Recently my husband asked me to take pictures of the house to have for insurance purposes (hurricane season). I realized that I hadn't blogged in a year, so I thought I would at least complete the story of my house and go from there.
Here is where we are in the kitchen:
The first step was to improve the functionality of the cooking space. We tore out the old cabinets and appliances (ew) and hired a cabinet maker to build us cabinets that fit in with the rest of the kitchen. Since this is not our forever house, it was important to us to keep the budget small, so we kept the remaining cabinets and painted them.
Before:
After. Now I have space on the sides of the range to put bowls, spices, or anything I need to cook. The range is a Kenmore Pro commercial series. This is a really good option if you want a commercial range without the price tag. It is duel fuel (gas on top, oven is electric) which is better for baking (supposedly?). I have to admit I love having a gas range. The only downside is this thing puts off some serious HEAT. I am very glad I decided to put a fan in lieu of a pretty fixture.
It would be a lie to say that painting cabinets was easy. It is a huge project that took both my husband, myself, and my in-laws lots and lots of hours. I will try not to bore you with too many details, so here is a quick list.
1. Number the cabinets and cabinet boxes (blue tape with sharpie)
2. Take the cabinet doors down and remove all hardware.
3. Clean the cabinets with liquid sander (so paint will stick)
4. Paint the cabinets one side at a time and allow 24 hours per coat for dry time. Use oil based paint.
5. And most importantly, keep large quantities of ice cold beer on hand. You will need it.
And here is my dirty laundry. For all to see. This is why I think open shelving/glass front cabinets should be used in moderation. It would be such a challenge to keep everything orderly 24/7.
After the cabinets we were ready for granite. Here are a few pictures of the installation. This is not a DIY project! I think you are crazy if you attempt to do this yourself.
Just a little reminder of what the old countertops looked like.
My new undermount sink. I chose to not use a divider and I don't regret this decision. It is so much easier to wash bulky pots and pans.
And they actually do the cutting on site.
That looks heavy.
And ta-dah!
Paint, countertops, cabinets and valance.
And here is the backsplash. It is beveled subway tile with a crackle finish (hard to capture in pictures). Of course the tile was installed by Hubby. Attorney, contractor, and lawn man extrodonaire!
A year later the brown paint started looking grimey (grease spots, etc.) so I painted the kitchen (again) about a week or two ago. I am much happier with the paint color and it seems to be holding up better. Do not use flat paint in your kitchen! This time around we used Sherwin Williams Duration Home in matte (has a slight sheen) so it can be cleaned. Much cheerier I think.
