Kitchen Reno: Before and After

[dr.girlfriend]

I still have to take better "after" pics (I promise, it's really a beautiful beige and grey, not this weird greenish-beige in the pics), but figured I'd compile what I have so far here for memenee.  :-)  The "befores" are from before we bought the house, with the seller's stuff.  I tried to pick photos with more or less the same angles.

Before:


After:

Before:

After:


Before:


After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:  I don't have a picture from the same angle, the fridge was on the wall that's gone now a little further to the left of this pic:

[downtoearth]

Beautiful! It looks really crisp and SOOOOO updated.

Congrats on your awesome kitchen!

So are the cabinets/drawers facing the dining area functional? They are really cute and a good alternative to trying to squeeze a eating counter in the dining area.

[dr.girlfriend]

Nov 7, 2014 13:50:54 GMT -5 downtoearth said:

Beautiful! It looks really crisp and SOOOOO updated.

Congrats on your awesome kitchen!

So are the cabinets/drawers facing the dining area functional? They are really cute and a good alternative to trying to squeeze a eating counter in the dining area.

Yep, they are 12" deep cabinets with a 6" or so wall sandwiched between them and the kitchen cabinets, making the high counter 18" deep.  With custom cabinets I could have made the whole 18" cabinet, but I went the cheapo IKEA route, and kept the wall in between partly to run electrical and plumbing but mostly for that extra counter space.  It's perfect.  It was the best idea ever -- I really don't see the point in having another eating area all of one foot away from the table.  ;-)


The left side holds all my dishes except drinking glasses and mugs, the middle drawers hold cookie cutters, spices, etc., and the right-hand cabinets are for less-commonly used serving pieces and also ugly appliances like the blender, etc. that we don't use very often.  Space in the actual kitchen was very limited, and all we have in there are silverware, pots and pans and lids, and frequently-used items (e.g., one drawer holds baking stuff -- flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, measuring cups and measuring spoons, another holds mixing bowls).

[policegirl402]

I love everything about your kitchen! From the layout to the backsplash to the wall color! Looks beautiful!!

[my4girls]

I love how it came out! you made amazing choices

[memenee]

dr.girlfriend

Wow! I love a good before and after. This is quite the change. So pretty. Just so I make sure I'm seeing everything right....you didn't take out a full wall? You just took out above and to the right of the doorway? If so, is there wall remaining to the left of the doorway?

(Sorry so many questions)

[floridakat]

I really love the grey and white combo. What an impressive transformation!

[mrsemilys]

Lovely!

[raangoli]

I love it! It's really so lovely. How do you feel about it all now that you've had some time to live with the after? I assume it's probably that it was worth the wait

[r]

Your new kitchen is really stunning. It's an amazing transformation. I bet you are loving it.

[finally]

I LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT!!!

[bunch]

I know that's been such a long time coming! Fantastic job! I love it!

[bunnies]

I love it - soooo much better!

[dr.girlfriend]

Nov 7, 2014 14:12:42 GMT -5 memenee said:

dr.girlfriend

Wow! I love a good before and after. This is quite the change. So pretty. Just so I make sure I'm seeing everything right....you didn't take out a full wall? You just took out above and to the right of the doorway? If so, is there wall remaining to the left of the doorway?

(Sorry so many questions)

Yes, I left the wall to the left of the doorway, because it was the exact depth of the cabinets, and I thought it was prettier to see that than a big side of a full-length cabinet.  I like the effect.  I'll take a picture that shows it better and add it in a sec.

[dr.girlfriend]

Nov 7, 2014 14:58:30 GMT -5 raangoli said:

I love it! It's really so lovely. How do you feel about it all now that you've had some time to live with the after? I assume it's probably that it was worth the wait

OMG, it's AMAZING.  I had like 30 people over for brunch, and I was making a bunch of casseroles at once the night before and So. Much. Counter. Space!  As I got one thing done I could put it up on the bar-height counter and get it out of the way for the next thing, etc.  It was fabulous.  And it worked as a great space for entertaining...I served the easy-to-grab stuff (bagels, donuts, etc.) from the bar-height counter, put the hot dishes on the table, and all the coffee and stuff was on that long stretch of counter by the stove.  For a tiny kitchen it works SO well.

