Kitchen renovation

Dan and I have been talking about renovating our kitchen someday but, to be honest, I didn't think we would actually do it.  Our main issues with the "old" kitchen were the deterioration of the cupboards, the bulkiness of the serving peninsula, and the feeling that it just wasn't our style.  After much deliberation we decided to take the plunge!  Here are the official "before" pictures:

We timed our vacation for the week of demo and cabinet installation.  After selling our appliances on craigslist, here was our view of the kitchen just before we left for a week in Houghton Lake.

 

Our contractor offered to send us pictures throughout the week.  We were excited to see the progress while we were away!

 

 

 

When we returned home we were excited to see the cupboards in person but also slightly overwhelmed at the task of cleaning off all of our kitchen supplies (which were now coated in dust), installing the shelves into our new cabinets (and making sure they were the perfect height for optimal functionality!), loading up all of our supplies, and keeping the kids from getting into things!  We also knew we'd be living without a counter for several weeks.  Thankfully the appliances arrived within a few days and the kitchen started to take shape.

With the new cabinets in place it became apparent that the cherry dining room outfit Dan's parents generously passed on to us was simply not a good match.  Dan's mom graciously granted us permission to replace it.  The new table and chairs were delivered the day before Caleb's 4th birthday party and were quickly put to good use.  The disrepair of our kitchen fit perfectly with the construction theme!



After regrouping from birthday festivities, Dan and I took on a project of our own in the renovation.  We realized that the finish of our sliding door and kitchen window just didn't look good against the dark cabinets and furniture.  So, we sanded and sanded and sanded... and stained and stained... and, well, you get the idea.

 

 After some good ol'-fashioned elbow grease we were pleased with the results.

And, after five weeks with plywood for counters...





Our countertop and new sink were installed, the backsplash was tiled, holes were filled, paint was touched up and retouched up, decorative accents were purchased and at last we could say "The kitchen renovation is complete!"

 

Phew!  Truth be told, we are still on the hunt for the perfect valence for the kitchen window and some more colorful touches for the kitchen.  But, for all intensive purposes the kitchen is done and we are very pleased with the final results!  For those of you who want a concise before and after, here you go.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Woohoo!