Your kitchen is marvelous -- I love IKEA cabinets! I would have used them in my kitchen if they had had the right cabinet dimensions, etc., for me.

I love your stainless subway tiles -- can I ask where you got them?

Looks stunning! Congratulations!

I went to the local metal yard and bought a 12' piece of 1/8" x 3" stainless bar stock. They cut it into 6" long pieces for me. We used a belt sander on them to get a brushed finish. We looked at pre-made tiles but we actually wanted them to be recessed so we needed them thinner than a standard tile. We paid about $80 for 24 tiles including the cutting charge.

I love it! That tile is beautiful, and the new window looks great. So does everything else, of course. Love the countertops. Excellent job.

Very nice! I like those new KA appliances, now that MW look is cutting edge.

What a lovely, soothing space. I bet you just savor the light and feeling when you walk in - and DIY! Extra savor . . . nice job!

That is fantastic. LOVE the tile floor and backsplash.

Congrats

So...what's that beautiful countertop made of?

Wow, you did an awesome job! Boy, that looks like a lot of demolition you had to do first, though :~0
Your new kitchen is really great looking. I love the sleek cabs and hardware. The new counters add warmth and are a good contrast, texturally, to the cabs. I think your backsplash is totally cool and love how it ties in so nicely with your appliances and hardware. Congratulations on a wonderful design job!! Lynn

Looks terrific!!! Are those the Ikea Abstrakt cabs that have the glossy finish. Love the way you did that end wall on the range side. Great job!!!

Love the counter top! Which is it, Oak, Beech or Birch? We are also budget DIY, and are debating between Ikea and Lumber Liquidator for the butcher block.
S

Love, love, love the new look, especially that ingenious cutting board. Your kitche looks so fresh and calm - a place to relax and enjoy a meal cooked on those great appliances.

Hats off to the DIY!!

gng

Thank-you all! The cabs are Applad... we thought the abstrakt was too shiny for us. The countertops are oak with a tung oil finish.

Great job-amazing! Love that hardware!

Great remodel! The kitchen looks fabulous. Love your floors with those cabs, and the tiles are wonderful. I can't help but admire the DIY talents youv'e got -- all that, and a terrific budget, too!

Oh, and GO CHARGERS!

Beautiful1 Light and bright! I LOVE the tile floor. It looks almost like leather in the pics! That microhood is so cool looking too!

Looks like the oak Numerar countertops?? How did you find the IKEA process? We will be getting them too and doing our remodel DIY.

A++!!

Love your pendant light - where did you get it?

It's nice if you're close to an Ikea store. The quality is decent if you can make the sizes all work. We used their planner to do the layout. Measure everything 6 times and try and visualize every door swing etc. We had Ikea deliver our order.... there was some damaged stuff, particularly the pantry stuff because its large and very heavy. We had no problems returning anything even though we didn't discover the damage until later. A good quality drill/driver and a nailer are a must imho. Annie got Very good at putting these together and made alot of trips back to Ikea to swap out stuff. If you're interested we have lot's of opinions on cabinet choices in the Ikea line.

Fantastic! I love the butcher block countertop... what is sealed with?

I just read your post about the countertops! Very nice.

Pendant light was from Expo. Micro was my hot button..... before I met Annie I lived on a convection micro. This unit is the Kitchenaid version of the Whirlpool Velos. Countertop is sealed with Tung oil from Rocklers. The cutting boards are made from leftover countertop with a base coat of tung followed by mineral oil.

You did a fabulous job. Looks great. What is the paint color?

great job!
Love the Ikea cabs, and everything else for that matter

Beautiful job! The only thing I would have done differently is used a deep overfridge cabinet and a side cover panel to give the fridge a more built in look...but it is lovely and clean and bright and so very functional! Great job, great appliances and great creativity.

Wonderful job! Pat yourselves on your backs for accomplishing a fantastic makeover. Your backsplash is awesome. Each element of your kitchen complements the others. Enjoy your fabulous new kitchen!

