DIY Kitchen makeover reveal

The kitchen makeover we started way back in January (when I was seven months pregnant, no less) is finally done! (Or more like "done," because nothing around here is every really done.)

This wasn't a gut job to reach unattainable "dream kitchen" status -- more like a very practical and realistic update. We kept what worked (the layout, the cabinets, the tile floor) and replaced what didn't (the aging appliances, the pinkish counters). A new paint job did wonders for brightening the space. I ended up re-painting the white portion of the wall and all the trim as well just to freshen it.

I didn't add up every last penny, but I think were all-in at around $4000, and about $3000 of that was for the appliances alone. Not bare bones, but totally affordable for such a dramatic change that better fits our style.

I still want to figure out a solution to make our countertop microwave look more built-in and I might hang a few more pieces of art, but when things are 95 percent complete, you might as well call them done and show everyone the before and afters.

And more photos...

I have a number of posts coming up on some of the details, but if there's anything you really want to know about, give a shout in the comments!

p.s. I'm kind of dying that I didn't get a photo with my schoolhouse light in it. It's one of my all time favorite things, and it really caps off the room. Maybe next time.

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Sources
Appliances: Whirlpool
Microwave: Frigidaire
Range hood: Broan
Counters: Wilsonart 'Oiled Soapstone'
Faucet: Kohler
Paint: Cliveden Gray Morning (Valspar)

At last, another kitchen update!

Finally! Another kitchen remodel update. I can't believe the last one was more than a month ago. Baby was nice enough to let me put this post together for you, and hopefully she'll continue to be cooperative in these final stages of our minor renovation so we can bust this thing out.

Introducing, the new countertops, dishwasher, sink and faucet. And a new garbage disposal that doesn't sound like a garbage truck. Seriously this thing is so quiet, at first I wondered if it was actually disposing of anything at all. But it seems as though garbage disposals are a lot quieter than they used to be.

We replaced our pinkish laminate countertops with new laminate. While that might seem like a strange decision to some, it works for us and our house.

First, the home prices in our middle-class neighborhood probably wouldn't support expensive countertops. I don't think anyone would expect to find much more than laminate. Maybe the most basic granite, but I'm not particularly fond of the look of the cheapest granites anyway.

Second, I love the look of soapstone, but it's out of budget. So pricey! Luckily, this pattern is a pretty close match so it wasn't much of a concession. It's called Oiled Soapstone (Wilsonart), and it really does look like soapstone. The finish is completely matte and so smooth. A bonus: it was in the cheapest group of laminates.

Third, I've never known anything other than laminate, so I'm used to it. I didn't really want natural stone maintenance tacked onto my to-do list. Plus my husband is prone to breaking things (sorry, Dan), so laminate will probably save us many shattered dishes.

You also might notice my tall backsplash underneath the window. I'm really loving the simple, clean look it brings.

The hodge podge mess that was here before had to go, but I had a bit of trouble figuring out what to put in its place. With the counters, paneling, and plaster wall above, I thought a fourth material (such as tile) might be too much. The simplest solution for me was to order a separate, thinner piece of laminate the width of the window apron. I considered having it go the entire length of the wall, but the switch for the garbage disposal was in the way. And since that's a masonry wall, it would have been a huge huge undertaking to move.

Now that the bulk of the work is done, everything's downhill from here! Really, the only things left are some finishing details, painting and decorating. Can't say it will all get done quickly, but I'll have another update shortly!

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Kitchen update: Removing the weird sink light

Oh, sink light. I never did understand you. Who puts a light with an open outlet mere inches above a sink?

The light (or at least the wiring) seems to be original to the house. Was this a common feature in 1930? Sink light?

Anyway, my dad disconnected the wiring from the junction box in the basement, and then we removed as much of it as possible. There are still a few inches of wire embedded inside the wall that wouldn't pull out, but it's dead and doesn't connect to anything on either end. The holes left were pretty minimal; I was expecting to have to cover up a giant junction box!

After removing the wire, I filled the holes in the window trim with a few rounds of wood filler and sanded like crazy to make it smoothish again. I haven't repainted it yet because I'm probably going to be repainting a fair amount of the woodwork, and I'll just do it all at once. But already it's looking much cleaner back there. You know, if you can look past the crumbly plaster that was under the tile.

