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ntt_hou

Kitchen Refacing Completed.... PICs!

ntt_hou
16 years ago

First, I'd like to thank all of your questions, replies, suggestions and advises. I've read and learned so much from this Kitchen Forum the past year to be able to get this beautiful kitchen at my low budget.

Due to this low budget, I didn't really do a major renovation as many of you are and did. My main reason for the change was for functionality & accessibility. Yet, a few changes made such a huge different.

As mentioned previously in a few postings, I'm in a wheelchair and wanted to be able to use lower cabinets more easily.

We had fixed shelves in the cabinets and they were replaced with pull outs. We added a couple of floor cabinets to add extra usable space. We added plexiglass toward the bottom of the cabinets. These served as wheelchair bumpers =o)

A few other things such as changing the countertop and backsplash were also for my pleasure. Cabinets were repainted with an easy clean paint.

Floor tiles were already there when purchased the house. I used the Saltillo tiles as inspiration for the color choices of the kitchen and the rest of my home deco.

After 6 weeks in search for the granite and 2 additional months living on TV dinners, here are the before and after photos...

BEFORE: Wasted corner...

AFTER: New added cabinet & shelves...

BEFORE: Empty space by the cooktop in the breakfast area...

AFTER: New added cabinet & countertop space!

BEFORE: Bar Area and Kitchen...

This is what happens when you drink 'n drive in the house ;o)



BEFORE: 3 cm (1-1/4") "Tobacco Wave" Granite slab....

Granite AFTER!


No more wallpaper!

The rest of my COMPLETED KITCHEN!

Vertical view!

Comments (19)

  • creekylis
    16 years ago

    Congrats on your kitchen! I think you did a nice job of working with your existing floor tile. It looks like you chose it with your cabs and counter to me!

    Lis

  • ntt_hou
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    One more before 'n after...

    BEFORE: Window stool...

    AFTER!

  • ntt_hou
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    oh, and Thanks Creekylis!

  • socalthreems
    16 years ago

    Wow! Great job! What a fabulous idea to protect the wood cabs with the plexiglass - and I love your color scheme. It really is completely transformed! ENJOY!

  • starpooh
    16 years ago

    hi ntt_hou - may I archive your kitchen in the Finished Kitchens Blog? If so please:

    1. provide a "punch" list of your details in this post
    2. submit the FKB Category Checklist

    Thanks!

    Here is a link that might be useful: Finished Kitchen Category Checklist

  • ntt_hou
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Here's the layout of the kitchen. I did the sketch so it's not professionally done but it gives you some idea of what is where.

  • vjrnts
    16 years ago

    OMG. Your "before" wallpaper is what we have on our bedroom walls!

    Lovely kitchen, you did a great job!

  • stephand
    16 years ago

    Wow, great makeover!! Your granite is stunning and the backsplash really finishes it.

  • raehelen
    16 years ago

    Oh! I'd have to disagree- that definitely is a MAJOR renovation! Looks like a totally new space!

    The granite is gorgeous! What did you use for your backsplash? What a perfect choice with your counters and floor.

    Bet it makes you smile when you 'roll in'!

  • ntt_hou
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Thanks all for your generous replies.

    RaeHelen, the backsplash is an Italian porcelain tile that my handyman picked up at Master Tile. I'm currently not at home to look at the box. I tried to go to their website but their photos are messed up.

    I'll e-mail you later with more details if you need it.

  • talley_sue_nyc
    16 years ago

    beautiful!

    (did you put the plexiglas up high enough on your cabinets? It looks like it's lower than the dent on your DW door. But you're the one in the kitchen, as well as the one in the actual wheelchair, so you should know. That's an ingenious idea, the plexiglas!)

    Congrats on a job well done. It is really beautiful, and I bet it gives you a real dose of pleasure when you enter it each morning!

    Will your DW let you swap out the flat white panel under the controls? Many of them will.

