Kitchen Makeover: The Big Reveal

Well, it's official. After six weeks (seven if you count the week we were gone in Utah) our kitchen is finally done! It took far more time, money, and effort than we had planned on, but we are thrilled with the results. So here it is, the moment you have been waiting for! ;)

This is the before shot (This is actually what the kitchen looked like one year ago when we bought the house. We installed the stainless appliances when we first moved in. But in fairness, that was a change we made to the kitchen).

Ta-da! The after shot!

Before...

...And after!

Before

After

We replaced the dirty cream colored sink with a shiny new stainless one. We also put in the fancy pull-down faucet, which I already love!

We replaced all the hardware, too. I wanted something sleek that would parallel the curvature of the appliance handles.

Seems like it worked out!

Here's a close-up of the backsplash. Adam and I didn't have a clue what we were doing, but we just sort of went for it one night. It might be my favorite part of the kitchen!

This is a close-up of the granite. I will freely admit I had nothing to do with the countertop installation. Adam and his friend, Justin, did it all in one Saturday (thanks SO much, Justin!) They did a fabulous job!

And here's a couple close-up shots of the cabinets. I did most of the work on the cabinets.

I painted them ivory, and then applied a dark brown glaze. It took six coats in all (primer, two ivory coats, glaze, and two lacquer coats)! This project took the most time by far of the whole renovation. I thought at times I might never be done with it!

Things we learned how to do over the last six weeks:

*Un-hinge and re-hinge doors

*Glaze cabinets

*Install cabinet hardware

*Use an electric sander

*Cut and lay tile

*Grout tile

*Install a bathroom vanity bar

*Spackle drywall holes

*Connect and disconnect drains/water lines

*Reset a garbage disposal

*Caulk a seam

*Install a sink/faucet

*And that's just scratching the surface!

Most of these things were actually extremely easy to do, but as we never had occasion to do them before, we just didn't know how! I am not sure if I mentioned this before or not, but we are actually re-doing the half bath right off the kitchen, too. It's not quite there yet, but we are hoping we'll have it finished by next weekend.

Several people have asked me what my next project is. I'll admit, there are some ideas brewing, but I think I am ready for a little break! I am looking forward to spending my nights watching a TV show or curled up with a book in hand, rather than a drill, paintbrush or trowel in hand! This has been an insane amount of work, but now that it's over, I can say it has all been worth it.

We couldn't be happier with the results!