Kitchen Makeover

The kitchen was the first big project that we tackled. Eventually we plan to expand and redo the whole thing, but that is years down the road. For now, we gave it a little face-lift before we moved in. Can you believe all we did was paint, add knobs and install a new light?I really like white cabinets. My father-in-law, a painter, was kind enough to paint all the cabinets an off-white. I love them. After doing some online research, I primed, sponge painted and sealed the laminate counter-tops. If I had it to do over again, I would use a different sponge technique, but they look so much better and have held up well so far.
Then something had to be done about the big, ugly, dim, florescent lights. I was at a loss. But Jeremy's sister and husband were full of ideas. We decided to leave the recessed ceiling and add a chandelier. Our brother-in-law was our electrician and provided the help and tools for Jeremy to install the light, which I got for a great deal and a little hassle at Lowes. We still need to mud and paint the recessed part, but it is a huge difference and I'm so glad we did it.
And I owe my in-laws a big thank-you for all their help--couldn't have done it without them.
Here's the before and after: