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Well, we were substantially complete back in April (started Thanksgiving 05), but finally finished punch list items mid September this year. Last thing left is to get a new SS fridge (mid Nov) then build a wine cubby in the space above, can't wait! Hope it's not too many pictures at once!
Here's a before shot. Lovely lemon-lime counters and backsplash wth dark oak cabinets.
We took out 2 layers of floor, the scratched up tan vinyl and the very 70's faux brick vinyl.
During demolition, we found some interesting stuff, most notably a bucket in our soffit catching a 30 year old leak from our master bath shower. Terrific!
Perhaps my favorite part was actually having some lighting in the kitchen - it used to be a cave with only one fixture in the middle.
Finally got some upper cabinets in, then some lowers. Had to do some modifications to get the hood vented.
We had a devastaing break with our first countertop (all I wanted for my birthday was running water again!) we got our second counter and sink and cooktop installed at the end of March- about 90 days with no running water in the kitchen, but who's counting? BTW, love cooking on gas again (new line run in from street) and LOVE the HUGE sink. We also painted the window trim white (it was the only brown one in the house) and it made a big difference in the brightness of the kitchen.
Next came the cork flooring, love, love love it!
A view of the pantry/fridge side. Finally got the trim up too. Just the new fridge and wine cubby are left.
Close up of backsplash - you can see the undercab xenon lights, love them too! DH slaved over the backsplash, he did such a terrific job. Actually, he did a magnificant job the whoe remodel. All we hired out was moving a pipe out of the soffit and the counter.
The finished product! Well, the main side anyway. The second is the eat in area, which used to have really dark panelingon the bottom half.
All in all, I love the finished prodect, even though it took us longer than expected. He had a few bumps along the way (house related, non-IKEA related) but worked through them. Everyone loves the results!
Wow! What a transformation! That looks fabulous! Your hubby did excellent work!
Can you tell me about your backsplash? We still haven't planned ours very well yet and I like (love) the looks of yours...
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He did do a great job, and he was so patient! I was a really good holder/assistant! I don't go near power tools, let's just say I'm not the most graceful person, and we didn't need any trips to the ER.
Our backsplash is actually made up of 13x13 floor tiles- we cut them down to 9x13 inches to give us a line across the middle (18 inch tall backsplah). Then we also bought the 4x4 mosaics, and cut the corners off the big tiles to fit them in. They were by Kerex - Rangon Stone in color Parana. It's an italian company, http://www.kerex.it/news.php?lang=ing. I stumbled on it at a local tile shop. They make a gorgeous mosaic listello, but it was too much $$ for our budget. I'll take my bling in small doses!
Debbie -- it looks fantastic! I've often wondered how your project turned out. I'm so glad you posted pictures...it's really nice to see that bold shot of red. Great work!
Susan
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Thanks Susan! We're really happy with it. We actually did the red shortly after moving in 3 years ago. It was originally a flowery wallpaper that was NMS at all. It took so many coats to get the red on, that DH refused to change the color for the new kitchen, and I can't sayI blame him!
The best part of everything is that with the tall uppers and the pantries to the right of the fridge (there was previously NOTHING there, such a waste of space!) I have EMPTY drawers and shelves! Can you believe it? Also, in that last shot, you can see a cabinet at the end of the peneinsula near the wall. That used to be dead space, now it hosts a pull out for our shredder, and the cellphone chargers are tucked into the drawer above. It definitely helps with clutter.
Great job on the kitchen! Kudos to you and your husband!
I'll be looking at flooring this weekend (in anticipation of meeting the GC next week - yippee, we're getting started!). I love the look of your cork flooring. Would you mind sharing whatever details you can about it (e.g., manufacturer, how it's holding up, ease of installation, maintenance)?
We love the floors, they are by Wicanders. We got the commercial grade (I believe it is the 1000 series), see attached link. Ours is the Harmony, which is like a brick pattern. We wanted something a bit different than the hardwood we had everywhere else. It's almost thesame tone, so it blends nicely without being identical.
It was REALLY easy to get in, just like laminate. We only had one fussy door opening, but that was geometry more than a flooring problem. In the end, we got them all in. We were able to cut it easily with a jigsaw.
So far it has held up spectacularly - in since April. It's just 2 of us though, but we bought commercial grade in anticipation of future kiddies. It was a PVC wear layer on top. We did drop something early on that made a divot, but 3 months later the mark has healed itself
We actually had a water leak in our upstairs bath last week, which dripped a bit through the kitchen ceiling onto the cork floor. I was in a panic because I know what water can do to click flooring. ButI mopped it up, put a fan on it, and NO warping at all. It was a high density core which is supposed to be a bit more resistant to water.
I priced it out locally, then found an online retailer. Asked my local place to match the price. They couldn't come all the way down to the internet price, but got pretty close to it, so we ordered through them to ensure quality.
Best part about the floors are that they hide dirt like you wouldn't believe! I joke that I could drop a potato on that floor and never notice.
Debbie - thanks for the detailedreport, and the links! I'm glad to hear that you like both the function and the aesthetics of your new kitchen. That's my goal, too!
It's beautiful! I especially like your backsplash - looks like a lot of hard work! Tell me, how did your hubby get the mosaics in the center of that tile above the stove? I've never seen anyone cut out the middle of a tile like that!
The tiling started out really hard - we broke 5 of our first 8 tiles and had to get a new box. We ran over to our wonderful neighbor that has redone his whole house top to bottom and knows everything about everything. He gave us a tutorial on using a wetsaw with porcelain tile. Basically, DH held the tile up in the air (as opposed to running it flat through) to the spinning blade at a million different angles to get the square cut out. We started with apractice tile and it came out so well we ended up using it! I was very impressed with his skills!
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I don't go near power tools, let's just say I'm not the most graceful person, and we didn't need any trips to the ER.
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