Kitchen Remodel - before and after

[DFoster 0]

This spring my wife said to me “we’re getting new counter tops” and what I heard was “we’re getting new counter tops” BUT what she really meant was “we’re doing a complete kitchen remodel” and my first thought was “how much of my fishing time will this project eat”.  Funny how that works. 

Anyway, this all started last October when our 25-year-old down draft stove was dying a slow death.  The bad news was that he only company that offered a down draft stove that would fit was producing junk.   Online reviews were running something like 199 bad to 1 good and at $2 grand for the stove we looked for another option.  The painful solution was to cut a hole in the out side wall, run duct work through the ceiling 10' and install a hood vent above the center island.  A friend and I did just that last October, done- nope.

The main goal was to brighten a dark kitchen and replace the easy to scratch dark laminate counter tops with bright stone.  The existing cabinets were custom made out of solid dark mahogany.  As every wood worker knows there is a special place in hell for people who paint hardwood, so we decided to keep them as is.   In early June I removed the upper cabinets from the kitchen and began the process of leveling the lower cabinets along with installing the angle iron supports to hold the weight of the 13” stone overhang on the island.  I also needed to raise the uppers to account for the slightly thicker stone tops.  While a friend and I were doing all of this my wife stripped all the wallpaper and prepped the sheet rock for paint.  Both of these steps were extremely difficult as paint will show any imperfections.   This was followed by her painting the ceiling and the walls. 

The whole project took about 8 weeks given that it was summer and there were lots of weekend events and activities to get in the way of progress.  And I dammit I made time to fish. My wife and I along with a lot of help from my friend Steve did all the work ourselves with the exception of the counter top installation.  As we work full time progress was slow but living without a working kitchen eventually got old and we finally pushed to get it completed.  The final piece was the decorative PVC radiator cover which arrived at the house this weekend. 

2 things remain.  One, I will be adding some LED accent lighting above and below the cabinets.   And two, the hardwood floors have 25 years of wear on them, and I have been informed by my bride that this spring we will be "moving most of our furniture into PODS so that they can be refinished". That’s what I heard her say anyway.

Here are some before and after photos-

 

The end result 

[skeet3t 0]

Outstanding remodel. When Mama is happy, everyone's happy. I look, very briefly, at the shows on TV and see dull and lifeless painted cabinetry in the kitchen. Worse is the laminate cabinets like you see in a doctor's office. To me, this is a cheap way to go. If God wanted painted cabinets, He would have made painted trees.

[chugbug27 0]

Nice!

[DFoster 0]

3 hours ago, skeet3t said:

Outstanding remodel. When Mama is happy, everyone's happy. I look, very briefly, at the shows on TV and see dull and lifeless painted cabinetry in the kitchen. Worse is the laminate cabinets like you see in a doctor's office. To me, this is a cheap way to go. If God wanted painted cabinets, He would have made painted trees.

IMO there isn't anything painted man anywhere in the world that even comes close to the beauty God created with a tree.  😊

3 hours ago, chugbug27 said:

Nice!

Thank you Chug- 

[MuskyFlyGuy 0]

That is a very impressive kitchen remodel. You did amazing work and the photos clearly show the results. A lighter experience while still maintaining the beautiful wood. 
Tom

[mikechell 0]

Looks good! 

[Poopdeck 0]

Very nice! I love a nice range hood. Makes all the difference in a kitchen. Nice job. 

[DFoster 0]

Thanks everyone- 

14 hours ago, Poopdeck said:

Very nice! I love a nice range hood. Makes all the difference in a kitchen. Nice job. 

The range hood was a bear to install but it really works well.  The thing weighs 95lbs and per the instructions the framing in the ceiling needs to be able to hold 3 times the weight.  Because there is a 2nd floor and I didn't want to cut a large hole in the ceiling I had to access the area between the ceiling joist through the 8" hole for the duct.  Thankfully drills are much smaller than they used to be and they now have lights built in. 

[Poopdeck 0]

Well worth the effort. I always wanted a range hood but always bought a house with the microwave mounted over the range. I’ve freaking hate microwaves over the range with a passion yet for decades I stared at one. When I finally redid my kitchen the microwave went into a base cabinet and the range hood went in. I have finally found inner peace. 

[David 82nd 0]

Very nice ..happy wife makes a happy family ....besides im sure in her new kitchen she will enjoy prepping some great things for you  😊

[DFoster 0]

On 12/9/2021 at 5:56 PM, Poopdeck said:

I have finally found inner peace. 

My inner peace came back with having running water in the kitchen again not to mention a working dishwasher!  Washing pots and pans in a bathroom sink really sucks,  it's the little things you miss the most-

 

On 12/10/2021 at 6:05 AM, David 82nd said:

Very nice ..happy wife makes a happy family ....besides im sure in her new kitchen she will enjoy prepping some great things for you  😊

That is soooo true David.  My wife is a fantastic cook and is as serious about her cooking as I am about fly tying and fishing.  The extra 50lbs I'm carrying testify to her culinary talents.  After a lifetime of working hard and  while raising 2 now married daughters we have reached a place in life where we can now afford some of the nicer things in support or our passions.  So when the old stove started to fail badly I knew it was time man up and sacrifice 8 weeks of prime summer fishing for the sake of love.  It turned out to be a win win, she's really happy with her new kitchen and I didn't get stabbed in my sleep. 😅

[skeet3t 0]

Bathroom sink? I'm surprised the Better Half didn't say, "Take out or delivery?"

[DFoster 0]

15 hours ago, skeet3t said:

Bathroom sink? I'm surprised the Better Half didn't say, "Take out or delivery?"

LOL- yes we ate out a lot, but the stove still worked so she still insisted on cooking.  Actually it wasn't to bad once I discovered throw away foil pans!

[Steeldrifter 0]

On 12/8/2021 at 12:55 PM, DFoster said:

I look, very briefly, at the shows on TV and see dull and lifeless painted cabinetry in the kitchen. Worse is the laminate cabinets like you see in a doctor's office. To me, this is a cheap way to go. If God wanted painted cabinets, He would have made painted trees.

I couldn't agree more. I watch a lot of HGTV and every time I see people walk into a kitchen with beautiful wood cabinets and say "well we can paint these" it just blows my mind!

Great job on the remodel DFoster

[DFoster 0]

On 12/18/2021 at 2:39 PM, Steeldrifter said:

I couldn't agree more. I watch a lot of HGTV and every time I see people walk into a kitchen with beautiful wood cabinets and say "well we can paint these" it just blows my mind!

Great job on the remodel DFoster

Thanks Steve-  My "never, ever paint hardwood" mantra came from hours of listening to my parents use four letter words to describe the 100 years of prior owners of the house I grew up. The beautiful and old wood trim had been ruined.  You know the kind of trim - it's the kind you can't buy anywhere anymore unless your really wealthy.