This was so not a big project. I wish we had tackled it sooner!

Scenes from a DIY partial kitchen renovation

This is the state of my kitchen today.

• I have no idea why there were newspaper ads stuffed inside the countertops behind the sink.
• I hope I survive being dishwasher-less for a week.
• I'm thinking of keeping the rustic backsplash. ;) (Better than the blue tiles, at least!)
• More to come.

Kitchen update: Countertop sneak peek + more

This side of the kitchen is looking a lot closer to finished. The other side... barely anything's changed. So I'm just going to focus on showing you this side for now.

First things first, the bisque range hood is gone! My dad installed new stainless one. It seriously took less than half an hour. So fast!

It does look a little stainless/black-heavy over here, but rest assured I have plans to add some colorful accessories in to warm it up. The vintage beer tray I had above the range before no longer fits in the space (hmph), so I'm on the hunt for something different.

Over the weekend, we picked up our new laminate countertops, but they haven't been installed yet. These two small pieces by the stove are just resting up there so we could see what they looked like; they haven't been screwed in place.

You might have noticed the counters don't have the typical laminate integrated backsplash. After reading a bunch of kitchen reno forums, I found the suggestion to have the laminate made without that four inch lip to make it look more high-end.

Then I browsed every hoarded back issue of This Old House magazine (my favorite) I own to seek out kitchen photos. And yep, most vintagey looking kitchens with expensive soapstone counters had no integrated backsplash. An easy way to get the look for less.

Of course, this leaves me with some wall repairs to tackle (sanding and repainting), but I'm hopeful it will all come out looking great in the end.

You can also catch a glimpse of the wall color I'm auditioning (on top of the cabinets). It's a greeny gray that I think will really brighten up the space. But that probably won't happen for at least a couple of months yet. I'm taking this renovation rather slowly. Baby comes first!

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Big rug in the kitchen

I have been on the hunt for a new kitchen rug. The one we had before (a $4 Lowes clearance find) was fine, but I wanted something a bit larger than the standard 2'x3' in front of the sink.

After shopping around online, I took a trip to Home Goods. I didn't have a lot of hope of finding anything because I've walked out of Home Goods empty-handed more times than not. But luck must have been on my side; I went in for a rug and I found a rug! And for $50 (!), which is a pretty good price for a 4'x6' wool rug. Everything else I saw online was at least twice as much for the same size.

I know decorating details such as this are better saved for the end of the project when all the pieces are in place, but there are enough colors in the stripes that I don't think it will be a problem.

Plus it has a grippy rubber backing like a bathmat so I'm not straightening it multiple times a day like the old one after it gets kicked or after this happens:

She had an undying love for the old rug. I hope she'll forgive me for replacing it.

Kitchen update: New appliances!

There's a whole lot of new and shiny in my kitchen! So far, we only have the refrigerator and the range installed. The dishwasher is waiting in the wings until the new countertops on order are installed. 

We were locked into a certain size of refrigerator. And I really, really wanted a bottom drawer freezer. Not really for the freezer so much, but because the refrigerator is at eye level now. I guess we should consider ourselves lucky that they actually still make the dimension we needed, since most of the options are so much larger now. (In fact, if we had space to play with, we could have gotten a larger refrigerator for less than what we paid. Don't ask me how that math works.) I'm so glad we weren't forced to move or alter any of the cabinetry. That would have been a real pain.

I must say that I feel completely spoiled using new appliances. Safe to say, I have never cooked on a stove as nice as this as an adult.

• The oven we just got rid of would sometimes randomly spike 100 degrees in temperature and burn what I was baking.
• The lemon of a stove we had in the apartment before we moved to this house took an hour to get up to 300 degrees. Plus if you were using the stove top and turned on a second burner, the flame on the first one would get cut in half.
• And I seem to remember a stove we had in college shot flames out of the broiler on occasion. 

Now cooking is almost enjoyable! The first time I used the new stove, I had three burners going and the oven still pre-heated in under 10 minutes. Unimaginable with my old range. Tools that work are a revelation!