  • ntt_hou
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Hi Talley_Sue, thanks!

    Yes, I did covered the plexiglass high enough. What you see on the DW door is the scratches made from the old wheelchair. The new one does not have this large bolt that sticks out and made the upper scratches.

    The front panel is replaceable on this DW. LOL, I should know 'cause I kept knocking that thing out of its place with the old wheelchair. I've been delaying on the order because I hadn't had time to order it. Should I go with SS if they have it? Will the DW look weird?

    There are still tidbits that I'm going to do them myself because originally, the price weren't included and the contractor did as much extras as he could out of his kindness. I didn't feel comfortable taking advantage of him.

    I still need to paint over the outlet & switch covers to match with the backsplash and go over with glaze paint at the toe kick areas to match with the cabinets. That's easy and I can manage to have these done.

    The cabinets are not the exact gold that I wanted to achieve. My contractor ran out of patience when he found out what I wanted done after he quoted me just for a regular paint job. He did the texturizing still with no extra charge and I didn't wanted to frustrate him any longer for he still had other works to get them done.

    I have purchased a medium-dark brownish gold paint to go back and texturize the cabinets to achieve the gold color that I wanted. However, I'm still undecided on it because this color looks fine too. I'm going to try it on a paper plate and see which I like better before doing it to all the cabinets. I'd need to ask a friend to do the upper cabinets of course.

    But YES! I love rolling into this kitchen every morning to make me a cup of coffee. It feels warm and lovin' =o)

  • girlgroupgirl
    16 years ago

    I don't think you needed a brand new kitchen! The outcome is quite spectacular! What a great job and great choices. I love the plastic guards - what a smart idea.

    You know, we had a painter for our renovation that fully assumed we'd just paint beige. He never once asked about color before he made the bid. The professional thing to do is for the painter to "assume nothing" just like any contractor would! The colors we chose took many coats of paint. If they'd have just asked, I could have told them all the colors before hand. Instead they said they didn't need to know right then!

    Normally stone counters are not my favorite, but I think you really did a great job with paint colors and the stone color , and choosing a similar backsplash but with a different cut.

    girlgroupgirl

  • amck2
    16 years ago

    Wowser! That is a real transformation. Congratulations! I like the floor plan and what you've done coordinating the floor, cabs & countertop shows it off to the best advantage. Enjoy -

  • roserx
    16 years ago

    You have definitely inspired me. I was debating replacing my dark walnut stained cabinets which are in good shape w/ a med stain doors and matching refacing, then granitizing the counter w/ a new sink and faucet, but questioned whether the recycled cabinets could justify granite and a new sink, but after seeing yours, I've made up my mind to go forward.

    Great job!

  • MariposaTraicionera
    16 years ago

    This has to be the most amazing tranformation I have seen in a long, long time. You did a fantastic job!

    Is it my monitor, or does the cabinet in the first pic have a line about midway?

  • Yvonne B
    15 years ago

    Ntt - your kitchen is inspiring! And, I am so grateful you mentioned the fixed shelves in your cabinets. I didn't think they could be changed. Did your contractor cut them out before putting in the pullout shelves, or did you use the shelves for rails? We're going to reface, and I also have a saltillo floor. I love the colors you chose for your counter and backsplash. It all looks fabulous!! And, your idea of the cabinet "bumper" was ingenious.

    - Yvonne.

  • ntt_hou
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Good grief Yvonne, I'm so sorry for deserting this post so long. Even if it may be too late to answer your question, I hope it's still useful for someone else.

    The pullout was done to the center shelves only. I don't know how the contractor took them out. He then, built new shelves and attached the rails for sliding. I guess, he could use the old shelves but he wanted a clean look and it was somehow easier just to build new ones. He didn't charge me extras. Here are a couple of pics of the pullouts.

  • ntt_hou
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    To match with the backsplash and the "stone" look, I later repainted the outlet covers. Originally, they were white.