Our Kitchen Remodel (a story in pictures)

Hello everyone. So, we have finished our Kitchen remodel and I wanted to share the transformation with you. We've actually been finished for a few weeks now (sans the cabinet and drawer pulls) but I have finally gotten around to posting these pictures.

This post isn't really a how-to, but more of a progress collage of pictures. Hopefully it will give you some inspiration. If you have any questions of what we did or how we did it please ask.

We purchased our house a little under a year ago and knew that remodeling this kitchen was going to be the first big project we would tackle. Here she is in all her pre-remodel glory...

This house was built in 1989 and the kitchen showed it. We are going to fix that real quick! I measured everything and used Google Sketchup to design and arrange how we wanted the layout to look in the end. This is what me and the wife came up with.

Some of this was going to change after we got started, but this was the starting point. Let's start by taking those cabinet doors off.

Well that was easy, this doesn't seam like it will be that hard. Ha! Next step was removing the counter tops and back splash. Might as well take the floor up as well.

Removing those tile counter tops was a giant pain in the a**. Speaking of pain in the a**, let me take this time to mention the process of painting the cabinet doors. 

We chose Antique White for the color. I purchased Bears Paint and Primer in one. Figured I would lightly sand the doors and apply the paint. I painted all the doors (about 30 of them) and let them dry over night. The next day I figured all was well and we'd move on. YEA RIGHT! Come to find out, the paint just pealed off in large chunks with a scrape of the finger nail. Damnit!

So, we had to sand every door down again to remove the remaining paint. Then I figured we would do this the 'correct' way. We used liquid paint stripper to remove the paint and varnish. Then sanded, then cleaned, then primed with Zinsser 1-2-3 spray primer (this stuff is amazing!). After that dried, we then painted the doors again. This time, it worked! And looked great.

This just goes to show, don't half-a** anything. Do everything correctly and save yourself time in the long run. Let's get back to the project.

We started moving cabinets to where we wanted them and played with the design. This is where I realized some things weren't going to work out the way I had planned. Like the dish washer wasn't going where I originally thought and some cabinets weren't going to fit where I had first wanted them. Oh well, roll with the punches and move on.

In this time we also removed the popcorn (acoustic) ceiling, and I cut a couple of the cabinets down to fit where we were moving them. I cut a couple of them in half to fit on either side of the opening for the new oven.

I then began installing the new outlet for the range exhaust and lighting. All of this involved a lot of cutting into the ceiling... duh. I also rewired and ran new outlets and switches.

As you can see, new concrete backboard and drywall is going up. I also framed out and applied bead board and counter supports for the new bar.

Now came time for choosing the counter tops. I had originally decided we would do concrete to save on cost. I purchased everything I needed for it. Molds, concrete, stain, polishers, sanders, ect. I built a small section to test all of this, and..... we decided to go with granite. Some people may have mastered concrete counter tops, but I, my friend, have not. It was going to look like complete sh*t. So we decided that if we were going through all the trouble to renovate we might as well do it correctly even if that meant spending a little extra money.

We got lucky and found a place not too far from us that was very cheap. The material cost and install was cheaper than just the laminate from Home Depot. Go figure. We just had to decide on a color. I'll leave out the decision making process except to say that I am married to a very wonderful lady that knows EXACTLY what she wants - in her own mind, and leave it at that. Love you boo!  

Backsplash, and countertops are chosen! Now we're cooking!

We are rolling right along now! All the wiring is done. Ceiling is patched, appliances purchased, cabinets being painted, floors laid and now just have to wait on the counter tops to be installed. Have you noticed that range vent hood? Yea, that's custom built, no big deal. Looks good doesn't it? Here's where I got the idea for it.

Here come the counter tops!

This is when we started applying the back splash as well. Click here to see how we installed the backsplash.

Backsplash is applied, lights hung, and doors back on.

Did I mention under cabinet lighting and slide out drawers? Oh yea, we got them too! So here she is!

Well there it is! All of this took a little over 2 weeks, and not including the appliances, cost about $3500. The only thing we have left is choosing the hardware for the drawer fronts, but we have plenty of time to make that decision. And like I said, if you have any other questions just leave it in the comments below and I'll try to help you out.

Hope you guys enjoyed this, now on to the next!