Monday, May 17, 2010

Kitchen Remodel - Part 4

You know on those home improvement shows how they go from "before" to "after" in 30-60 minutes? Yeah, that doesn't happen in real life and you also don't have a huge crew of professional carpenters, plumbers and electricians waiting in the wings. It takes longer, it's harder, hotter, heavier and more painful than those shows lead you to believe. That said, here's what we've been doing since the last time I posted:

Do you see the wall on the left side of this picture? When we removed the pink laminate, we discovered a very damaged wall. There was exposed framing from a window that used to be there. There was missing plaster, crumbling plaster and outright holes in the wall that had to be fixed before a new wall covering could go up.

So the first step was to repair all the holes and create a solid surface for the liquid nails to adhere to when we put up the new back splash wall.


Next we sanded and primed the necessary areas.









There, now doesn't that look so much better?










Next we had to prime, paint, cut and cut out electrical openings on the new wall. What do you think of the teal blue?





Then came the task of mounting said wall coverings and doing additional cuts to fit around the angles of the cabinets. We hurried to get this part done because the counter tops were going in the next day.

I was surprised they brought the counter top in, in two pieces. For some reason I thought it would be in one piece just like the previous counter.


They mounted a new, BIGGER, DEEPER sink, which I am so excited about. I can finally wash any pan in that sink!





They installed the other part of the counter. They glued, sanded, buffed, and polished to the point where you can't see where the counter joins together. Isn't that lovely?


Here are some more shots. Hopefully you can begin to see the look we're going for. Alas, the doors to the cabinets still aren't finished. We've finally got the first coat of primer on, they're waiting to be sanded before the next layer of latex and now we're expecting rain again for the next three days!

That's okay, there's still plenty more to do. The sink plumbing needs to be hooked up. The light fixtures need to be replaced. The over the stove microwave, exhaust fan combo is slated to go in this weekend and we have tons of wall paper to remove from the other walls so we can begin painting there. Later this summer, the other cabinets on the very top will be installed. Back to work for now!

9 comments:

michele (maryland) said...

LOVE the counter top. The cupboards look fantastic..great job.

OldLady Of The Hills said...

That Blue is BEAUTIFUL! What you all have done is soooo impressive. I am in awe of your drive, tenacity and artistry! BRAVO, BRAVO!

tweetey30 said...

wow you guys have gotten a lot done in this short time period of when you started and now.. congrats.. I still say I need to get pix of my kitchen i wouldnt knkow where to begin even i wanted to remodel it..lol..

tshsmom said...

DIY=pain! That's why I'm hiding from our projects right now. I know I'll get in the groove once we start, but I don't even want to think about starting. :(

What material are your countertops? They look GREAT!

Larena said...

looking Great ! really admire you girls working so very hard !

VV said...

I think the counters are the next level up from Silastone, whatever that is, it's one step below real stone.

Larena said...

waiting for the final pictures !!.......

VV said...

Life interceded this past weekend, so the only new work done was the doors to the cabinets got put back on. The hardware arrived for the doors, but the knobs were too small and the wrong color. We're hoping for more progress this weekend.

Gabrielle Jeromy said...

I love where the sink was placed. And the new counter top -- great pick! I see that you have a lot of stuff in the cabinets. Since you have a nice kitchen paraphernalia, why not make use of those for display. I am certain that you don't use all of them at once everyday. Utilize the spare space up to the ceiling. You can extend the cabinets upward. There, you'd be able to put the things you don't use very often on the topmost part of it. Cheers!

Gabrielle Jeromy @Majestic Renovations

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