Something in my kitchen has been bugging me big time ever since my dishwasher was installed. To fix it, I recently made a small change, and that change has had a huge impact on my happiness level! Look at this picture and see if you can figure out what’s bothering me about my kitchen.
Can you guess what it is that bugs me?
- How the toe kick looked after the dishwasher was installed
Can’t guess? It’s that space, the black toe kick that comes with the dishwasher. To me, it looks like a huge black hole because the toe kicks on either side of it are yellow. I can’t tell you how much I hate that! It drives me nuts!!!
Another issue, although you can’t see it, my husband’s size 12 shoes make scuff marks on the toe kick under the sink. That one doesn’t bother me quite as much, but it’s certainly not fun laying on the floor trying to remove black scuff marks without removing the paint.
- Yeah, Tia didn’t like the toe kicks either.
The final issue is that heat vent under the drawers next to the stove. The cover is just a standard white. It’s not terrible, but yes, it bothers me. I’ve spray painted a lot of the vent covers in our house to avoid replacing them, but the yellow paint I used on the cabinets doesn’t come in a spray paint. I could paint it with a brush, but registers painted with a brush just look bad–trust me, they never turn out well–so I’ve left it white.
In my mind, those yellow toe kicks seem to diminish the style of my custom cabinets and take away from my kitchen. They just don’t look right, and for the last seven months, I’ve looked at them and hated them. That’s why I finally decided it was time to change them with a little paint.
Are you ready to see them now??? I bet you’re wondering how they look. You’re not going to believe how much better they look.
- No more black hole under the dishwasher.
TA-DA! See how the “Black Hole” has disappeared. All I did was use some black paint I already had to get rid of the scuffed up yellow and blend in with the black toe kick of the dishwasher. Now the cabinets almost look like they’re floating.
I may add “legs” to the cabinets to give them more character someday, but we’ll see. That idea has always been in the back of my mind, but now they’d stand out more. Although… I can already hear Jim commenting about his feet hitting them if I do add feet. Plus, I might be back to having a black hole. hmmm…something to think about.
- The heat register cover has disappeared too.
I also spray painted the heat register cover so it blends in. I didn’t have any black spray paint, so I painted it oil rubbed bronze, but it looks so much better even if it isn’t black. I’m sure no one except me would notice such details–okay, I also know a few others who would notice–but it makes me so much happier looking at the toe kicks now. To me, it makes my custom cabinets look more custom.
- So much better. I’m happy now.
I really am amazed at how such a small change can make such a huge impact. Even that corner seems to disappear, which gives the illusion that the floors just continue further under the cabinets making the space look larger. I’m just thrilled with the results of my little “five minute” project!
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