Forgot--here's the link to the original thread:

Here is a link that might be useful: Holy 70s, Batman! condo kitchen

KAPOW!!!! BAM!!!! That's AWESOME! So much spacier, lighter and modern.

WOW!!!! That is one of the most dramatic changes I've seen on this forum.

It turned out so well!! I LOVE your orange red accents.

Enjoy your lovely, and very functional space.

Wow! So much more functional. I love it!

So good! I think my favorite part is the spray-painted light fixtures. It's the little things that can make a big impact! Second favorite would be your lovely backsplash.

Lovely transformation :)

> slide-in range by I forget

General Electric. Unfortunately, it appears to be all but touching the side wall, which is a building code violation. It must be at least 4" away, so that large pans can't touch the side wall paint or wallpaper and start a fire.

I like the '70s lights and what you did with them. That was the one thing I liked in the "before" pictures.

Looks great and every KA needs to shine! ;)

lee676, not to worry - there's a 4 inch filler piece on the left of the range. The wall next to it is also tiled up higher than any of spanky's extensive collection of cookware reaches.

Wow! What a dramatic transformation! Your space looked like a functional nightmare before and now looks like a dream!

I once had the same DW setup from your old kitchen. Who does that?? Makes the DW pretty much worthless!

Congrats and enjoy your beautiful new space!

I love it.

It doesn't even remotely look like a 70's kitchen anymore!
Great job on everything-am so impressed with DIY jobs. I can't even cut a straight line!! Btw, what did you do with the brick veneer? Cover it up with new wallboard? Or take it down? I have a fireplace brick wall to tackle next.
Enjoy your new space!

That's really pretty! Love the countertops and the red accents.

HOW did you paint the mixer? (My mom has the same dingy white mixer that still runs like a champ so I'm really really interested in how you did this? Lots of tape over the metal parts?)

Great job on your kitchen! Enjoy :)

Thank you all!

Vinudev, first I was going to pry all the brick veneer off but then we decided to do one long wall on that side with no stepbacks anywhere. The original wall was built out on the kitchen side. The contractor said they would build out the dining side wall to bring it out to the same plane as the other half, so I just ended up ripping out all of the drywall with the fake brick on it. That was WAY easier than trying to pry it off. They had to stud out half the wall anyway so it was just better to get it down to the original studs.

Sippimom, there are a bunch of blogs posts about painting KA mixers. I looked at a few and plunged in. You have to clean it really, really well, then take it all apart, then clean it some more, then mask off all the parts that you can't remove. One or two people recommend using Rustoleum Farm Implement paint but i had awful results with it---the gloss was uneven and it was drippy and the overspray was extensive, way beyond the dropcloths I used that are ok for any other spray paint. I think their Protective Gloss would be fine if you want high gloss, or the 2X for semi-gloss. I think 2X has some gloss colors, too.

Beautiful! I'm so impressed with all your DIY work. Love the floating shelf - how did you hang it?

Ugh...the floating shelf. What a pain in the ass that was.

First i was going to use floating shelf post hardware which you screw into studs, but they arrived and just looked too flimsy for the 11" x 1.5" thick hardwood. I also considered getting some IKEA Lack shelves for the mounting plates (same kind of thing) but they seemed too flimsy too.

I ended up getting 10" L brackets from Home Depot for around $6 apiece. There are 8 of them. I would have liked for the contractor to have drilled out cavities the shelf so that the brackets could be inserted and then attached to the wall studs. But they didn't have a drill press.

Instead, they routed out channels on the underside of the shelf and screwed the brackets in. The plan was for me to fill the channels, covering the brackets, with something or other. I thought I could cut thin pieces of the butcherblock to fit in there but that wasn't possible, at least not if i wanted to match the grain direction. So I got some beech veneer and am going to fill with something else, like Bondo or whatever (I have no idea, really) and then slap the veneer on top. Maybe. I dunno.

It really isn't a big deal until you sit at the table and then you can see it. Or if you're short. My grandson doesn't seem to mind that he can see the brackets under the shelf.

