We were pleased and signed on the dotted line. Let the transformation begin!
When we bought our home the dated kitchen didn't bother us. I loved the layout and the appliances (except the refrigerator) were new.
We did have lots of cabinet and counter space.
While the master bathroom renovation was going on, the crew got started on the kitchen. First, the counter tops went in. We chose a neutral granite called "Sunset Gold."
The new counters sparkled and even looked nice with the original color on the cabinets. But we knew it would really pop once the cabinets were a dark, rich brown. We picked a color called "Perfect Brown" from Mohawk Finishing Products.
This project was even messier than the bathroom!
We had to move everything off our counters and everything inside our drawers and most of our cabinets. I should have taken a picture of the rest of the house where we put the contents of our kitchen - or maybe I'm glad I didn't!
The crew took all our cabinet doors and drawers to their shop to sand and stain. They taped off the frame of the cabinets and sanded and stained those at the house, of course. The smell was pretty strong so we stayed in a hotel the first night. We came home to a thick film of purple/brown dust all over the house. It was everywhere!
But you can start to see the color (below). Notice we still don't have a faucet! We went almost a week without a faucet. You don't realize how essential it is until it's gone!
Then the doors arrived! Starting to look like a kitchen again. A warm, new kitchen!
Ahh, finally!! All the doors were hung, the faucet was in, the mess was cleaned and the crew was FINISHED! We were left with a gorgeous kitchen to enjoy!
We wanted to make sure the counters were nice and neutral as to not compete with the strong style of the saltillo tile.
Have you forgotten what the kitchen looked like before? It's such a dramatic change!
We also had the rest of our cabinets stained in the house including the hall cabinets and guest bath. The new darker color really warmed up the house and went better with our style.
Overall, we are pleased with the new look. This whole process was really eye-opening. You can spent a ton of money updating your kitchen and bath, but if you do some research to find more affordable materials it can be done without breaking the bank.
The cost of re-staining the cabinets was no where close to what it would have cost to demo the cabinets and replace them with new or even custom cabinets.
Granite can get crazy-expensive very quickly as well. We went with a pre-fab granite, which I didn't know existed. It came in pre-cut counter lengths which really cut down on the cost of installation. There were some pricier counters we were drawn to, but went with a simpler pattern that was more neutral.
Here's a recap of the materials:
"Sunset Gold" pre-fab granite counters
Mohawk Finishing Products Ultra Penetrating Stain in "Perfect Brown."
In the last year, we have made some pretty big improvements to our home from the exterior paint to the updates in the kitchen and master bath. We have been taking our time on projects to improve our home one room at a time.
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