I mentioned a while back that Jimmy and I were having our kitchen remodeled ... and that I'd have a show-and-tell photo blog for you ... a before and after study, plus a few in-between shots of how it looked for a couple of weeks. The kitchen has been finished for quite a while now, but I've either been too busy or too lazy to a) take the after pics and b) write this post. At last, the time has come to show it off! Before I go any further, I'll say this up front: I love my new kitchen. Love, love, love!
The first pic below shows the sink-end of the kitchen before. Serviceable, yes, but dark, dated and showing its age. The next pic shows how it looks now from the same angle.
When Jimmy and I decided to "go for it," we tapped a contractor we'd used several years earlier. He quoted us a price neither of us wanted to pay, but son, Matt, stepped up with a cost-only price and we said, "let's go!" He knew the subcontractors to use, the way to get new appliances, all of that jazz. And it all worked out well.
The stove area is transformed!
So much brighter and lighter and cleaner and less cluttered. We purchased an LG freestanding range/oven, fridge, and microwave that were all in stock, with no waiting! Had to get a GE dishwasher 'cause LG brand wasn't available.
We had different crews -- the demo crew, followed the very NEXT day by the cabinet crew, and then the drywall fixer, and finally the backsplash guy. The dust and crud generated by the demo was awful. They taped up one end of the kitchen, but the other end was semi-open, allowing a lot of that "crap" to filter into the rest of the house. Oh well, stuff happens. It's all good now. But, everything moved along handily, with no great gaps between successive phases.
The (shallow) sink is removed, along with the garbage disposal and our water filter system! I wasn't watching, so I didn't see those two things go. We have a new disposal 😊 and are now using a Brita filter. BTW, we kept our faucet, as we'd replaced that not long ago.
This area needed to be remediated by the plumber we hired -- a hole was discovered in the old copper pipe, and it's now tidy, dry, and soooo nice under the sink.
The different crews worked around the existing fridge, which we appreciated. Our microwave moved to the dining room table and we used that quite a lot while we had no stove. I also used the stove in the RV a couple of times. You see the original oak wood flooring wasn't installed under the cabinets.
Old termite damage was also discovered on the back wall above. Jonathan, the cabinet guy, had already begun installing new cabinets. Gray for the bottom, white on top.
Matt drove up one day to check the progress, and here he's talking with Jonathan the cabinet guy, left, while Jimmy measures the vent hood area. This was the end of February.
Below: We really liked our 3 x 5 Boos Block table at the far end of the kitchen, opposite the pantry, but it sucked up a lot of room and just didn't allow for much storage. Great place for clutter! Boo hiss on the trash can.
Ah, but look at it now! The new six-and-a-half feet (by 2+ ft) bank of drawers is ideal. The room feels much roomier and IS a lot roomier! And so much lighter. We replaced the light fixtures, too, because, well, it's a new kitchen!
You can definitely see the difference in the above two photos!
I hadn't realized how dark the kitchen was ... till THIS (below)!
When I first saw this 10" deep two-holer sink, I thought, "why did Matt order this thing!" So deep and with grating, too. Oh my, I guess 'cause he's smart. This sink is wonderful. Jimmy, the dishwasher in our family, thinks so, too. Just one more goodie to love in the new kitchen.
I took a lot more photos of the various stages of remodel, but you get the idea. We'd thought to paint an "accent" wall, maybe a red or yellow/ish, but we were hooked early on with the brightness of our kitchen and decided to keep it that way. Jimmy and I did the painting ourselves, and our shoulders let us know we didn't need to do the rest of the house! We chose Swiss Coffee for the walls and Bone for the trim, in case you were wondering.
There you have it. Our 1965-era house now has a 2022 workable and lovely kitchen. We are happy!
