kitchy

So, quick, before this house is no longer ours (approximately 16hrs from now!) here is the loooong overdue post on our kitchen. There were bits and pieces here and there, but I never actually posted a full process or after shots of the new look we gave our kitchen last summer.

Of every little thing we did in our house, there's nothing I like more than the changes in the kitchen. For spending just a tad over $1000, I think it's a pretty good difference and a pretty nice improvement.

(and disclaimer: I am without photo editing capabilities so please forgive any uncropped, wonky lighting pics)

Here are before pics:















note the original porcelain tile (with blue accents!)














and the fakey honey oak cabinets. oh, and the icky old original builder's grade stove:






















And here would be mid-tile demo:















Sawyer was loving this part!














New tile backsplash:




























It all went rather smoothly despite how nervous I was about tiling and grouting. It's tumbled stone with pale green glass tiles.
I Love It.































Painting cabinets:














We did a quick sanding (emphasis on quick) and then two coats of Valspar's Tree Bark brown flat paint. After painting we did four or five coats of polycrylic. Those went fast as it dries super quick. Oh and the four or five coats were only on the bottom doors, two or three on the top doors and the cabinets themselves we only did two on.
I got new hardware... perfect match and it was on clearance!!












Throw in a great new stove and hood:




















For the record, if we were staying we would have added an open shelf/cabinet above the fridge and finished off the tops of all the cabinets with molding. And eventually replaced counters. Would have loved to have done that now, but couldn't afford it. Once we did the cabinets and tile though, I didn't mind the old counters at all... actually liked them better!
So all in all, we accomplished refacing the cabinets, replacing the backsplash, added new stove and hood, replaced one light fixture and new island stools (that I scored at a garage sale for $5!!). Total cost for redo was just over $1000. And yes, that's including the new stove and hood.

So here's as is, the way we've loved our kitchen for the past year...



























One More Time;
Before:














And After: