22 January 2009

Kitchen Renovation

It's been 2 years since we began (and finished) our kitchen renovation project. It's something that Bob and I are VERY proud of, as we completed the renovation ourselves (with tons of help from our dads!!!) When we bought our house - a true fixer upper- the kitchen hadn't been touched since 1959 when the house was built. Lovely. I'm not quite sure how we lived there for a year before it was updated. We couldn't even fit a standard baking sheet in the tiny oven and it completely lacked counter space.

We decided to completely start over and redesign the kitchen. We replaced the window, moved the plumbing for the sink and dishwasher, installed new electrical outlets, moved the lighting, and changed the layout to a "U" shaped style. We also knocked down a wall and made an island which created even more counter space, in addition to more cabinet drawers and a place for us to eat everyday {when it's just us!} It also really opened up the layout of the first floor and made our tiny kitchen feel a bit bigger.

Below are some before, during, and after pics. Enjoy :)

{Before}
Purtty, right?

{During}
New window, that is smaller and centered to the wall.

Plumbing being moved. Cabinets completely gone :)

Look at all that tile...ew.

Wall where the fridge and dishwasher use to be. Soon to be g.o.n.e.

There goes the walllll. Kai helped :) Also, FOUR levels of flooring are now gone.

Time for drywall.

Such a good little helper.

Drywall, electrical, and plumbing completed.

Can you see the spackle dust in the air? That stuff was everywhere. And I mean everywhere.

Time to paint...

...and put the cabinets together.

Going up...

Doors on, appliances are starting to go in!!!

Time for ceramic tile.

{After}

It took a total of two months to complete. We saved a ton of money by completing all the work ourselves (again, with the help of our amazing dad's!) It was rough living without a kitchen that long... we had our microwave on the dryer and our old fridge in the dinning room, but not a day goes by that I am not thankful that we did it. It's beautiful and we absolutely LOVE it.
Next up... the second floor bathroom. That should be fun.

18 comments:

  1. great job on the renovation! love the beadboard style of the cabinets. We're currently renovating our kitchen, piece by piece (next up, countertops!) and it is a P.I.T.A. But, like you said, well worth it :)

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  2. WOW! It looks great! Much more open! Good job!

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  3. The new kitchen looks awesome! Are your cabinets from Ikea? We redid our kitchen last spring and my husband put together a million little Ikea parts too. It's amazing how much money we saved doing it all ourselves. I hear you on the difficulty of living without a kitchen. I washed dishes in my bathroom sink for 5 weeks.

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  4. it looks amazing you guys did a great job!!

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  5. thanks girls!

    maria- yes and we LOVE them!

    linds- you're monkey scares me.

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  6. Wow! I love it! I'm very impressed with your skills!

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  7. this makes me want your moms spaghetti and meatballs.

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  9. bri- how did you get to be so weird? oh wait... now i know.

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  10. Wow - I'm really impressed! What a beautiful job!

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  11. i am your husbands sister.... it shouldnt be hard to figure out haha

    i wonder what your new bathroom is gonna make me crave.

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  12. I don't even want to think about it, brianna.

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  13. It looks so great. I love it! Can I ask where you got your cabinets and the brand?

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  14. I know it was really impractical, but I do love the look of the old kitchen!

    Then again I speak as someone who's just in the process of installing a 50s kitchen in my own home. Wish me luck!

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  15. Good luck with your new "old" kitchen! :)

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