Yes-- Paint color, please!!!! I'm guessing it's RH Silver Sage but would love to know for sure. Excellent job. Looks fantastic.

Fabulous make over! You should be very proud! Love the 'easy living' mellow colors and materials. And, is that a pool I see? Can it get any better than that!

Thanks.....Paint color in kitchen is Sherwin-Williams Liveable Green.

We went back & forth on the over fridge cab. The big issue we had with the original kitchen, other than being worn out, was the narrowness and the tunnel effect. Work flow wise it's pretty tuff to screw up a galley kitchen so we tried to make a design that would "square up" the room visually. In the old kitchen the fridge was on the opposite wall and was almost a barrier to walking into the room.

If you look at the before pics you'll see soffits over the old cabs, what you can't see is that prev. owner also dropped the entire ceiling 6" or so. You don't see them in the pics but there were also 2 ceiling fans in the center. All this really constricted the room. We wanted a larger fridge so we moved it out and across, more toward the dining room. We actually really wanted more of a built in look but it messed up the sight line from the entry and dining area. We got lucky on the fridge.... it was from Expo. Someone mis-ordered it without the ice&water thru the door which we much preferred anyway. The added bonus was counter depth and the gray sides that matched our cab kicks.

We were so paranoid about "closing it in" we used 18" floor tile and lots of reveals in materials when transitioning at openings etc.

It is so fresh, serene, and inviting. It must feel like your going to the spa every time you step into your kitchen. Great job!!!

Great work!!! What is your floor tile? Nice job hiding the dishwasher. Love the clean sunny feel you've created.

The bolt makes me miss San Diego, we have a lovely spring snow fall here in MN!

debs

I don't knon...I think you're really gonna miss those wonky cabinets over the microwave (with the saggy doors) LOL

I love the new kitchen and what you did with the silver "tiles" is fabulous! Keeps it feeling fresh and clean. It's lovely.

I love clean, modern design, and this looks like just the sort of kitchen that would make me look forward to cooking every day. The balance of cool, sleek minimalism and inviting warmth can be difficult to achieve, but you made it happen. It certainly doesn't look like a budget project, either. Congratulations on getting such tremendous bang for your buck, and ending up with such a beautiful result.

Thank you all for the kind comments.

Debsinthepink..... We've lived here going on 25 years and I can't imagine living anywhere else. Grew up in the midwest and I hated those spring snows. They seem to come just when you think the bad weather is over.

Thanks for posting - I really enjoyed looking at the makeover's progression in the pics. The end result is so refreshing and appealing. Hard to believe what it cost. (That's just a figure of speech, of course I believe it.) You did a fantastic job! Everything's beautiful!

I love it. The floor tiles are fantastic looking. The wood counters, the colors...everything is wonderful. Love the stainless thrown into the backsplash and I love how you have the framed partial wall overlapped by the counter on the right end of the stove wall.--Such a clean finish to that run.

DIY or not, low budget or not, it's a great kitchen!

Fantastic. I just love before and after pics, so much drama. But 'in between' pics are where the real story is. Great job. Thanks for sharing!

- D

Grin.... thanks.

Don C..... Isn't that the truth, Just finished extending the floor tile into the dining room & foyer today. I'm really sore.

Hi Jeff! Your kitchen looks fantastic - I really like the contrast between all the different materials. Warm and "cool" (the bits of stainless), light and dark...it balances very well!

I do have one question for you - I am looking at the applad (white) cabinets for a house I am remodeling, and was wondering if your glass-front cabs are the standard Applad glass-front models that come from IKEA, or if you customized them. I really like the frosted glass look. I was considering the Stat Applad cabinets, but am not really a fan of all the mullions that come on the glass fronts in that style.

Thanks!

Hi.... Glass doors were from Ikea. Order form reads "applad gls dr 18x30 wht/frst gls" Article #701-103-40. Thanks for the nice comments.

