Our kitchen reno--complete!

House Repair Talk

Help Support House Repair Talk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

superjedi

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 16, 2009
Messages
53
Reaction score
0
Hi all,
Hopefully this is the right section for this. I mentioned in a couple of other threads several months ago that we were getting ready for a kitchen renovation. It took a bit longer than we anticipated (doesn't everything?) but it's finally done! Not a perfect job by any means, but this is the most complex DIY project I've ever attempted and I have to say I'm pretty pleased with the way it came out. :)
Our home was built in 1964 and as far as we could tell the kitchen was original to the house. Typical 1960's style decor; harvest yellow linoleum flooring, turquoise (very faded) paint on the walls, built-in cabinets which went to the ceiling, and white "flecked" laminate counters complete with metal trim! I always expected to see Alice in there making 6 school lunches. Here's the before.

IMG_0683.jpg


oldkitchen2.jpg


There wasn't anything wrong structurally, but we really wanted to update the look. We began by deciding on a mainly neutral color scheme. We knew we wanted dark flooring with light cabinets, and as we went along in the design phase, we decided to do wallpaper, too. After tearing out all the old cabinetry and scraping up the old linoleum floor (ripping stuff up is fun!) I prepped the walls by removing an old chair rail, as well as all the door and window trim, then washed and sanded the walls well. We chose a sort of distressed plaster look. The pics don't show it well, but the wallpaper has a nice pearl sheen in certain lighting.

IMG_2576.jpg


Continued below.
 
Part 2:

Here are a couple of shots of different sections after all the old stuff was torn out.

IMG_2559.jpg


IMG_2558.jpg


IMG_2560.jpg


The cabinets we chose were from "Diamond Select" sold through Lowe's. They're finished in Amaretto Creme with a Mocha glaze. Very nice off-white cabinets with just a subtle glaze to highlight the shapes. Nothing too over the top. I began with the wall cabinets. I screwed a 1 x 4 to the wall to keep everything level during the installation.

IMG_2578.jpg


Part 3 below.
 
Part 3:

Once the wall cabinets were up, I put the bases in place.

IMG_2582.jpg


I hadn't laid the flooring yet. We decided to go with a laminate floor tile with a slate look. I didn't want to trap the flooring under the cabinets, so I shimmed the base cabs up to what would be the new floor level.
The next shot shows the new flooring, along with some of the toe kick installed. The new Whirlpool range is in place along with a thin black backsplash, too.

IMG_2659.jpg


The cabinet package we ordered came with some small crown molding. I've never done crown before, so I read up on cutting the angles almost obsessively :D and managed to get it right without running out of material!
This pic also shows the valance above the window.

IMG_2673.jpg


Part 4 below.
 
Part 4:

Being a total noob to crown molding, I debated this next step for a day or so. I wanted the crown at the left end of the cabinets to come out and lay flush against this part of the wall. I managed to figure out the cuts and I think it came out looking pretty nice.

IMG_2667.jpg


The countertops were the only part I didn't install myself. We ordered some laminate counters with a beveled edge in "Honed Slate" and had a pro come in to install them. He did a terrific job.

IMG_2773.jpg


Everything is nice and straight and level, and part of the package included installing our new sink and disposal. The sink is a dark granite composite (composition?) by Swanstone, and I paired it up with a matte black faucet set from Moen. Simple and modern looking.

IMG_2780.jpg


He made a nice cut to fit this smaller section in where the wall juts out.

IMG_2775.jpg


Part 5 below.
 
Part 5:

The final purchase was a new dishwasher. We decided to go with all black appliances to set off the neutral shades. We discussed stainless, but in the end we just preferred black. So here's the whole shebang.

IMG_2842.jpg


I know I've left out several details, like the lighting, the crown around the ceiling, etc. But I wanted to hit the high points.
Just for fun, here's the before and after, side by side.

OldNewFinal.jpg


Sorry for the multiple parts. Didn't realize I was limited to 4 pics per post. I'm rather proud of the way this turned out. :eek: Thanks for looking!
Eric
 
Nice job on the kitchen. Your before pictures look just like my sister-in-laws old kitchen I had to do a double take.

How long did the project take you?
 
Last edited:
Thanks guys. :) We're very happy with the way everything turned out.

Brian, we worked on it in stages starting around April 1st. It wasn't constant though. A good portion of the time was spent waiting for items to come in. So figure about 12 weeks start to finish. It wasn't easy being without a kitchen for that long, but it's just me and my wife in the house. No kids to worry about feeding, so that made it easier. We still had the fridge and microwave through the whole process.
 
Great job, makes me want to want to work on my kitchen :)
 
Wow! Awesome. It was very inspiring. I know I could also do that great renovation. As long as you are willing to have a great kitchen or any part of your house that you want to renovate then you can do it. How long did you do that renovation? Anyway, Thanks for sharing that detailed photos.
Black and white combination are really good.
 
Looks great. Kinda curious as to what made you decide to go with black appliances though?
 
Thanks, everyone.

There were a couple of reasons we went with the black appliances. First, we both like black. :)
We wanted something that would tie in with the design. We knew we wanted the very dark slate flooring and counters and just felt that black would be a good choice aesthetically.
We had considered stainless, as that seems to be the current "trend," but after looking at the same fridge in black and stainless side by side at a store, my wife and I both decided to buck the trend and go with something we preferred.
 
SUPERJEDI:

Great job and a great posting.

I have just started a kitchen reno too and many thanks for the positive motivation.

Really like those colors. Our cabinets are still in pretty good shape but we are tired of the oak look since being installed in 1987.... That color of your cabinets is what we have chosen to redo ours in. We do have new stainless appliances (Refer and DW) and I think they will work also. Are looking for a new slide in range.

Tell us about your lighting if you would please. Again, SUPER work to be proud of...
 
thomask,
The lighting was pretty simple. We just chose 2 new fixtures that we liked. We didn't run any new wiring or anything, just used the existing boxes.
The main fixture is a 3 bulb flush mount with some crystal details that cast some nice reflections around the room. It adds a nice soft touch with the pearlescent sheen of the wallpaper.
The light over the sink is a small halogen. It's a pendant in the shape of a cube and really makes a nice bright spot around the sink work area.
The range vent hood also has 2 halogens in it, too. Much brighter than the old one.
 
superjedi,

Sounds good, you all really added value to your home.

I just finished up trim work around our two pantry doors this afternoon. They do look much better.

It just seems to take a lot to get going some days but every little bit completed helps toward your goal.
 
Wow, what a difference! It was well worth the hard work - well done!
 
;)A wise person told me,

"You eat an elephant, one bite at a time".:rofl:
 
if you dont mind me asking... approx what was the cost like??
 
Back
Top