Wow - I feel all warm and fuzzy! Thanks for asking. Of course I'll post pictures (although I must confess I still feel a bit, er "Payless Shoe Source" compared to so many of the beautiful kitchens people share!)

We're actually just in the final details stage, which of course seems to be taking forever but compared to so many of you it's been REALLY quick!

I haven't posted many pictures at this point because while it's beyond the "interesting construction details point", it's still not very photogenic and definitely isn't "finished" (note missing door on the pullout! My GC could make me one, but it was only $50 to order one which is easier and will match better, since none of our "spares" were the right size for him to make it without a lot of faking) - plus they have all their stuff piled in the dining room! - but in real life it is way beyond my expectations. WAY beyond - I walk in there and can't believe I'm seeing my compter-generated images... for real! And as for function? It's the easiest to work in kitchen I have EVER had. Anywhere.

Anyway, SINCE you asked.... :) here's a picture from today (I was in the middle of cooking dinner, hence the slo-cooker and the bread machine! from scratch French Onion soup and fresh bread... mmmmmm!):

They put the banister on the staircase today and it's so cute! Mr GC chose a nice proportion for the newel post and railing so it doesn't overwhelm the dinky little narrow staircase, and I think it's adorable - very dollshouse!

And lastly, my ceiling fan in the dining room (this from a couple of days ago and by daylight - notice how much light in my space affects paint colour!). I really wanted a chandelier to "dress it up" a little, but since I think we're going to run out of money before we can do CAC (sigh), a fan seemed a wiser investment:

I like the vaguely "old fashioned" look of it, but it's small enough to be unobtrusive (plus the ORB matches the door hardware very nicely!)

Anyway, thanks so much for your kind words - I've appreciated the encouragement from this place more than anybody can know!

oooh....what color is that paint!!!!!!!!!!!!??????????

I think it's all coming together nicely! it's amazing what you've accomplished.

Ha! After ALL that endless angst over paint, EVERYBODY who walks in or sees it asks what it is! Muahahaha... if only I'd known about those Glidden paper "post it" samples before I went through the $125 worth of liquid trial-size efforts... could have saved myself weeks of messing about with it!

It's Glidden's "Bonjour Beige" and the trim is Valspar Drumskin and I LOVE the way they look. The wall paint changes colour - sometimes it's a dark beige/tan, sometimes almost antique gold and sometimes almost a green... which are ALL the colours I'd wanted (and which hadn't worked) so in the end I got exactly what I'd hoped for!

I must post a "before" at some point, because without that the transformation isn't as obvious - it was SO bad before that I still can't believe what my boys have managed to achieve.

I will say I'm ready to be done though - I look forward to a day when I don't have to be dressed by 8am and can actually step out of the shower without wondering if I'm covered up enough... lol

Oooohhhhh I'm so excited to see this! I LOVE how it's turned out! What a wonderful job you and your boys did, divamum! And it seems really fast from my perspective....

To put it in a bit of perspective, here are two befores, taken from approximately the same angle as the first shot above:

And then after they cut through to widen the doorway when they were working on the attic and stairs

And yes, that was the entire kitchen. Now you know why the new one feels HUGE to us!

Wow, what an improvement!! You did have the tiniest little kitchen I've ever seen (hope that doesn't offend but I had always thought mine was super-small!) and I can see that all the work on the design paid off big-time. My memory being what it is, can you remind me how the door is now flush with the kitchen counters? It looks like you gained a lot of space and the cabinets are just lovely-- what a functional and pretty kitchen you have now! Hopefully when you're truly finished we can see a picture taken from the stairs that will include the sink wall too. Thanks for taking the time to catch us all up and let us see the magic, divamum.

Definitely ranks up there with other "big transformations" on the forum! It looks very nice and I'm sure it was well thought out.

The door was taken off the old attic entrance (there was a wall with door where the original stairs stopped -now where the banister now joins the wall - we had to extend the stairs by nearly 4ft to get a decent run/rise!). They framed me that little closet that we're using as a pantry, and also that separates the kitchen (and fridge) from the dining area and stairs.

