Kitchen Remodel Reveal

We are 97% complete with our kitchen remodel (we need to put a few pieces of trim work in) and since I’ve had just about everybody I know asking me to put pictures up, I decided not to make you all wait for that point. Without further ado, the finished kitchen!

What do you think? By the way, the big space by the floor length cupboard is where the fridge goes, but for now it’s sitting in our living room so we can paint the trim there first.

Here are a few before pictures for some reference.

View from where the window above the sink is now – this is a picture from the realtor when we first bought it, very much photo-shopped. The wall color was much more yellow and the cupboards not nearly that white. And the picture makes it look more spacious than it really was.

After:

Same view, or as close as I could get to it (taken through the window). As you can see, the wall where the stove was is gone and an island is in it’s place. And the fridge (that you see in the living room) will soon be across from the island.

Before:

Stove, tiny counters next to it, and fridge.

After:

No more tiny counters! Front view of the island. Check out my new oven! And all my drawer space! I’m still trying to figure out what to put in that left drawer.

Another before picture:

What you see was pretty much the extent of my usable counter space. It was meager.

Another angle of the same counter and sink. Yeah, I worked real hard to clean up for these before pictures.

After:

Now look at all that counter space! Not to mention the island too!

Before:

Just to show you the doorway that used to lead into the kitchen. The pocket door was one of the first things that we demolished, so it’s not in most of the other before pictures.

After:

Now there’s no pocket door and no walls closing me off from the rest of the house. I love how open and bright it is now. I feel so much more connected to everything/everybody else when I’m cooking now, rather than banished to the dark kitchen to slave away.

Closer view of the sink. I love that it sits right under the window. I didn’t want it there at first, but Ben convinced me and I’m so glad he did. So much more cheery washing dishes looking out at my backyard and garden! Also, we already loved our faucet, but we got a new, deeper sink, and let me tell you, a deep sink is a serious luxury. It’s awesome!

Before of the dining room:

I would like to point out again that the walls were NOT that color. That color would have been ok, but in reality, they were a drab yellow. (Another realtor picture, in case you didn’t notice. Just like to point out the obvious here.) Also notice the popcorn ceiling and minimal lighting.

After:

Now completely open to the kitchen, no more popcorn ceilings, and an abundance of light from the recessed lighting! And White! No more drab yellow! We painted not only the kitchen and dining room, but the living room, entry way and hallway as well. It makes a huge difference in the feel of the whole house, we both love it. One more thing I love about the whole thing is all the extra outlets. There were very few outlets before and it really limited where I could work in the kitchen with my KitchenAid and other kitchen gadgets, blender, etc. Now there’s one on either end of the island plus tons along the walls in the kitchen. Freedom to work and cook where I want to! Love it!

And check out all of the pretty cupboards! My dad did them for us, and I’m so so happy with how they all look and feel. So much more space and better organized and they’re not dingy and don’t smell old! Check out my Dad’s website if you want awesome closets, he’s the owner of the company, has years of experience, and they are the absolute best around: www.thecustomclosetcompany.com. I love you Dad!

So, a quick list of all the changes we made (“we” being used loosely here!):

• Remove pocket door and wall separating kitchen and dining room
• Remove all the popcorn on the ceilings in dining room, living room, hallway, stairs and entryway, and one bedroom
• Move the sliding glass door to the dining room and put a window in the kitchen
• Take out linoleum in kitchen and carpet in dining room
• Take out all the existing cabinets
• Move plumbing to the back of the kitchen so we could put the sink and dishwasher under the window
• Re-wire almost everything and add extra electrical circuits
• Added an extra 240v outlet for the stove (used the one we already had for my new oven)
• Take out all existing lighting and put in recessed lights (16 of them, to be exact)
• Re-drywall the entire kitchen
• Put in new hardwood floors
• Put in new cabinetry (thank-you so much Dad!!)
• Put in new granite countertops
• Paint kitchen, dining room, living room, stairs and entryway, including all the ceilings
• Finish with bead board under the island and additional trim work elsewhere

I *think* that about covers it. It took us about 5 weeks to do the majority of the work. And I feel like I need to clarify. When I said “we” and “us” before, what I really meant was I was in charge of keeping the kids out of trouble, and my Grandpa Harry and Ben did all the work. Without my Grandpa, this would have been a much more difficult and long undertaking. Thank-you thank-you thank-you Grandpa!! And Ben, a public thank-you to you also for taking vacation time from work to work in our kitchen and for being so patient with all the little decisions and making sure everything looks perfect. I love you!

(Oh wait, I did help with the painting. Go me!)

One more time, just cuz I really can’t get enough of it:

I love love love (love love love love!) LOVE my new kitchen!