[demelza]

Nice!

[sherbanator]

Pretty! What paint color is that?

[315]

Gorgeous! Those lights are my favorite design element.

[boiler717]

Wonderful job!!

[ruthie7532]

So nice! It seems so functional, and really pretty, too!

[Laura Palmer]

Gorgeous

[krystee]

Gorgeous! Are you willing to share the budget? We are going to need to do a kitchen reno when we buy our next house (none of the homes around here have been updated since approximately 1970), so I am always curious about numbers.

[dr.girlfriend]

Nov 9, 2014 2:16:43 GMT -5 sherbanator said:

Pretty! What paint color is that?

It's Benjamin Moore's Cotswold.  It is so much prettier than it photographs. 

[dr.girlfriend]

Nov 9, 2014 20:05:04 GMT -5 krystee said:

Gorgeous! Are you willing to share the budget? We are going to need to do a kitchen reno when we buy our next house (none of the homes around here have been updated since approximately 1970), so I am always curious about numbers.

I've posted the budget in prior threads for the most part, although I still plan to do an ultimate thread with all the details.  My goal was to keep it under $20k, and I went pretty extravagant in a lot of areas, especially the appliances.  Generally the labor was about $8500 plus materials, the appliances were about $5k, and the cabinet and counters were about $3k each.  The little things add up a lot too -- lighting, sink, faucet, etc.

[emoflamingo]

Missed this too - gorgeous work!

[candreco]

Really great use of the space, and so pretty! I really like the cabinets facing into the DR, I'm going to measure to see if that's possible when we cut a passthrough in the wall and add a run of cabinets.

[dr.girlfriend]

Nov 10, 2014 11:41:52 GMT -5 @choco said:

Your kitchen looks amazing lady, GREAT JOB! Where did you get your chandelier from? I'm looking for something to replace the one in our dining room.

Sorry, it was an old rusty one off Craigslist that I spray-painted.  :-) 

Before:



During:

(I spray-painted and then brushed with a little watered-down acrylic paint in a darker grey to "age" it and bring out the detail a bit)
After:


Lamps Plus and (especially their Open Box) and Shades of Light I think are really good sources for lighting.  I got both my kitchen pendants for $99  (originally $179) through the Lamps Plus Open Box and the Moroccan fixture from Shades of Light.

[dr.girlfriend]

Nov 10, 2014 14:08:12 GMT -5 @choco said:

Nov 10, 2014 12:59:52 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

Sorry, it was an old rusty one off Craigslist that I spray-painted.  :-) 

Before:



During:

(I spray-painted and then brushed with a little watered-down acrylic paint in a darker grey to "age" it and bring out the detail a bit)
After:


Lamps Plus and (especially their Open Box) and Shades of Light I think are really good sources for lighting.  I got both my kitchen pendants for $99  (originally $179) through the Lamps Plus Open Box and the Moroccan fixture from Shades of Light.

Oh man, you ROCK! I will check out Lamps Plus and Shades of Light in addition to CL. I never have luck with the CL here. 

These ones seem kind of similar:


www.shadesoflight.com/round-crystal-chandelier-only.html
www.shadesoflight.com/deco-crystal-swag-mini-chandelier-4-lt.html
www.lampsplusopenbox.com/w7411.htm

[dr.girlfriend]

Nov 8, 2014 12:50:23 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

Nov 7, 2014 14:12:42 GMT -5 memenee said:

dr.girlfriend

Wow! I love a good before and after. This is quite the change. So pretty. Just so I make sure I'm seeing everything right....you didn't take out a full wall? You just took out above and to the right of the doorway? If so, is there wall remaining to the left of the doorway?

(Sorry so many questions)

Yes, I left the wall to the left of the doorway, because it was the exact depth of the cabinets, and I thought it was prettier to see that than a big side of a full-length cabinet.  I like the effect.  I'll take a picture that shows it better and add it in a sec.

Oops, reading over my old threads I noticed I never followed up with that picture as promised.  Sorry!  Here it is:

[AAM2012]

WOW! That looks fantastic. Will you please design my kitchen