But the goal was to make everything look like it had "always been that way", so I wanted to re-use the door - we planned to use it on the pantry from day 1, and I'm pleased that it does give the effect I wanted (I notice this more in the pictures than in real life).

I'll definitely take some "real" pictures when it's truly done - I still see so many details yet to be finished, like the missing door, the valance on the uc lights, some knobs still not installed, curtains not up, no rug in the DR etc etc. But it's definitely in the home stretch now, and I can't reiterate what a pleasure it is to use the space, finished or not!

PS Offend?! Ha - no, not at all. The old kitchen was truly AWFUL (the pictures don't begin to convey how unusable it was, particularly when you consider that it was BETWEEN the dining and living rooms, and thus acting as a hallway as well!).

... in which case the answer is that we swapped the kitchen and dining rooms!

I feel a big "ohhhhhhh", I get it now! So you moved the kitchen space into the former dining room space? And the old kitchen was used to extend the stairs and create a pantry? My galley kitchen is the main through-way to the family room and to get through, one walks right next to the stove after squeezing past the fridge in the doorway. Luckily the sink is slightly more out of the way as I seem to spend most of my kitchen time there. I can see why you're so thrilled to have more sq. feet! Have fun with the finishing touches. Lucky you to have such a great gc.

Old kitchen is now dining area and the extended stairs.

The old dining room was an 11ft extension (we're not sure, but we're guessing probably added in the 60s) off the back of the original 1928 house - we took about 9'6" of it for the new kitchen (including the little pantry/divider) - the remainder of the combined space forms the new dining area, extended stairs. Where the ceiling heights change is where the wall between the rooms was (you can see that in the picture with the ceiling fan). When I post the honest-to-goodness "final" pictures I'll include drawings of the layout and changes - because the space is small it's hard to get good photos and the drawings make it all a bit clearer I think!

How embarrassing. I followed your planning process with such interest but did not get exactly everything you were doing-- there were quite a few changes, as I recall. I'm continually amazed at the wonderful people who are able to decipher all plans and make constructive comments. Hmm, makes me sound like an idiot. I do love to look at plans, but sometimes the writing is too small or turned (too lazy to get out the glasses,) or an area is unmarked. Then there's the memory thing.... But all in all, I think your kitchen is terrific and that you and your boys have done a smashing job!

Thanks sjerin - I so appreciate everybody's interest and support! I sometimes still feel a little bit like the poor relative given that we had to take the "garage sale chic" approach to fit our super-restricted budget, but it's all come out so well in the end that I guess I should stop apologising for it!

And believe me, I DESIGNED it and sometimes I can't figure out the plans either!! lol

divamum - it looks great and I think even though yours was on a very small budget it is one of the more impressive ones here on GW. The reason I say that is because there are so many challenges to take existing sizes and make it work into soemthing useful that functions well and also looks good and I think you accomplished all of those things. Can't wait to see the final pics and do you have a closer one of the backsplash?

Your kitchen looks great. You must be thrilled to have more space to move around. I grew up in the city where the washer and dryer (doubled as prep space) were always in the kitchen, so space was always at a premium.

Could you tell me about the ceiling light in your kitchen. I'm looking for an alternative to a vanity light for my kids bath.

Thank You
Jenn

Jenn -

Link to the "mostly finished" kitchen below with the missing doors and final consstruction details done. And I've continued to tweak, and last week acquired a new table which fits the space better. (Is one ever really "done"?!)

You mean the 3-spot halogen? That was from HD - not a particularly luxe fixture, but because of the low ceiling height (it's only 90" at the back wall) I was limited by spot fixtures that weren't terribly big, and I knew I wanted something to go with the ORB handles and fan in the DR. I found it in the HD fluorescents and spots section (ie not with the other lighting) - I think it was about $35, so not expensive either. Lowes has a more elegant and higher-quality appearance one which I preferred aesthetically but it was several inches taller, and thus didn't work for us.

HTH!

Here is a link that might be useful: 95% finished kitchen

I love your backsplashh too!!! Great job.