Project Kitchen : Before and After

Hi guys!

Hope you all had a great weekend. 

As I mentioned last week, the husband and I finally finished our kitchen renovation project. 

We did the big reveal during a little housewarming party for some friends and family a few days ago,

and got great reviews!

Such a proud moment for us, because this project was definitely a LOT of work. 

Being the overachievers that we are,

we thought doing the whole thing on our own was no big deal. 

Boy, were we in for a treat! 

And when I say we did it all ourselves, I seriously mean it. 

No contractors were hired during this whole process. 

We designed, built, and decorated the whole room all on our own!

Like with any major project,

there are bound to be glitches and delays in the schedule. 

This kitchen was no exception. 

Let's just say that our patience was tested more than just a few times,

but I suppose now that it's all done and I can stand back and admire our handiwork, it was all worth it. 

So. Without further ado, say hello to our shiny new kitchen:

As you can see from the before and after shots, 

we pretty much tore eeeeeverything out and started with a blank slate. 

First step was to demo - my personal favorite!

I had no gripes with take a sledgehammer to those stinky old cabinets. 

Once the walls were bare, we started on the electrical. 

Those bulky industrial lights had to go, 

so we tore them out, recessed the ceiling and installed canned lights.

Next step was to install the cabinets. 

I'm not sure exactly how many hours we spent at IKEA during the design process, 

but it was definitely more than a dozen!

After we signed off on the final specs and {gulp} handed over the credit cards,

it was time to take all those boxes home and put everything together!

In typical IKEA fashion, the building wasn't the tough part..

(a few screws here, a couple of pegs there, boom you're done),

what stalled the process was the actual installation into the kitchen.

Yeah. Not as simple as the "easy guide video" made it look. 

Once the cabinets were in, it was time to apply the counter tops. 

Disclaimer: if your husband comes to you and suggests pouring your own concrete, 

do yourself a favor and politely decline. 

Although I LOVE the way the countertops turned out in the end,

that was probably the most trying part of this whole process. 

Once that was done though, it was all easy sailing. 

The backsplash and floor tile were purchased from Bedrosians. 

The husband did an excellent job with the herringbone pattern - turned out exactly how I wanted!

All appliances are by Samsung, and were purchased from Best Buy. 

And as for everything else,

I have a feeling it will be constantly evolving. 

I love the mixture of modern and vintage throughout the room.. I think it gives the kitchen character. 

A major thank you to the main man in my life,

without whom this project would have simply not been possible. 

I'm so lucky to have a handy man like yourself in my life. 

Xoxo!