Happy Friday guys! Since the first three days of this week were full of bigger updates (like this craziness, our desk haul & overhaul, and a bunch of showhouse progress) it felt nice to switch gears and knock out a few smaller updates at the end. It’s always refreshing to bounce from broad planning stuff – like office layout debates and showhouse furniture arrangements – to focusing on a few quick tasks (like yesterday’s mirror switch). And thankfully this update couldn’t have been easier.
Remember our lovely almond dishwasher?
As you know, we’re planning to replace our appliances during a full kitchen renovation down the line, but I heard an almost-sounds-too-good-to-be-true tip from a few of you that I had to try. Urban legend has it that appliances like these often have removable panels (i.e. the almond colored part) that can be flipped over or painted. So the other day I did some exploratory unscrewing.
With three screws removed on the side, I was able to pop off a thin metal trim piece.
And then, lo and behold, out slid this removable panel. The best part? The backside was white!
When I pulled it out entirely I realized there were actually two separate panels in there, and each one was double-sided. Which meant I could snap this side-by-side photo of the original cream-colored panel and the bright white one next to it for comparison. The color that you see on the dishwasher behind them is just some sort of cardboard backing that was in there.
On the backside of the cream panel was this mustard option that would’ve been… um… an interesting choice. I couldn’t resist holding it up just to freak John out.
Predictably, I put the white panel in, reattached the side panel, and stepped back to take pictures – ready to marvel at how much better it looked. Except I didn’t like it. Sure, it was white like the shelves and the upper cabinets, but among all of the dark lowers it just kinda of called more attention to itself.
The backside of the white panel was black, so I removed the panel again, flipped it over to the black side, and tried again. MUCH better.
It’s still not the prettiest dishwasher there ever was, but for the 10 minutes and zero bucks, I’m glad to have banished a bit more “almond” from the room – and it definitely helps the dishwasher blend in a bit more with the surrounding cabinets. You could even spray paint the panel a color before sliding it back in (red for a retro kitchen?) or buy a sheet of stainless steel at Home Depot and cut it to size with metal snips if you’re going for the stainless look. Lots of possibilities…
The best part is that something about that easy switch kicked us into high gear in the kitchen again, because we’re currently working on:
- Removing our broken trash compactor to add something that’s a lot easier on the eyes in its place
- Finally redoing the counters with concrete (holy cow, it’s messy – but such a dramatic change)
Has anyone else flipped their dishwasher panel? Or updated their appliances in other ways? We’re still really happy with our updated fridge, our secondhand range hood, and our microwave in the pantry – so our last remaining almond eyesore is the stove. Have you ever used Ardex on counters or taken out an old broken disposal? Kitchen updates are usually disruptive since it’s such a busy room, but it’s so nice to enjoy them when they’re done.
liz says
I did the Ardex on our laminate bathroom counters. I really, really love the look, but they chip easily along the edges. I triple sealed them but am still nutso about wiping up every spill, drip, etc. Hope you find a solution to that :(
Good luck!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the heads up Liz!
xo
s
Carol says
Your mustard yellow reminded me of this comment that made me laugh for days: “no part of me thought it was possible you were looking for a deep-orangy, condiment-like color” – Victoria E. Barnes in this post http://victoriaelizabethbarnes.com/first-floor-after-renovation-homebuying-moment/#comments
YoungHouseLove says
So funny!
xo
s
Angel says
My mom had a black dishwasher and otherwise cream appliances, and someone told her about this panel trick, so she opened it up hoping to find a cream panel. She did – but – she also just happened to find an oak panel (already inside the dishwasher mind you) that perfectly matched her cabinets! It was crazy! And looked way better than the black or cream.
YoungHouseLove says
No way!
xo
s
Stephanie @ Whole Health Dork says
You’ve got to love when things work out that easily!
Can’t wait to see the countertops! I’m sure you’ll do a money run-down, too, so I’m especially interested in that option. I’d love to re-do ours, but not sure if it’s worth it.
Elizabeth says
You could try painting the brown parts too. The previous owners of our last house–a 1950s ranch with 1970s addition–did that and we were none the wiser until a few years after we had lived there a while.
YoungHouseLove says
That’s awesome to hear!
xo
s
Marcy dk says
I think you are just thinking about concrete over the existing countertop. If not and you go the route of tearing out and starting from scratch, this concrete system intrigued me and looked like a big project but doable:
http://concretecountertopsolutions.com/
Very good videos on the process. I’m too chicken to do it but I can dream.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the link!
xo
s
Avone says
I see you’ve already been corrected on the Harvest Gold color a few times.:) I can’t believe there wasn’t an Avocado option hiding in there.
