Before & After: My Kitchen

So seeing as how my kitchen has been remodeled for over 2 years now, I figured it's about time to post some pictures.

Other than electrical re-wiring, Cory and I did all the work ourselves, including tiling, drywalling, laying wood floors, installing cabinets, etc. There are people who will tell you that working on your house is fun. They are crazy. They must have been hit on the head by a falling hammer. It is not fun. But, I am so glad we suffered through and did it. I was able to get the kitchen I wanted for a fantastic price. There were times I wondered why we were doing it... like when Lowes cut my counter top wrong 4 times in a row and I had no sink and had to wash dishes in the bathtub for a month. But in the end I couldn't be happier with the finished product.

I am going to show you some before pictures of the kitchen now, but let me warn you... they are SCARY.

Yes, that is wall paper on the cabinets. On the cabinets! Everything was replaced except the cabinets... they are solid wood and I just couldn't justify spending thousands on new ones when these were perfectly fine.

Ready to see how we salvaged this eighties disaster?

Big improvement, right? I love how light and bright it is now. White paint and track lighting are miraculous tools. We actually knocked out a wall to open up the kitchen to the living room and to allow room for a extra bay of cabinets. The counter top forms a peninsula, and it's perfect for cooking prep, serving food, and just hanging out at. You can't see much of this feature in the photos above, just the end of the counter top, but you'll be able to see it more clearly when I post the living room pictures.

My favorite features:
- the tiled backsplash (I had never tiled before, and this was such a great project to begin with)
- wood floors (Ikea)
- the penninsula (I can't imagine cooking or entertaining without it!)

Oh, and FYI... I never want to remove wallpaper ever again. There were 3 layers, and the geniuses that put up the first one up back in '82 adhered it directly to the sheetrock... no painting, so priming. So when we ripped it off, it took chunks of the wall with it. So we had to mud and sand all the walls, repeatedly. Thanks again, guys.

But nevermind that, I love my kitchen now.

See the coordinating Entry and Laundry Nook before & after.