remodel the kitchen

Finally got someone to replace the damaged drywall with green board. That part is done, now we need to pick out the back splash tile which we think we’ve narrowed down.

Flooring is scheduled to be replaced starting this Friday. YEAH!

Work is at a standstill. Patching the damaged drywall is proving impractical, so now it’s on to Plan B. Time to R & R the drywall.

We’ve also spruced things up a bit more with a new stainless fridge and microwave.

What a job! But so worth it. For almost 3 months we used paper plates and cups and washed dishes in the bathroom sink. Sometimes I was totally overwhelmed by all the stuff scattered all over the house. Although I had packed up everything in boxes and labeled them I was constantly searching for something I needed.

Then, just when it seemed the project would never end it was over and I had a beautiful, new kitchen. The pain and agony of a disorderly life for 3 months was forgotten in the joy of cooking in my new kitchen. I learned a few things I can share:

1. Hire a professional if you can afford it (we couldn’t; did the work ourselves).
2. Shop around for cabinets. You’ll be surprised at the difference in price. We finally took the do it yourself challenge and bought ours at Home Depot and saved about $4000 over what the local cabinet builder wanted to charge us. Hard work, but the savings was definitely worth it for us. If I could have, though, I would have had them professionally installed.
3. Draw up a plan. Don’t go shopping without knowing exact measurements. Take the plan with you when you go to order cabinets.
4. Don’t sweat the small stuff! And remember, in the whole scheme of things it is all “small stuff.”
5. Have fun with your kitchen remodeling experience. It really will end and you will love your new kitchen.

Bottom line: I love my new kitchen. We did it ourselves and now we’re adding a room! We have the remodeling bug :)

We repainted the kitchen and family room in March. We installed new granite counters in April, finished installing the sink, garbage disposal, instant hot water faucet, and faucet in May. Unfortunately when demolishing the old tile counters and back splash the contractor so heavily damaged the dry wall I now have another task – remove and replace the drywall, then install a new back splash.

Still be be done: refinish the oak cabinets, replace the patio door, and replace the flooring. UGH – a never ending project!

My kitchen is very small. I replaced my refrigerator (side by side door) last year, then I cannot open the refrigerator door all the way now. Also, the sink is leaking for years. I wanted to remodel kitchen by end of this year.

has started painting the cabinets as my birthday present. They were an unremarkable oak-stained pressboard and we decided that a simple white semi-gloss would do wonders for brightening up the kitchen. Not to mention white cabinets won’t clash with whatever color we decide to paint the walls.

I can’t accomplish this goal without M’s active participation so it really needs to be on his list. He would like to do this, but it’s the sort of thing that you need fierce determination to achieve. Those cabinets won’t replace themselves!

I got a space-saver microwave. It’s wonderful! Now I don’t have that huge box sitting on my limited counter space. I also switched out my ugly fluorescent lights for cute little blue track lights. My kitchen still needs major work, but I’m enjoying the small changes.

But I’m taking this off my list because it’s only little things and with a broken foot I’m not going to be doing any of them.

Tomorrow the cooker hood :o)
I should be all finished by the end of the month.