Home Tour: My Semi-Open Kitchen With Glass Roof

Before moving into our new apartment last year, we completely renovated the kitchen. It needed a renovation since it was more than 10 years old and the choice of colors and materials by the former owner were not at all to our taste. The dark brown furniture needed to be lightened; I wanted to warm the room because the pink marble worktop and the tiles were quite cold. And above all I wanted to open the kitchen side corridor / living room through a canopy workshop to let in brightness, so it is more enjoyable and pleasant. The renovation of the kitchen was the main project of the apartment, which we followed closely; I even got my hands dirty since I painted all the facades of the furniture.

A retro industrial kitchen

My kitchen has a vintage look with retro tile imitation cement tiles, ceramic sink, mixer with handles of steel and ceramic cupboards. The vintage kitchen appliances with the Smeg fridge, my confectioner's robot and the Kitchen aid blender with their rounded shapes and their pastel colors, are reminiscent of the 1950's.
My enamel spice jars, which I got sometimes ago accords very well with the color of the furniture. My kitchen also has a touch of industrial deco with the workshop-style corner canopy, metal stools and black ceramic suspensions with filament bulbs.

The makeover of my kitchen: the installation of a canopy corner workshop

The kitchen, which is next to the living room, was not very bright and narrow. I wanted to open it to make it more luminous but also more pleasant to live by opening it on the living room. I have always loved the interior windows, the verandas, so naturally we had a glass roof installed. This gives a special touch to the kitchen, and also the living room, making the living room look larger.
The corner canopy also brings some light to the entrance hallway which is quite long and to break this angle which was not at all “feng shui” on the living room / entrance side.
What's great is that from the kitchen, I can now see one end of Noah's room, whenever he leaves his door open. The canopy was made to measure and was mounted by the balcony since it was made in one piece and that given the dimensions it did fit in the stairs!

The makeover of my kitchen furniture

Painting kitchen furniture requires a little time, space and patience! Once, I finished my painting, (I bought two pots but only one was enough!). I went on with the main project of the apartment; I occupied the whole living room by placing the doors of cupboards on trestles.I spread my mission over 5/6 days as it seems to me, to take note of the drying time between layers and make the interior and exterior facades and closets. I went back and forth day and night, to go through the first, the second layer, front and back. You might as well say that I was disgusted at the end and that I did not want to see a pot of painting anymore.
I pulled my hair a bit to find the right paint, then the color of the paint. I was looking for a light pearl grey but I never found it, the grey pulls a little on the blue. I chose a special V33 kitchen renovation paint for varnished wood, painted wood, melamine, laminate and wall-to-wall furniture. I replaced the handles, choosing retro metal and ceramic handles, which fit with my sink and mixer.

What I was proud of was the result, once the kitchen cabinet fronts were reattached to the hinges. It was a lot of work but it was worth it, I think the kitchen looks new; even my loved ones were amazed by the result. So it made my mother-in-law want to repaint her kitchen of the same color! And my mother will do the same;) On the other hand, do not kick with stools or other objects otherwise the paint jumps, especially in the corners.

The makeover of my kitchen: the other renovations

A new tile

The old tiles did not please me at all, and instead of breaking everything, we had a new tile on the old. It's a retro tile imitation cement tile, I love it!

A new work plan and a new credence

I did not find the pink marble worktop very nice with these rounds on the credence, so we opted for a custom wood worktop in solid oak, made by a carpenter in Ardèche.
I sanded the worktop and applied oil to protect it. In terms of hygiene, the wooden worktop is not ideal but I like wood so much and then I did not really have time to look for other possibilities, I had a lot of things to think and manage.
For the credence, we chose a bright white metro tile bought from Bernard Ceramics, the oldest distributor of tiles, stones and mosaics in Lyon (115 years).
I am very happy with the result.

A new induction hob and gas
I could not choose between an induction hob or gas, so I chose to have both! This is very convenient when you have a gas or electricity cut.
It is really beneficial to have both, because with induction I can boil water immediately and with gas they are cooking slower. I chose a Sauter combination hob that has both gas burners in the back, to prevent Noah from getting burned.

o A new sink and a new mixer
I did not find my choice in the store but on the internet. Not being able to install a timbre sink, it is a large white ceramic sink with a drainer that I chose and I fell for this chrome faucet mixer, with a ceramic cartridge.

o A Smeg fridge
I finally have my Smeg fridge which I have been eyeing for years. If you've been following me for a while, you should know that I love retro decor, vintage appliances and water mint. So I chose a 2 doors mint! I hesitated a lot with the top model, and the freezer at the bottom. The design is really nice, however, we are a little disappointed because the fridge cools down a lot, even when it is on 1. It frosts a lot at the bottom, and there is often condensation on the glass trays of the vegetable tray. I think there is a problem with the thermostat.
I admit that at this price, I expected better, especially since we had an Indesit fridge with ventilated cold bought for €400 and that was perfect, we never had any problem with. We couldn’t keep it because it did not fit in the width of the space available.

I love my kitchen, semi-open thanks to the glass roof. It is beautiful, practical, it is a kitchen in which one wants to cook, and it is much easier to cook with Noah, he climbs on his step-foot and has easy access to the work plan. The many cupboards and drawers are perfect for storing almost all my dishes and groceries. The large double cabinet next to the oven was turned into a cupboard; it was a built-in fridge-freezer but I needed more space for my dishes and groceries.
It really changed my life compared to my old kitchen in our rented apartment, which was not furnished at all. At our entrance there was only one sink cabinet. It was neither functional, nor practical, neither aesthetic nor ergonomic and it was not open on the living room. Which is not practical at all, when we have one or more toddlers. Now, thanks to the canopy, I see the whole living room, I'm not cut off from the guests. The only unsightly element is the boiler, which I tried to hide with drooping plants, I bent the drain pipe with a special paint and I made a small hanging shelf. When is a nice little boiler!
What do you think of the result? Do you like the renovation of my kitchen and style? Have you ever renovated a kitchen or repainted the furniture in your kitchen?