DESIGN INTERVENTION

Before the holidays a woman emailed me desperate for a miracle in her kitchen. Tired of begging her husband to peel himself away from the television, she emailed me praying for a solution to her dark situation. Her ungodly mess: black cabinets (which I usually love), gold painted diamonds, bad lighting, horrible fixtures and little cash to make it splash! My two suggestions: go to the dark side or head for the light...don't get caught in between! Depending on her taste and style, one suggestion was to paint the cabinets all black with stainless fixtures, paint the walls and ceiling museum white, add a funky light fixture above from Ikea and introduce two new interesting bar stools and a strip of funky white and black wallpaper on the island (all for under $300) OR, the safe way...paint it all white! While she loved the dark side, she knew she'd be attacking this one alone so decided (with hesitation) to paint it white. While this isn't the most dramatic before/after shot I've shown, she's thrilled to death and it proves you can make big change with out spending a lot of it!

TIME TO COMPLETE TASK:One weekend

COST: $75/paint (Benjamin Moore's royal silk in semi-gloss), $29.99 for light fixture, $35.00 for new door/drawer pulls, $39.99 for under cabinet lighting system all from Lowes.

STRESS LEVEL: Divine Design on only a few dimes: LOW