Fantastic!
I love how you ran the tile to the ceiling.

The remodel looks great. That linoleum really pops in that small kitchen.

I think the "before" picture has a certain period charm, too. Green linoleum!

Nice job. Always liked the checkerboard floors. Really beautiful redo...

That is one sweet kitchen !! Congratulations on staying on budget and reusing great cabs. You have really added to your home. c

Wonderful transformation, with ingenuity, gumption, and taste substituting for big bucks. I am amazed at how smashing the diagonal black and white checked floor looks in in your modest sized space. And you have made the best of generous fenestration as well as still functional cabinets.

Congratulations, and best wishes for every month in your house being even half a productive.

That is amazing! I can't believe the total transformation that you accomplished for less $$ than some might pay for even one appliance! Love the new look and functionality. I really like the idea of the checkerboard floor being granite and marble -- very classy!

Congrats on your beautiful "new" subtly retro kitchen.
The checked marble floor is to die for.
And I love your stainless counters
which set off the white cabinets and marble floor in such a gorgeous way.
Love your wall knife rack against the subway tile.
This is one of those magazine-worthy transformations.
Bravo!

I had a feeling our home's last remodel was in the 40's! I saw your pictures and just had to share: These were our move in pictures on our 1923 house. The only difference is someone painted your cabinets at some time!

Great job...love the stainless counters! Did you DIY those? Would you mind sharing cost/sq. ft? I'd love to use them in our remodel, but I've heard they're pricey.

hlove,

Thanks so much! We did DIY those you could say. We actually went to our local sheet metal place and got a quote on our counter for $400 - that's roughly $20/square foot (much more affordable than Home Depot quoted us!) That required however that we bought plywood ourselves, and made a model of our counter. So we fitted the plywood to fit our counter perfectly and also cut out the hole for the sink. Then we brought the plywood to our sheet metal guy and he fitted 20 gauge stainless steel on it. Then we installed it with liquid nails on top of our old counters.

Here's a few posts on the site relating to the stainless steel counters with more information:

Choosing stainless steel counters
Removing the sink and fitting plywood
Installing our new stainless steel countertop

We're very happy with our counters, and doing it this way turned out to be one of the cheapest options around...

Here is a link that might be useful: The Home Project - Kitchen Posts

I love how you used the subway tiles on all of the walls to the ceiling. Very nice choice of materials. Enjoy it!

Wow, I love it! Your new kitchen looks fantastic. I especially love that you kept the original cabinets and added gorgeous pulls and some beautiful new stainless countertops. I'm impressed with the number of drawers in an older kitchen. The subway tile and flooring look fantastic as well. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the information. That doesn't seem too difficult....our contractor is making our laminate countertops on site, so maybe this is a real option...

Again, beautiful job!

So beautiful. Really love the subway tile and checkerboard floors.

looks great--congrats!!

Wow, Quelle and DH, I just like the whole thing so much. A sophisticated, quality kitchen that honors the house and is inexpensive? That's a very talented trick to pull off, and I suspect a bunch of others are going to be taking notes for their own projects. Happy cooking. :)

Love it! What a light, airy feeling and that beautiful checkerboard floor.

What a sweet looking kitchen! I love all the classic elements that you used. Great job!

I love how much you have improved the layout by having the range by the window. How pleasant to have the view while at the stove!

Great job. Just lovely.

It's funny, but your new kitchen has less color in it yet is perkier! I think the floors and counters are just fabulous, although the green lino was kinda cute too. The lighting fits right in and adds some whimsy to it all. This looks like a real kitchen to me and not just a display kitchen. I think you really pulled it off wonderfully ;)

It is AMAZING that you did that for so little money. And that floor just looks fantastic. I don't know why, but with checkerboard floors, diagonal always looks FANTASTIC. To my eyes laying it diagonally is always better than laying it straight. Especially in a galley-ish kitchen like yours, because the diagonal tiles break up the long straight lines.

And thanks muchly for the tips on DIY'ing the stainless countertops! That's great info!

Ooooh! Very nice! My favorite feature is your checkerboard floor! Enjoy your lovely new kitchen! :)

Wonderful job. I like the way you switched the range to be by the window.

Great job; love that floor!

Finally had time to read each post in The Home Project. Process and product are both wonderful. I hope you find great joy in your new kitchen for years to come.

It is amazing! I love the diagonal tiled floor, it really sets off the kitchen. You did a great job!

I just wanted to thank everybody for all your lovely and encouraging comments! It's great doing a remodel (me and my husband both think it's kind of sad we're done with the kitchen as we had so much fun and would love to do another one at some point!) and of course it's nice to see the improvements. But it's also really nice to have other people see it and recognize all those details which we really love, such as the subway tile all the way up to the ceiling and the diagonal checkerboard floor. Again, you guys are just great - thanks so much for all the response!

Here is a link that might be useful: The Home Project

Quelle4, What size are your beautiful tiles?

oh, what a great job! It fits the 'space' but is sooo much nicer now. I also like that you switched the stove to by the window. It's had to make the world of difference working in it.

how do you like your over the sink light? what wattage do you have in? I'm getting one much like that but with just 2 bulbs. I do have other lighting plus a skylight.

Lynne2006, our tiles are 12x12 inches. More info on diy installing checkerboard tile floor here: Installing black and white diagonal checkerboard marble and granite floor

Desertsteph, thanks for your nice comments! Yes, switching the stove and the fridge made a huge difference, so much more light enters the room now! Actually we really like the lights over the sink. Each bulb is halogen and 50 watts. They really provide a lot of light, perfect when cooking.

more info on installing the lights here: New Kitchen Lights

Here is a link that might be useful: The Home Project

Wow that looks great, I love how you stayed on budget and also kept within the spirit of the 1940's house, but with a clean and updated feel!