Can’t wait to read about the concrete counters; we’ve been considering them.
Marcia says
I’m glad that trash compactor was broken. I visited some friends years ago who were house-sitting. They put a dirty diaper in the trash-compactor and turned it on. Eeeeew! What were they thinking??
Laura says
Yay, I am so excited that you guys are trying out concrete countertops, and I cannot wait for your post, tutorials and experience! I have been trying to convince the hubs that this is a project we should tackle in our kitchen as part of phase 2, he isn’t sold and wants to go straight to phase 3. But your experiences may just be the push he needs to try something different while we save more to truly rehaul the kitchen.
Amanda says
Handy trick with the dishwasher! I’m now wishing mine was as old as yours and not just ancient by a few years. I love retro kinda things so your DW is right up my alley – especially with that blue interior shelving!
What do you think about putting a fun wallpaper pattern there? Maybe even enlarge one of Clara’s masterpieces? I’m a believer that if you cant change something so that its exactly what you need, make what you have look intentional. Instead of trying to hide it, celebrate its quirkiness. Anyone can have a white or s.steel appliance, but how many have one as cool as yours?
Just a thought. You guys are rock stars either way :)
YoungHouseLove says
That’s such a fun idea! Dishwasher art by Clara ;)
xo
s
angie says
i am soooooooooooooooooooooo excited you are starting your counter tops!!! I’ve wanted to try my hand on concrete counters 4ever but haven’t been brave enough. not, no mo! i love your tutorials and am dying to get started once we get the down low. go, petersiks, go!
Gaenor says
Eek! The mustard panel is an exact match for my kitchen cupboards. (Suffice to say I didn’t choose them, they came with our house with its early 80’s kitchen – possibly a step up from all the mid-70’s carpeting everywhere else).
Laura says
Ooh- you could paint one of the dishwasher panels copper. That would look awesome in your kitchen! (But I love copper appliances- that might just be me).
YoungHouseLove says
That would be fun too!
xo
s
Annie says
My mom LOVES almond colored appliances. I’m going to blame it on her age (72) because honestly YUCK. At least it’s not avocado anymore.
Rebecca Shank says
Great work, guys! I love the Ardex counters too! We did ours 2 months ago and haven’t looked back. We love that our 50 sq ft kitchen counter cost less than $100- and we haven’t had any problems AT ALL. I wanted to weigh in on the sealer too b/c that was the part I was most worried about…. so, if it helps at all, we used GST International Satin Seal Concrete Sealer – shipped from Menards. It has a bit of a sheen to it, but we put on 3 coats and haven’t had any issues. Good luck and have fun!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much! We hear good things about that one!
xo
s
Margaret says
A trip down memory lane! The harvest gold of my youth. Along with Avocado green and that brown, Coppertone, I think!
Geertrude says
I love all the comments about yellow and green appliances. At least you had some color choices back then. In Holland things used to be white, period. The common term for appliances here is even “witgoed”, which translates as “white stuff”… ;-)
Jenni says
I love that you guys are doing concrete countertops!
Have I missed the how-to post for concrete countertops? Or will this be a future post?
Thank you for all your blog posts and inspiration! Congrats on TARGET!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much! We are still mid-process with the counters but hope to share the details this coming week!
xo
s
Rachael says
Looking forward to a post about those counter tops. We love the idea of concrete counter tops (in the long run) but can’t wait to see how your short term fix went-in terms of difficulty of the job and the process!
Angela R says
Love the quick fixes… However that harvest gold panel is no match for my orange cast iron sink in my kitchen! Try decorating around THAT! (Although orange has made quite the comeback…. And I’ve grown oddly attached to it…)
YoungHouseLove says
That actually sounds really cute! Kohler makes colored sinks now. What’s old is new again ;)
xo
s
Maddie says
I’m relatively new when it comes to reading your blog, and I’m just curious about when you moved in to this latest home? You’ve done such a great job so far! You make me really excited to buy a house :)
Thanks
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Maddie! We moved in nine months ago (last June).
xo
s
Robin says
We had a fairly new Bosch that was black. We ordered a stainless steel panel to upgrade when we remodeled. Not a “no cost” upgrade, but better than a new dishwasher!