(I patched over them on the drywall and then tiled. It would have been easier if we'd figured out to do it this way when they were hanging the drywall but we didn't.)

Oh, and after all that---the shelf still can't have much heavy stuff on it! You'd think it would be very sturdy but it actually started to sag when I had my enameled cast iron cookware up there to get it out of the way for awhile. Yikes.

It's the perfect mix of clean/calm/pop! Already have colorcord.com open in another tab. Thanks! I've been looking forward to seeing this complete. But I know not half as much as you've been looking forward to it.

I echo what lazygardens wrote: "KAPOW!!!! BAM!!!!" What a transformation! From dark and dank Bat Cave to hip Gothan loft! (I have mental images of Batman and Robin kaPOWINg the heck out of the old kitchen).

Love the pops of red you've added, especially in the way you remade the hanging light fixture. Well done!

Love the backsplash, counters, lack of upper cabinets and wonderful dark floor. Great job!

Excellent! It's gorgeous. Your hard work paid off.

I remember your daughter's thread. What a wonderful daughter.
Great transformation! Enjoy!!

Oh, how lovely. Very clean lines. You did a great job!

I have a question for you as I'm going to embark on an IKEA kitchen soon too. I had thought, and was told by my local NJ IKEA, that the solid butcherblock counters were unavailable because the supplier couldn't keep up. However, here you have them. I do see them on-line, so did you order online/by phone. If in store, which store? Was there a long wait time after you ordered? Thanks in advance!

Great, great reveal. Love the mixer.

Thanks, musicgal!

Tracie, my daughter was told or maybe she read somewhere (here? ikeafans.com?) that the Numerar butcherblock counters sell out very quickly so I should check the website regularly for stock and then go immediately to get them when they had them. So that's what I did. Later I realized I should have ordered another 6' one; i was still within the kitchen sale period so I got a rain check and was able to get the 6' counter at the sale price as soon as they were in stock again. (They don't call it a rain check though---maybe "shopping list"? Something like that.)

I don't believe that they're not ever going to get them again, at least not if they're still listed on the website. I've heard so many differing things about this and that at IKEA---FROM Ikea employees! It seems like it's really hard to get consistent answers about stuff. (Just in the past two days I've gotten four very different answers to a question I had about their faucet warranty. Sheesh!)

edited to add: it wasn't more than 2-3 weeks that I had to wait for a new delivery of counters. And when I said I went immediately, I did--like within an hour of checking the stock.

This post was edited by spanky_md on Wed, Aug 6, 14 at 17:59

Tracie.erin, there's a way to sign up on Ikea's website for text or email alerts to notify you when an out-of-stock item gets in stock again. If you look up the item, then check the store availability, it gives an option to be notified when the item is restocked.

Thank you, spanky_md and yillimuh. Apparently I can order the kitchen over the phone, but not online. As the Numerar shows as available for ordering online right now, hopefully I can get it that way.

Even without seeing the "before", your kitchen turned out fabulously. Love the combination of everything, with the backsplash & the floors really standing out as perfect choices. Also, the countertops! And your Kitchenaid. And the pendant.
Congrats!

Don't know how I missed your original post. This is wonderful. I must make your heart sing (I know that's trite, but it exactly says what I am thinking) when you flip on the light and walk in there at night.

Love the pop of the mixer and the lights. And love far too many other details to mention.

Absolutely wonderful kitchen.

Wow, you both did an amazing job. I love the expansive work surfaces and the open shelf. And your accessories are so perfect with the style! This should be featured on ApartmentTherapy!

Thanks, all. WMA, I was a little worried that I should used more of that far end for a bigger dining table but as it turns out I have already filled almost all the drawers all the way (mostly kitchen stuff but also tools, desk items, stuff like that). And that end of the counter is great for doing small fix-it projects that I'd normally do on the dining table and then not have room to eat. So that's good. And it'll be great for buffet dinners. And maybe the annual Christmas cookie making party.