Finally. Here it is.
It took a total of 5 weeks, start to finish. Minus 2 days. 2 days shy of 5 weeks … not bad, considering that this was a one man project. I’m telling you. He. Is. Superman.
Without further chatter, here are the before pictures:
Typical builder grade, pre-fab wood cabinets … complete with bright white wood trimmed formica. And uber boring backsplash.
Lots of fake/faux wood veneer on every side panel of the cabinets. Builder penny pinching at its finest.
I would like to say that there wasn’t anything wrong with our kitchen. If your kitchen looks like mine, it’s a lovely fully functioning kitchen … it’s just boring. That’s all. ;)
And the desk. Oh man. The desk. Two tiny cabinets that didn’t hold much at all. That desk was a continual struggle for my OCD self.
Paper hanging lanterns … cause I used to think they looked ‘cool’. I don’t know. I really just don’t know. So, don’t ask.
This 7” white porcelain sink might have been my absolute least favorite thing about this very plain kitchen. It was the ‘armpit’ of the kitchen, if you will.
And finally, my el cheapo IKEA chair … purchased many years ago out of desperation when I just couldn’t find a desk chair (within my budget) that I liked.
Combine all those boring builder grade (or worse) aspects … wait 6 1/2 years … and you’ll be where I was at. I was just plain tired of that kitchen. Tired of keeping it clean. Tired of cooking in it. Entertaining in it. Doing dishes in it. I needed change.
And … here we are:
Superman ripped out the crown moulding on the cabinets and replaced it with thicker moulding, added trim on the bottom side of the cabinets, installed under cabinet lighting, replaced the veneer side panels with trimmed bead board, painted the inside and outside of the cabinets, replaced the counters with marble, replaced the sink, replaced the backsplash with split faced travertine, replaced light fixtures … and then, called it quits. :D
There really are no words for the finished product. That backsplash consists of 1,700 tiles … each placed one at a time.
The marble tiles used for the countertops were painstakingly cut to be installed with a zero grout line.
We found unfinished cabinets at Home Depot for roughly $200 … and Superman finished them out with paint, crown moulding, bead board, and under trim to match the rest. He’s going to install under cabinet lighting here as well … and clearly, we have a cord situation that we need to take care of; but, overall, I am very pleased with the desk area.
I kissed all of the IKEA mirrors and clutter goodbye … and hung a homemade-by-Superman triple mirror in its place.
Superman even refinished my kitchen table … read about that here.
We also replaced the paper lantern with an identical ceiling fan … this is Dallas, people. You cannot have too many ceiling fans … and this new addition makes ceiling fan #9 for this house. :D
The lights above the sink and desk are original to the home … we dug them back out of the attic and spray painted the brass bases with the oil rubbed bronze paint.
He did such a beautiful job … I am truly one spoiled girl.
One of my favorite parts is the new stainless 9” deep sink and goose neck faucet, with built in soap dispenser. :D I know I sound silly. It’s the little things.
To give the chair a face lift, he sprayed the base with oil rubbed bronze spray paint … and then painted the seat and back to match the cabinets. I love it!
So, here are the before and after pictures … side by side.
Here is the break down of cost, for those interested in duplicating something similar:
Marble tiles (Crema Fedora): $200 (about 100 feet at $2/ft)
Paint (Sherwin Williams Turkish Coffee in an oil based glossy enamel): $50
Sink and faucet (sold together as a set at Home Depot): $250
Pre-fab unfinished cabinets: $200
Under cabinet lighting: $50
We spent a total of about $750 … but that backsplash was free for us. Superman brought it home about 5 years ago when he was working in home building. Another homeowner didn’t like the backsplash, so it was ripped off the wall. We cut the tiles off the fiberglass backing and scraped all the glue off and then installed them one at a time. It was a labor of love … but that same backsplash would have been $15/ft otherwise.
I’m currently pricing new appliances … I’ve found several appliance packages for all 4 of our built in appliances that sell for around $800 for all 4 total, through Craigslist. I’m just trying to sell a few things to pay for them, so I don’t feel guilty going out of pocket for an unnecessary purchase. The bulk of this kitchen remodel was funded by Christmas money we received from my parents, Gary’s parents, and family. Gotta love that. ;)
What do you think? Worth $750?? ;)
PS- I do not know why all of my pictures are blurry when I upload them. They aren’t blurry on my computer. Sorry.
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