Lesley says
I’m pretty sure that the mustard color is called “harvest gold,” and my mother felt like she hit the lottery when my folks bought their house way back when, complete with a recently remodeled harvest gold kitchen!
Alicia says
Someone else may have already told you this, but on the off chance they haven’t…that mustard color is officially known as “Harvest Gold” and was all the rage in the ’70s. Growing up we had a Harvest Gold refrigerator, dishwasher, etc. And I’m not that old…it’s just that my parents kept their appliances a very long time and were still rocking the Harvest Gold well into the late ’80s :)
Nyrie says
Thanks so much for the dishwasher tip! I recognized the teal inside of your dishwasher to be the same as mine so I was able to swap mine from almond to white!
Heidi says
I can’t wait to hear about the concrete counters!! We hope to have them in our dream kitchen one day, my hubby loved them!
Kenan says
Oh oh oh!! I can’t wait to see the countertops!! I totally want to this, but I am scared!! Thanks for being a trailblazer! ;)
Jessica says
I am so excited you are doing the countertops. I’ve been thinking about doing the exact same thing to tie us over until we can do a complete overhaul of the kitchen. (there is no helping the hideous laminate cupboards with oak strip). Can’t wait to see how it turns out and the process!!
Sarah says
Oh! I cannot wait to hear about your experience with Ardex on your countertops. I’ve been wanting to try that in our 80s kitchen and I’d love your insight!
Carol C says
I added a stainless steel panel to the dishwasher in my previous house. I previously had the black panel showing, but the stainless worked better with the kitchen re-do.
Love the idea of concrete countertops. Just the thing I’d like in my laundry room.
Lindsay says
Hi there!
We used Ardex feather finish on our kitchen countertops last year. We just put it right over the ‘ol gold flecked counter from the 1960s. It took us awhile to find a decent sealer, so we did get a few stains early on. But I think it adds to the charm. Such an inexpensive quick fix though! Can’t wait to see yours!!
YoungHouseLove says
Would love to hear what sealer finally worked for you! Sounds like that’s the trickiest part!
xo
s
Sarah | The Cyclist's Wife says
May I suggest a pull-out trash drawer where your broken trash compactor is? We put one in when we remodeled our kitchen, and then sold our house. I miss it terribly! :)
YoungHouseLove says
We added one to the cabinet on the end of our peninsula, but that setup sounds awesome!
xo
s
Sarah says
Okay, I’m so excitd to see your counter tops! I’ve been wanting to do that! And I didn’t think about having other options on the dishwasher already there. So cool. I actually kind of like the mustard…
Briel K. says
What a cool little secret about the dishwasher panels! Who knew!? :)
Kristen says
I have an observation that I hope doesn’t come off as bitchy because that is not my intention. I really think that when the new baby comes, you should consider reducing your posting schedule. I feel like lately we’re getting more and more filler posts. I know I would rather just get 2 or 3 “meaty” posts a week. Like I think mentioning this as a “ps” to a post about the counter tutorial would have been sufficient. It was a quick fix that didn’t really require a full post. I just feel like some days you guys post some things just because you have the schedule so need to post something.
Anyway, I love you guys. I’m a daily reader. But… I would gladly accept a downgrade in post frequency for more quality content.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the feedback, Kristen! Love you right back :)
xo
s
Julie sonnek says
I did something similar to our old dishwasher but cut a piece of plastic faux aluminum backsplash from lowes and slid it right in! Would love to share the before and after. Looks expensive!!
YoungHouseLove says
We’d love to see a picture! If you upload it to a free photosharing site like Flickr or Pinterest you can link to it in the comments :)
xo
s
Ashley says
I’m interested to see what you do with the broken trash compactor!! The house we just bought has one too… We’re trying to figure out what to so with it….
thedogsma says
Anxiously awaiting the concrete countertop reveal & tutorial. I have acres of blue laminate countertops that I can’t afford to upgrade (can’t even afford to replace with a less obnoxious laminate) I would really like to try this if it works for you.
I do have a request & a question. Will you give a cost-per-square foot when you’re done? And would I have to lock my cats in the basement during the whole project? What about floating dog hair & dust? As you can tell from my username, mine is a multi-species household. Thanks.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I love the username! We’ll try to remember to calculate cost per square foot (just have to measure to see how much counter-space we have). I think keeping cats away might be smart if they jump on the counter, but Burger was out without any issue. Maybe if you have super fluffy big dogs with hair flying you’d want to keep them sectioned off in another area?
xo
s
Clare says
Love the sneak peak of the counters! Are you planning on staining the concrete or leaving it that color?
