Our Kitchen Remodel Part Three The Grand Reveal

We began our remodel April 8th and finished this Monday, May 13th. We learned a lot, spent a little more than our original budget but made it through the remodel with relative ease *only a few tears were shed* I searched for ages to find my metal stools. I couldn't afford these stools from Industry West *which is in Florida and would have cost an additional $70 in shipping* I was lucky to find a set of two at Overstock for half of what the other stools sold for, YAY! I also saved money on curtains by reusing the fabric I bought at the Ban.do yard sale.

We are in love with our kitchen. It went from being our least favorite to our absolute favorite room in our house. I am so happy we did it for us. I wasn't really thinking about resale value or designing it for a future owner. We poured our hearts into this room and I think it shows. I can't help but smile when I walk in the kitchen. You can watch a full slideshow on my flickr.

I scrubbed every inch of the stove

New laundry nook curtains

I love our faucet!

Eventually I plan on new curtains over the fridge

I love our new pinboard, keeps the clutter off our fridge doors

I'm so glad I returned the Ikea faucet, this guy is rad!

Before we had to get on the floor and dig in the back of the cabinet to find our pots, now this carousel makes it easy to stay organized.

Even our old upper cabinets look great!

hello blue lovely interior cabinets!

Remember I told you Anthropologie was having a sale? Here's my new pretty dishes!

I am still on the search for the garcon plate *update, I found it in San Diego, it's being shipped this week!*

Bonjour

Olivia's new apron

My stools are so gorge! I may order two more.

I love my new faucet and the water pressure!!

Even the inside of the fridge got a makeover

Here's the source list for the kitchen.

Contractor: The amazing Rene Cardona

Copper Plumbing: Rene Cardona
Floors: We got brand new floors from our amazing contractor!!
Electrician: Leonardo *Borrowed from our neighbors*
Cabinets: Ikea Akurum/Lidingo Base cabinets, Interior Fittings - Rationell Corner base cabinet carousel
Countertops: Ikea Numerar 1 1/2" beech butcher block countertops *use wood conditioner to keep them moist*
Sink: Ikea DOMSJÖ single Sink bowl with strainer
Faucet: Overstock.com Concord Modern Oil Rubbed Bronze Spiral Pull-down Kitchen Faucet
Dishwasher: Ikea Intergrated Renlig Dishwasher
Stove/Microwave: Already Owned GE
Refrigerator: Already Owned Samsung
Backsplash: Home Depot Datile Subway Tile Panels *only needed 2 boxes*
Island: Ikea Groland Kitchen Island *Industrial castors from Home Depot*
Paint Colors: Glidden/Martha Stewart Whetstone Grey and Pure White
Knobs and Pulls: Pottery Barn Classic Hardware
Light Fixture: Pottery Barn Pendant Kit, Bronze finish + Bell Shaped Shade, White / Teardrop Filament Bulb, 60 Watt
Rug: West Elm Gradated Stripe Cotton Dhurrie - Half Moon 2 x 3 Rug
Stools: Overstock.com Tabouret 24-inch Lemon Bar Stools
Affirmation Banner: Etsy Secret Holiday & Co
Vintage Letters: Nordstrom
Accessories: Anthropologie, Etsy, West Elm & Target
Curtains: Fabric purchased at a garage sale and Anthropologie dish towels

Liv told me "I like your kitchen Mom, it's bweautiful!"

Thanks to all my readers for allowing me to go on endlessly about kitchens for the past few months. Our next project is our backyard.

Happy Seven Year House Anniversary

It was drizzling when we drove our U-Haul from our old apartment into our new house in the unknown land of Highland Park back in March 2006. I had blue hair then and was a cosmetology school student. Antz had much shorter hair and we were super excited to start a new chapter in our lives. Homeownership!

The morning we closed escrow! I drove a VW beetle back then

We spent everyday at Home Depot for weeks

Getting rid of the awful red paint in the bedroom, it took 4 coats!

At least the floors were in good shape

The extent to our furniture during our move in week

The kitchen cabinets were too long to fit a standard size fridge

Our first major purchase for the house was a washer and dryer, fun!

The bathroom was scrubbed by Antz sister

We seemed to think it was a great idea to paint Antz office red and brown at the time

Antz Mom came over to visit our new house

Spring in our backyard is amazing

Now 7 years later we have lost a family member but also gained one. We have replaced the front deck/garage roof, painted 75% of the interior and remodeled the bathroom. Antz and I have scheduled a tentative date of Saturday, April 6th to begin our kitchen remodel. We are also going to replace our fence in the backyard before it falls over into our neighbors yard.

This was our fence the day of our inspection in February 2006.

Same fence today

Darn you heavy grapevine

Not sure if we can save the grapevine since it's growing at the base of our fence.

We have a second estimate scheduled for Saturday. Stupid fence! That's cutting into my pretty stools budget. I need these!!

Marais stool

Happy Anniversary house! Despite my love/hate turbulent relationship, thanks for keeping our family safe and warm, even though your plumbing stinks and your walls are crooked.