You Think You've Got it Bad? (Part 3)

Sorry about the crappy picture quality, the camera I was using was having "issues".

In this "After" picture of the kitchen, you can see how we got creative on the entrance to the kitchen. It's a small galley kitchen and felt very small, so we opened up the entrance a bit on the sides and top. Overall, the sides were opened about 6" each and the top was raised about 4". This made the kitchen feel much larger when you're in it. We had to relocate the electrical switches, which was the worst part of the job. Well worth the effort, and I'm glad I didn't listen to my dad who said not to bother. Come to think of it, I didn't listen to him on this project much at all. He lives 3 hours away and wasn't there to stop me - sucks to be him.

The faucet in the kitchen was the only item which wasn't replaced or changed. Well, we chipped a layer of crud off it, but it's still the same faucet. New sink, new granite tile countertops, painted cabinets, new flooring, new lights, new doors, new crown molding, new outlets & switches, new baseboard heaters, etc, etc ,etc.





From inside the kitchen, the wider opening gives you a much better view to where the dining table would be. New 6-panel doors were installed everywhere (except the main entrance door which we couldn't replace due to condo regulations). Matching bi-fold doors were added to the closets. The flooring here is a Pergo-style laminate which covers the front entrance, hallway, kitchen, and dining area. Much better than 40 year old linoleum and shit-brown carpet.




Since the kitchen was small, we didn't want to take up any unnecessary room for a microwave. we raised the cabinet above the stove to add a microwave. Crown molding across the tops of the cabinets tie the look in with the rest of the place where we added it as well. All appliances were new and matching. They also weren't coated with gunk like the old ones which we threw out. Plain black cabinet hardware stands out against the white cabinets. We did learn something important about painting cabinets - using a roller sucks. We rolled on two layers of primer and still couldn't get what we liked for a finish. When we got the sprayer, we tried it and it worked perfectly with one coat.




The hallway looks much nicer without the brown carpet. All trim was painted white to match the cabinets. The walls were all painted Kilem Beige by Sherwin Williams. Ceilings were painted ceiling white. All electrical outlets and baseboard heaters were white. It was a very good color combination, and very neutral.