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| We've lived in our home for 14 years. Always hoped that we'd be able to almost gut our kitchen; father in law did our tiling and that would stay - no compromises there. Years have gone by, kitchen got older and older. Money got tighter and tighter as the kids get bigger and more costly. We had to replace our dishwasher which had leaked for the past 3 or 4 years and replaced our side by side which was no longer cooling or freezing well - hated the darn thing. So, off we started on a project to update what we had. Our cabinets were solid oak, 3 quotes for replacing ran 25 - 45K which wasn't going to happen.
This was a true DIY project. Hubby did much of the nailing in of new woodwork, but I installed the plumbing for the sink, the downdraft, the cooktop, did the painting,. installed new hardware, you name it. I did hire a friend to help me do the cabinet moulding this week and of course, I did not do the granite or hardwood. Still not 100%. Waiting for 5 cup pulls to arrive to install last drawer fronts. Details:
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My paint room. Built in my garage using 6 sheets of Home Depot plastic that cost me 6.00. Used cup hooks to hang the cabinet doors on clothesline that I strung between the garage door rails in order to spray paint them.
Details in the kitchen were covered to include stripping the paint down from my metal lazy susan and refinishing in a Rustoelum product that matches the hardware and stainless of the appliances - yeah! Must give a shout out to Tanner Scherr at Scherr's. I had contacted about 6 different places about replacing our island - all about 3K for island alone. I had a carcass, just needed to be worked with. Tanner worked with me to get what was in my head, out on paper and had drawers and drawer fronts built for me. Hubby, quite cynical about the whole thing, sawed, cut, removed, moved, stiles, supports, etc. to recreate our old island to accept Tanner's drawer's. I think they are both fabulous guys!!! :) Not everyone may be able to afford a new kitchen, but with a bit of elbow grease and a can of paint - good things ARE possible! And hey, my 'awful arches' as I have heard them referred to here, now sort of fit the colonial feel of my New England home. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| All I can say is-wow!! I am SO impressed with DIY-ers, and you did a lovely job with everything. Congratulations and enjoy your beautiful new kitchen. |
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| Wow! New kitchen looks great! I love that you were able to put drawers in your island. Love the wood stained window trim. Great job! Enjoy! |
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- Posted by berlingirl (My Page) on Tue, Nov 13, 12 at 23:12
| Amazing transformation! The island drawers look great. Love that granite. |
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| Hey now you go girl!!! She plans, paints, and plumbs. Really nice improvement and I love that you reworked the island. Did you repaint the walls? It looks like a different green.Very pretty. I too like the dark doors and windows with the white cabs. The cats make me want to revisit the cats on the counters thread ;) |
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- Posted by sandra_zone6 (My Page) on Wed, Nov 14, 12 at 6:45
| Thank you - we are thrilled with the changes! The walls are Ellen Kennon's Spring Green. It's a full spectrum paint so no blacks in the background. I have her paints throughout the main level and some upstairs - they really do change in color. The walnut trim is throughout the house; all moulding, window and door trim and I have walnut stained mullions in my windows - not the pop out ones. Ah the cats, we have 2 doxies as well. The dogs eat everything. So in the old kitchen, the cats were allowed on the island; it's where they were fed. But they didn't go on the perimeter and we didn't prep food or anything on the island. The island has always been a landing zone for 'stuff'. Now we are feeding them in the basement, they've taken to the change quite nicely and no more kitties on the counters. Here's a better pic of the granite, posted the wrong one last night. |
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| Beautiful job! What a difference in the overall look and feel. I admire your spray booth too, having painted cabs with a brush more than once. It looks like you achieved a nice finish on those cabs. It all looks great! |
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- Posted by Melissa-Kitchen (My Page) on Wed, Nov 14, 12 at 8:51
| I love it! This is exactly what I am planning to do with our kitchen too. Unfortunately, we are not DIYers. I am in awe of your finised product and I especially love the island. How difficult was it to add the beadboard? Thanks for sharing! |
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| Great job. You should be proud of yourselves and your kitchen. Your kitchen looks so much nicer. What a good idea to have the island retrofitted with drawers and to install hardwood floors. Now relax and enjoy your lovely kitchen |
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- Posted by williamsem (My Page) on Wed, Nov 14, 12 at 9:47
| Wow, you do good work! Looks great. I'm always amazed when people can imagine what's already there looking completely different, and then make it happen. I'm not a visual person like that. You must love spending time in the new kitchen! |
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- Posted by fouramblues (My Page) on Wed, Nov 14, 12 at 9:51
| You did that?!? Wow. It looks terrific, and you must feel quite a sense of accomplishment. Wow. (It bears repeating.) |
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| I am very impressed. Waytogo! |
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| Your new kitchen looks fabulous! Your granite is beautiful - and I really like your new island. Everything looks great. |
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- Posted by motherof3sons (My Page) on Wed, Nov 14, 12 at 16:21
| One of the best updates ever! You have a great eye and it looks wonderful. I hope you enjoy this new space! |
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| Beautiful! |
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| How absolutely beautiful! You've done a really great job. I'm so proud for you, knowing how much time and effort it takes. Congrats! |
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| Very nice! The new cabinet color and wall colors make the soffits recede and almost disappear. Your kitchen is lovely. |
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- Posted by gsciencechick (My Page) on Sat, Nov 24, 12 at 17:57
| Really awesome! Your hard work has paid off tremendously! Love the island and the cooktop area. The kitties are adorable, too. :) Your paint room reminds me of "Dexter". Seriously, they use the same plastic sheeting from HD I read in some article about the show. |
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| Oh wow what a difference your updates have made. Great new look, you now have a fresh and modern looking gorgeous new kitchen. Love the island and the fridge wall with hutch especially. Great job, and congratulations!! |
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| WOW! I love stories like this. I love that with creativity and I love that you embraced the arch. |
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| All of your hard work and ingenuity really paid off, it looks great! So much brighter and cheerful. It is truly a transformation and looks beautiful! |
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