More than Monday

Today is a really exciting post...today I'm going to start documenting my kitchen redo project! For years this project has been a dream. When my hubby & I bought our home in 1999 I knew immediately something had to be done about the kitchen. We had put almost every penny we had saved into purchasing our home and that left NOTHING for a kitchen remodel...but I knew living with flowered wall paper and yellow/brown wood cabinets would drive me insane. So I did what any desperate person does....they do it themselves. Now I have to say on an $1,100.00 dollar budget i made MAGIC happen. I tore down the wall paper and tiled the backsplash, countertops, behind the stove and a couple of walls. I refinished the wood cabinets with distressed paint technique (that I had never done before, & it turned out pretty darn good if I say so myself) and painted the remaining wall surfaces shades of ice blue & white & deep navy. It looked really great, bright, clean & more updated. The cabinets were in structurally rough shape even back then and now 13 years later I've done my time in this bandaged up kitchen and it's time for a professional facelift. I'll be posting photos & updates as we go through the process of taking our 1954 kitchen with a little 1999 makeover into a 2012 dream space. The MOST IMPORTANT detail about this whole story is the very unique & wonderful designer/builder we are working with on this remodel. He is a top notch cabinet maker. EVERYTHING is made by hand and no detail is too small. No cookie cutter stuff with this guy. Everything is being designed & made, not to fit our space BUT to fit AND maximize our space perfectly! This is a dream come true. What makes this builder so unique is the fact that he is willing to work with us, using the things we can do in the labor arena to help offset our tight budget. I have worked with enough contractors over the years to know they prefer it when you're not around...not this guy! If you want to get your hands a little dirty to help keep costs down he's good with that and if you'd rather sit back and watch the magic unfold he can make that happen too. We are thrilled to be working with such a talented, honest & sincere businessman. So here we go... the first "Kitchen Remodel" blog entry. The break down of the kitchen started last Thursday but before we go there I want to show you how the kitchen looked before hand.

There is a whole laundry list of things I don't like about my kitchen but these are what stands out in these photos.