Kitchen before and after; Part I

I'm calling this Part One as there is still work to be done! But all the 'hard' work is complete--what's left is just the decor...it's coming along slowly, but it's coming!

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When we purchased our house this summer, to say it needed 'some work' was a bit of an understatement. We loved the house structurally, and fell in love with the yard (all 3 acres of it!). The kitchen was the biggest project we had to take on--along w/ a few small ones, and a bathroom redo--and all in 2 weeks time! We had sold our old house, and we had a 1 month window in between selling and buying--so we ended up renting an apartment...that was 30 miles away from the new house! We took possesion on July 30th, 2010, and moving weekend was scheduled for 3rd week in August. The kids were starting school, and we HAD to be out of the apartment by the end of August, so we had lots to do in a short amount of time! Dustin (hubby) took off 2 weeks from work, and we got busy. We drove 30 miles back and forth everyday, sometimes multiple times a day (the home improvement store was ALSO 30 miles away), and our 4 kids came along every day. It was greuling, but so worth it!

The biggest issue with the house was just the fact that it was so dirty! The previous couple had built the house and lived here for the past 30 years...and I think they lost the scrub brush 5 or so more years ago! The also had pets inside, and the smell inside would knock you over! We pretty much gutted the main floor--ripped out all appliances, trim, flooring, toilets, sinks, countertops; it all went.

So, kitchen specs:

We (by we I totally mean my husband!) laid new VCT tile flooring--classic black and cool white by Armstrong. Dustin also put in a new tile countertop--using white subway tile--he did an absolutely amazing job. We got all new appliances (Easy Care Stainless Steel by Fridgidaire--LOVE--no fingerprints!), new HUGE porcelain enamel sink by Kohler, new faucets, and I spent a week repainting the dark wood cabinets white (Ultra White by Dutchboy). All of our work paid off BIG--I love my new kitchen (wall color is Aqua Glow by Valspar). The after pics were taken before we moved it, but you still can see the dramatic difference!

Before (pics were taken during one of our walkthroughs, so all the seller's stuff is still there--I never got anymore 'before' pics!)




Schnazzy dishwasher!



And after:





And a more recent pic, with our things moved in


It's still a work in progress as far as decorating goes, but it's getting better all the time! I still have a lot of blank walls, and hope to figure out soon what to hang!

Linking up to the Weekend Wrap Up at Tatortots and Jello


http://www.elements-interiors.net/2011/03/whassup-wednesday.html

http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/2011/03/before-and-after-party-kitchen-nook.html