I love it! It has a nice clean, airy beach-house feel to it, with a wonderful mix of colors and textures. You really made the room come alive.

Lovely! Bright and clean and fresh. What a great room to walk into every morning.

First, let me say, this is a great transformation; the precision of the work really comes through in the photos.

I have to ask a question because my wife and I are considering wood countertops. The Capital range spec sheet notes that at 12" clear dimension from combustible materials should be maintained between the top of the range and the adjacent countertop material ("National Fuel Gas Code" ANSI Z223.1, latest edition"). Are you familiar with this requirement? Was it considered at the time of material selection? We want the same treatment as your photos show (wood tops running right up to the range), but this note has now caused us to think again. Appreciate your comments. Thanks.

Love your kitchen. It is so inviting. What a great job you did and a great layout. Congrats! What are the name of your floor tiles and where did you get them?

Such a cheery kitchen. Must be great to wake up to in the morning. Lucky you with an Ikea and Expo close to you.

Matt,

I'm not familiar with that. I don't have a copy of the code book.... perhaps you can post that section. Are you sure that is not meant to be vertical flammable surfaces within 12" such as a wall or high cabinet? If Capitol is correct in this would not formica also be verboten? Possibly this is a Capitol requirement, my installation guide made no reference to the sides... only over the top.

Hi Jeff.

I've been reading up on the code, and while vertical clearance to combustible materials is distinctly noted at a 30" minimum, side or horizontal clearance is not as clear. The code refers to installing household cooking appliances "in accordance with the manufacturer's installation instructions." I am posing the question back to Capital; perhaps their note is outdated or I am missing something in the National Fuel Gas Code. I had the same initial question regarding plastic laminate tops and their proximity to a cook top. Combustible materials are defined by the code as such: "As pertaining to materials adjacent to or in contact with heat-producing appliances...shall mean materials made of or surfaced with wood, compressed paper, plant fibers, or other materials that are capable of being burned. Such material shall be considered combustible even though flame-proofed, fire-retardant treated, or plastered." It goes on to give samples of noncombustible material as steel, iron, brick, tile, concrete, slate, asbestos, glass, and plaster (Section 3.3.65.1 & .2). Talk about vagaries. Plaster makes both lists. Seems like good judgment and following manufacturers instructions will be the best guidelines here. Let me know if you are interested and I will post or email you Capital's response to the 12" clearance question. Cheers.

No need to bother with posting the code.... usually manufacturers recs are sufficient. I looked at Capitals install instructions and you could interpret the clearances to mean 12" to a side wall or pantry cab. Remember the range is installed at or slightly above countertop grade.

Out of curiosity I did a quick and dirty test with my infrared thermometer. I put a large stock pot on my largest burner (17k I think) and cranked it up for a bit.

Inside pot 370 degrees
Edge of countertop 83 degrees
Ambient countertop 78 degrees

I'll grant you not very scientific but on my range thats ok by me, ymmv. Those large grates are giant heat sinks. Another option I considered for convenience was to cover the 2 feet on either side of the range with a sheet of 1/8" stainless but in the end I chose not to because our grates are continuous. We just slide the pots around.

All I can say is: Wow-y Kazow-y!!!

LOVE IT!! fresh and bright with the coolest cutting boards I've seen.

Congratulations. Amazing you were able to pull it off on $11.5K!!!

mustbnuts,

Floor tiles were from Lowes... American Olean Capitol Green Plaza. They are 18"x18". Not sure if they still stock them, I think they were closing out on at least that color, cost 1.50 sqft.

Oooh, how did I miss this lovely kitchen! How beautiful and fresh. You've pulled it all together with such style. There's nothing low budget in how it looks, that's for sure. Really great job. Thanks for sharing the progress pics - helps those of us mid-remodel.

Jeffrow!
What a great job you've done! This is a lovely kitchen.
RE: " If you're interested we have lot's of opinions on cabinet choices in the Ikea line."
Yes, please share your thoughts!