YoungHouseLove says
We’re leaving it the normal gray color but the sealer might darken it a little.
xo
s
Casey Johnson says
It’s not an “urban legend.” It’s something you saw somewhere else but didn’t want to give credit, as usual.
YoungHouseLove says
I think you missed the sentence before the urban legend one that says: “I heard an almost-sounds-too-good-to-be-true tip from a few of you that I had to try.” Some helpful readers suggested that we check for other panels the last time we posted kitchen pics :)
xo
s
Ashley L. says
OMgoodness! I am dying for concrete countertops. I got so excited when I saw your idea, I googled, and I found a post that talked about how they chipped in two weeks. So bummed. hopefully it was their technique. You’ve seen it, I’m sure, but just in case: http://412love.wordpress.com/tag/ardex-feather-finish/
YoungHouseLove says
We did a bunch of googling (and tons of readers shared links, which has been so helpful) and it seems like there’s a pretty wide range of experiences with the Ardex, so we’re going into it as what we’d call “cautiously optimistic” – we’ll definitely share the bad and the ugly if it ends that way though!
xo
s
Kirsten says
Sherry and John I just went back to page one and your very first few posts. I didn’t own a home waaaay back then and wasn’t into the renovation game and I wasn’t stalking you all those years ago.
Now I’m am avid follower and LOVE your blog. I recently started my own over on word press, it was great to go back and see your humble begins and hope my home one day is as inspiring as yours.
You inspire me each and everyday with you motivation,thriftiness and creativity. Keep up the amazing work.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much Kirsten!
xo
s
Melissa says
In our other house, we had a wood paneled dishwasher that matched the formerly wood cupboards (which I painted white). We had bought a stainless fridge but didn’t have money in the budget for a stainless dishwasher (and it worked great anyway). I wallpapered the wood panel with paintable wallpaper and then painted it stainless color with metallic paint. It actually turned out beautiful! Not a great longterm solution- but a super fun shortterm one!!
YoungHouseLove says
Love that!
xo
s
Adrey says
We used Ardex in our $500 DIY kitchen remodel – love the results!
http://ohsolovelyblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/our-500-diy-kitchen-remodel.html
YoungHouseLove says
So glad to hear that! Thanks for sharing the link!
xo
s
Audrey says
And love your temporary dishwasher fix! xoxoxo
Audrey
Denise Armbruster says
Disquis can be a poo poo head. Think long and hard about using it. I’m not techy enough to explain poo poo head. You do have to be signed in and the sign in can be used on other sites that use disquis as well. It eats comments, it’s hard to upload pics.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the feedback Denise! We’ve heard that too. It seems to be polarizing so we worry about implementing it…
xo
s
Erin says
Just removed my dirty, gross trash compactor, which, amazingly, still worked, (but felt and looked like a germ breeding ground!) a couple of weeks ago. Man, are those things heavy! Need to get to work on building the slide out trash cabinet, but making do with a (clean!) dollar store trash can for now in the empty space.
Dea says
I was thinking the area where your trash compactor was would be a great place to build in storage for sheet pans and oversized cutting boards. It shouldn’t take much to put in a shelf and vertical separators. I really love your site! It’s inspired me to finally get started on all (well…some) of the projects i’ve been mulling over for my home. Can’t wait to see how the countertops turn out.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Dea! John had that same instinct, so we’re currently debating what we think we’ll use that storage for most.
xo
s
lindy says
I never knew that! Whenever I see your house I’m pretty sure we had the same builder for our twin houses! We even had the same appliances and linoleum in the kitchens, slate floor (THANK you for the grout painting idea…it looks amazing in our foyer now!) blue trim etc. I don’t know what your plans are for the trash compactor, but we renovated our kitchen, we kept the cabinets (the only original things we kept!) and put a beverage fridge where the trash compactor used to be since we found a fridge in the same size. It houses wine and also juice boxes and pre-filled water canteens that my kids are able to get themselves out of the “small fridge” so that’s a nice perk!
YoungHouseLove says
Smart!
xo
s
Ally says
Our old dishwasher made quite a few rounds through the houses. When we remodeled, our daughter wanted it as a tie-over until she remodeled her kitchen and then it ended up in her friend’s kitchen last I heard. The panel on that door was flipped a few times. Who knows, it may be painted by now, if it’s still in commission.
Isn’t it fun to find secrets like this? Flipping front panels Batman!