. This is the BEFORE with the OLD hardware on the cabinets.......

this is the AFTER with the NEW hardware on the cabinets! This is the OLD curtain...... )

the AFTER of the curtain that I made (daylight shot) [it's not that crooked- LOL) ....

the after shot (evening). Please excuse the mess.

the close up of the fabric.

MINI SPOTLIGHT!!

It's the little things that make a big difference!

BEFORE: The actual dish soap bottle is sitting on the countertop.

AFTER: Black, white and silver scroll pump bottle now houses the liquid. It's not only more functional, but a lot more appealing. I got it on clearance at Kohl's for $4.00!

~ I also changed out the papertowel holder from a white one to a more sleek brushed stainless steel one (that matches the new hardware). UPDATE: 2/7/10 I not only removed the new papertowel holder- but I've changed it's location entirely. Photos to follow soon.

~~ I also pulled the metal light cover around and faced it out to hide the bulb, where as before the bulb was exposed and not cute looking. By doing this, the papertowel holder matches even more and the light is more inviting and not in your eyes.

My kitchen is going through a major transformation with blogs and pictures to come. A lot has to do with updating it and making it a lot less dated and more cleanly. Other redecorating includes: much cuter outlet covers (I'm just waiting to finish scrubbing up the walls then I am putting them up), decorative shelf and artwork in the kitchen, a new faucet with sprayer to be purchased soon, and we have changed from buying decorative papertowels to purchasing plain white papertowels to match the kitchen better.

Material and Costs:

Mardens fabric- $6.00

Ikea DIGNITET curtain clips- $4.00 ( 24 quantity)

hem tape- had on hand

iron

Instructions for no sew curtains:

cut the fabric to desired length leaving about an inch around the entire side (I left them longer on the left and right sides to that I didn't have to cut them and risk cutting off more than I wanted). Place viewing side down (backside facing up) Crease about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch over and iron it. Rip hem tape to length of hem. Place the hem tape rough side down against the crease line and fold hem over to cover the tape. Press the iron for 3 seconds working all the way down. It is very important to make sure that you make sure your iron is free of hem tape glue as you are about to turn the curtain over to the good side. If there is any glue residue, be careful, grab a wet rag and wipe it down. Press the good side for about a second or two, working your way down.

These curtains (big window not shown due to placement of rod being moved soon)... were different than my first one, as I used the Ikea curtain clips this time.

When all of your sides are hemmed, Grab your curtain in the top middle and fold it evenly, and attach your first hook directly in the middle and work your way out placing hooks where you so much desire. I used 5 clips on the little window and 11 on the big window.

The total cost was about $8.69 for two windows!

It's the Little Things that Make a Big Difference- Livingroom Rug:

I'm semi- spotlighting the new rug in the livingroom, that I purchased for $119.00 at Mardens.
I was in the market for a KITCHEN rug and saw this rug and fell in love with it for my livingroom! It has all of my colors in the livingroom and it beautiful (though my pictures don't do it justice- I'm sorry, I am an awful photographer when it comes to taking pictures of my interior).
There was NO rug there before, just the red carpet. The rug just ties everything together now.
Remember, I am ONLY spotlighting the rug, as there have been new changes to this room, including a SECOND overhaul on the bookshelf (wait til you see THAT before and after blog!!), a new curtain behind the hutch (blog and pictures coming soon), some new decorations for the season (though I am late- LOL), a plant (a.k.a. "element of life"), mirrors, a lamp on the hutch has been repositioned ontop of the tin to add balance, a new tablecloth for the beadboard stand, and the window frame behind the hutch has yet to be stained.
Don't forget to click on the pictures to enlarge them!

BEFORE: The rug isn't as BRIGHT as this is showing, it's more of a deep red or maroon.

AFTER: "Sammy" happy because there's a new rug so he's running around!