Our new kitchen - warning, really really long post!

Our kitchen has been a long work in progress, ever since we moved in we have been working on our kitchen. It's funny though because it's the smallest room in our house. It has come a LONG way, the before pictures are from when we first moved in and the kitchen was completely different. When we first moved in the previous owner had left the tiny tiny fridge he was using (I don't know how even one person could use that small of a fridge) and he left us crates in the pantry, screwed to the wall. Oh yea and the pantry used to be where the washer and dryer were. There was no walking room in the kitchen because of where the refrigerator was and there was no dishwasher. The wallpaper had fruit on it and the cupboards I think were original and they had been painted black. So here's the before pics:

 See the gray, black and red crates! That's what he had screwed to the wall in the pantry to put his food in! Crazy!

 I had never seen a stove this color and one that didn't reach all the way to the floor.

So after we moved in, we realized the kitchen was not functional but we didn't have the money to fix it up. Then my wonderful parents offered us free cabinets and counter tops from a guy that owed them some money for rent. This guy owned a cabinet shop and he wondered if he could pay off the debt in cabinets. My parents already had gotten new cabinets by this guy and so to pay off the rest of his debt he came in and gave us new cabinets and counter tops. There is NO WAY we could have afforded it on our own so we will forever be in debt to my parents for giving us this wonderful gift! However, in order to get the new cabinets we had to rip out the soffet above the current cabinets, and also take our the pantry/closet. This meant a lot of work for Dave. We were trying to get the basement finished but had to put it on hold so that we could get the kitchen ready for new cabinets. The cabinet installer said this was his slow time so it was now or never. With help from family (Thanks Uncle Kyle!) we were able to get the soffet ripped out, the walls patched and ready to go before the deadline. Here is the installation of the cabinets.

 This was where the fridge was, I really wanted an office

space so we planned with the cabinet installer to put in 

cabinets here that would have a small desk. Best idea ever!

 This was our front room during the process

 The almost finished project! We just needed the counter tops.

 Our old sink that looked like the original from when the house was built.

 My office area that I love!

When we were done the only projects left were the ceiling, lights, painting the walls, and of course the floor. I really wanted to paint and redo the floor before we got the cabinets but there wasn't enough time or money but just having new cabinets and counter tops made it like a whole new kitchen! (plus we put in a dishwasher! I don't know how people live without one. I know my grandma and grandpa still don't have a dishwasher, I admire then!)

So this summer we decided we needed to finish the kitchen once we found out we were pregnant. The floor was the worst part of the kitchen that I just couldn't handle. The lighting really bothered Dave and he wanted to add more lighting. I was amazed that he wanted to tackle that project by himself but he did it and it turned out great!

 Look how gross the ceiling was!! I don't think it had been painted since 1970!

 Finally painting the walls! I had waited so long to paint the walls and I loved the color Jocelyn picked out for us!

Up next was the floor, we decided to go with something cheaper than tile because frankly this house was not top of the line. So we found some great peel and stick tiles on sale at Lowe's. The best part is that you can still grout it so it looks like real tile but it's not cold in the winter! Dave did an amazing job on the tile and pulled an all nighter to get it done, no joke! He was up all night and didn't go to bed until 8 AM! He let me go to bed at 2! That's one problem we found with re-modeling and have a kid, you can't leave it undone for a while you have to get projects done all at once. Which is why we will never buy a fixer-uper again!

 Dave also did the backsplash all by himself. I loved how it turned out, it really makes a difference in our kitchen!

Here is the final product. I had to sew the curtain because we needed one that could go all to one side without a bar in the middle. It's so nice to have the kitchen done, the floor is my favorite part :)

 

My favorite is the before and after!