We still have to install the new stainless hood fan. The old one is not vented outside and the new one won't be either, but I am hopeful it work a little better at keeping the grease at bay.

I was disappointed to find out there isn't enough clearance for a microwave above the stove. I know a lot of people don't like over-the-range microwaves, but I was hoping to get it off the counter. No such luck. We're stuck with a countertop model. As a consolation, we'll be upgrading that too, to match the stainless appliances. And I'm working out an idea in my head to make it look more built in.

And a sneak peek at the new countertop I just ordered. Yes, it's laminate. Our neighborhood and housing prices wouldn't support natural stone. Besides, I'm not too good for laminate. Not sure when everybody got all crazy about stone countertops being a necessity. I blame HGTV.

Next up: A much anticipated kitchen makeover

Get ready folks. I'm finally tackling the kitchen!

Other than some haphazard decorating and replacing the light fixture, we haven't changed anything in here since we moved in. We didn't even re-paint. Actually, I just kind of gave up on this room knowing that no amount of dressing would hide aging bisque appliances and not-my-style countertops. (Not to sound like a complainer. I know there are many kitchens worse off than this one.)

So after nearly five years of living with it in its current state, it's finally time to tackle some much needed updates. And with the late-March due date of baby #2 ticking down, I am not sure if this is a smart idea or a crazy idea. Time will tell.

But first, a little "before" tour...

Our modest kitchen is fairly small at 10'x12'. Not "apartment small," but definitely "old depression-era house small." There's no island. No peninsula. No pantry! Still by old house standards, we have a lot of counter space. It was likely last remodeled in the 90s, and I think they did a decent job. The layout works. The appliances are in the right spots. And all of that makes doing a cosmetic update possible.

The cabinets are staying the same. I love the look of painted cabinets, but I'm not ready to open up that can of worms just yet (if ever). The cabinets are maple (not orangey oak as they may appear in the photos), so I will save painting for a later date, if necessary.

The ceramic tile floors are also in good shape and are neutral enough. The light colored grout gets pretty gross, so I recently scrubbed it as clean as I could get it (I went through a whole can of Bar Keepers Friend!) and then put two coats of grout sealer on it. We will see how that holds up. I'm hopeful I won't be on my hands and knees scrubbing again in the near future.

While we have a fair amount of counter space, the existing laminate is a pink and peachy faux marble that I don't love. My husband doesn't see the pink tones, but you do right? Plus it doesn't contrast enough with the tone of the cabinets. I do have to say that it is excellent at hiding crumbs and grime, though. I'm usually pretty horrified when I get down at eye level and discover all the filth I missed wiping up.

Our appliances work OK. Just OK. They are all about 18 to 20 years old. (Tip: If you inherited appliances with your home, this is a great site for dating them.)

The stove periodically spikes in temperature 100 degrees, which makes baking fun. And it lacks any sort of modern features like self-cleaning or letting you know when it's preheated.

And this actually isn't even the refrigerator that came with the house. About a year ago, that one stopped working, and coincidentally, my parents had just replaced their fridge so they donated their old one to us. Lucky for us, it was the right size to fit within the cabinetry. And weirdly, it's the same approximate age as the one we had. But now this one has started cooling unevenly. Ever cracked a frozen egg?

To make it a dysfunctional appliance trifecta, the dishwasher is hooked up incorrectly and frequently collects dirty drain water from the sink in the bottom. (Yeah, that's stinky.)

This area behind the sink drives me nuts. So many things to fix in one photo. The faucet is leaky and terrible. The sprayer hasn't worked for going on three years.

And check out the most unique feature: the sink light. I don't understand it. I might have turned it on twice in the time we've lived here (and that was just to see if it worked). What's weirder is that there's a non-GFCI outlet on the underside. Hello, electrical hazard!

And the after-thought of a tile backsplash? Yeah, that has to go.

I also plan on repainting the upper third of the walls which are currently a dark brown, but I'm going to wait until I'm not so big and pregnant anymore. Not going to push myself on this one. Maybe late spring/summer?

So what do you think? Enough work for the couple of months of free time I have left?

(p.s....I'll let you in on a little secret: the new replacement appliances are already in tha house! Post on that coming next week.)