We started window shopping, and before long we stopped looking at faucets and started talking about so much more.
How we hated our sink and the old leaking disposal, how much we despised our original 1979 hunter green countertops, and the cabinets; how I hated my old and impossible to clean white cabinets.
I forgot to take a close up of the faucet, which is too bad because it was quite comical.
Notice how low the microwave is compared to the bottom of the cabinet? That's what happens when you put a new appliance in an old space.
On the side and adjacent walls of the fridge the previous owners painted over old wallpaper glue. Not the wallpaper, the wallpaper glue. Who does that??!!
How dark and old fashioned the trim was, how much we loathed the fruit wallpaper border that ran along the entire length of the kitchen, how the green and white paint, the chair rail, and the curtains had to go.
Oops, we had already taken down the chair rail when I thought to take "before" pics...but the fruit. I hated the fruit.
Painting trim is a test of skill and patience, which I failed miserably.
It took me almost three hours to tape that window. THREE. HOURS.
We knew we wanted to make all of these changes since the day we moved in, but we had a dream; one that we have accepted will not come true, at least not in the next twenty years.
Our dream was to expand and knock down walls, to build islands with helper sinks in them, and to install double ovens and maybe even a subzero fridge. We want all the amenities and workspace a modern kitchen provides. In accepting that defeat, we decided to give ourselves something else we could still enjoy.
We decided it was time to give the kitchen a little bit of love, and clearly that faucet could not wait. There was no sense in fixing it since the sink would be torn out to install a new countertop. Logically, it all had to be done in the near future!
And if we were going to do this sooner than later, why not make it our Christmas present to each other? And if it was going to be our Christmas present, then of course it should be done before Christmas!
Oh, what’s that you say Cabinet Re-facing Dude? You want to start the Monday before Christmas and it will only take you three days to complete the job? Sure, let’s go for it!!!
We painted a few weeks ahead of time.
Never, ever, ever, ever, EVER do I want to paint window trim again.
For the most part we kept the project a secret, but there was a small number you who know me personally and were up to speed. Every single person who knew told me that I was absolutely OUT OF MY TREE to partake in a home improvement project of this magnitude five days before I was to have twenty people over to my house for Christmas dinner.
You had a point; there was a degree of risk, and unforeseen things that could have gone wrong. I will admit there were a lot of sleepless nights and some major deep breathing on my part. But our contractor seemed like such a nice guy; I simply trusted him that he would get it done.
I coordinated and did everything I could to make sure that the carpenter, the stone people, and the plumber showed up on the right days. It took five days instead of three because of a few small issues out of everyone’s control, and there was a little scare there with the threat of a major snow storm set to occur during the project, but in the end there were only a few inches of white stuff, everyone showed on time, and the results were well worth it.
Our new pantry!!! It seriously rocks, and I love the color of the cabinets with the "Egyptian Pyramid" Behr paint.
The raised microwave is a huge convenience, and we did not lose much cabinet space. Even my 5' 1" frame used to have to duck to get to the stove's back burners.
Yes, I know, cluttered fridge. We like it that way.
The new sink and faucet, and Silestone quartz Kona Beige countertop! We still need to do the backsplash, but it will looks so much better after we paint that window. Oh. FRAK!
We still have some work to do; there’s some trim left to paint, some of the doors could use another coat, the entire window section above the sink needs painting, we plan to replace the light fixtures, and the funds have run out but we will eventually install a tile backsplash.
Overall we are so happy with it. Our contractor built us a new pantry from scratch and it came out awesome. For those of you who have seen the baker’s rack we used to have in its place to hold snacks, well…let’s just say we were in desperate need of more storage space.
Speaking of space, the movement of that microwave has done wonders for our cooking and maneuvering ease. The previous owners who installed it were not exactly concerned about code.
If you live in New England and are thinking about re-facing your cabinets, I recommend Affordable Cabinet Refacing at www.refacingdepot.com. They were fabulous; on time, respectable, excellent customer service, quality workmanship, and they actually were quite affordable. They have no idea that I have a blog or that I would give them a plug such as this, but they deserve it.
So yay! I finally posted my before and after pics. I hope everyone had a great New Year. Bring it, 2011! My kitchen is ready!
It looks beautiful! So warm and inviting….definitely a gathering space that you should be proud of!
Wow! Maria! That looks amazing!!! I love it! SO jealous! I would LOVE to do our countertops! Congrats! How fun! xoxoxo
Wow! It looks totally fabulous, and that pantry is great, you really needed the storage, and the finish of the wood is so warm, it’s a great addition to your home and I know you’ll never be sorry!
I’m so glad you posted pics! I was dying to see it! Fabulous! Congrats
It looks awesome! But I have to say that I did throw up in my mouth a bit when you said you did this days before you had 20 people coming to your house. However, with the sink/new countertop logic (which Itotally agree with), you were left with no other choice.
Gorgeous! Love the pantry…and the colors you chose. Glad to hear it all came together so smoothly
GORGEOUS! Lots of happy cooking to you. Love the cabinet color and the countertop is beautiful. Wish we did quartz – maybe next lifetime.
Just loved the new look!
Nice work! Thank god that faucet broke.
Thanks everyone!
Lol….home renovation usually reveals oh, so much more than expected–about the house and how short your temper really is! Thrilled that you’re happy–may you roast fabulous and bake your way into a beautiful spring!
LOVE the faucet- and truthfully I could have ‘lived’ with the old kitchen … if it wasn’t for that fruit- what the hell was that? Why do people feel the need to put up stuff like that?? Ewwww!! BTW Glad to be back … hope to hear from you soon!!
sorry I didn’t get over to see it in person…back in a few months so we’ll try then!
Maria, you were very courageous to tackle this right before Christmas. The kitchen is central to the home and you’ve made it beautiful, warm, and welcoming. Congrats to you and Tony!! If you want, I may be able to talk someone into helping with the windows…….let me know. We really enjoyed Christmas with everyone. Thanks again for hosting. Great job as usual.
Whether your kitchen is small But you did really great job in renovation. I am really impressed to see such a catchy rendering of kitchen.
Like this model means we can cooking eagerly.. It looks gorgeous.. Thanks for sharing this models..