Earlier this week I posted our kitchen transformation video. It’s crazy watching a 9+ month process happen in less than two minutes. Well, I wanted to elaborate a little more on the process, the decisions we made, and how it all went.
So… prepare yourself, this post is picture heavy…
So, it all began one evening when Jake decided it was time to start tearing apart the kitchen. Our plans were pretty solidified, so we felt ready-ish to have at it.
We (but mainly Jake) started by tearing out the bulkhead and upper cabinets, as well as the walls that separated the kitchen from the dining room. Oh my… how that mouse poop rained from the ceiling. Bleh…
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As you can see, the cats were very intrigued by the sudden change in their environment… This should have been an omen. People, if you have cats, don’t leave open holes in your floor!!! (more on that another time)
So we knew we needed those pipes moved if the counter top would extend into a peninsula there. We made a quick mock up to help us visualize the new layout. It crazy how much more open it felt already!!
The next step was to frame in a new window. We wanted the counter to continue to the wall and create a peninsula, but the window was too low. So, we found one just the right size at the Restore.
This whole process was so foreign to me. Like that we could finish it all in a day, and how it seemed like it should be super hard and complicated, but Jake whipped it out without really any issue.
And just like that the window was gone!!! As if it had never even been there… Crazy right?
Somewhere around this time we went through the process of trying to figure out lighting… If you’ll remember, there was a few hanging overhead lights in the kitchen. But, like everyone these days are opting for can lights. They just light the space WAY better.
But, it is WAY easier and cheaper to just replace the existing light fixtures than to retrofit in a bunch of can lights… In the end, we reluctantly decided to do it ‘right’ and opt for the can lights. Super thankful we did this, because I think this made a ginormous difference in the space.
In order to install all these new lights, Jake ended up ripping out the entire ceiling. It is still up for debate on whether or not this was necessary. But, we will agree to chalk it up to a great learning opportunity 😉
Then Jake drywalled basically the entire kitchen. I don’t have much pictures of this process, but just know that we were both working full time and doing the kitchen in our evening up until this point. Right around the time that the can lights were going in, Jake was in the process of switching jobs and took two weeks between to focus on the electrical and drywall. Even though he had all that time to do it, when he started the job it still wasn’t finished. So you can see, this was no small feat.
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Once the drywall was in and painted, it was finally cabinet hanging time!!! We went with white Grimslov cabinets from IKEA. And overall, we loved them. Pretty simple to assemble and hang, and the customizable options are lovely.
This turned out to be a super crazy time in our lives. Not only were we going through a full-fledged kitchen renovation, we had both switched jobs and we were hosting two family members in our home. I look back and shake my head.. but we made it 🙂 And still somehow found time to make this….
Sorry, this was in with the kitchen pics and looks too yummy not to share!! Ok, back to the renovation.
Next it was time to pick the coutnertop…. Oh the agony of this decision!!! I must have looked at every possible option out there to avoid picking a granite top. Call me ridiculous, but it seemed like everybody was getting the same granite tops and I just felt like it was trendy and would look so “2000’s” in another decade.
In my dream world I would have gotten marble countertops, but of course the hubby was staunchly opposed. And, for good reason, they tend to scratch, chip, etch and stain. Next I tried for some quartzite varieties. But, what you may not know, is that quartzites are basically a hybrid of granite and marble. On top of them being very pricey, they also did not meet the husband quality standard test.
We flirted briefly with soapstone, only to discover that it was possibly even softer than marble. Finally quartz was a no-go for me. I LOVE a good natural stone, and I would be so sad to look at a fake stone everyday, because yes, you can definitely tell!
So I sulked back to the granite section… with no other options left. Lo and behold, we discovered a new-to-us variety of granite called New River White. As you can see below, it was grey enough (like no beige in it!) and it even had deep grey veining which reminded me of my beloved carrera marble!!!
Countertop installation day was the best day ever! After doing all the work yourself in a renovation, it feels so good to have other people come in and install something for you. And MAN! What an impact it made…. Insert all the heart eyes here.
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The final touches the kitchen needed at this point for completion, are just trim and backsplash. So close to being done….
We picked this beautiful beveled porcelain hex/diamond shaped tile from our local HOBO store for the backsplash. The tile process went much smoother than all our bath tile, thankfully!
We were a bit concerned about grouting because of the beveling, but it wasn’t too bad. The grout did gather in the bevels, but we were able to wipe it out without to much issue. Used a ton of grout though!
Then a little bit of trimming, caulking, and final touches later… We had a completed kitchen!!!! It was so fun getting to show it off to friends and family and knowing we had created this beautiful space ourselves.
And a few professional photos taken for our real estate listing to round this post out…
Sigh… isn’t it lovely???
