Kitchen Remodel Saga

Can't Even 

The whole process of gutting your kitchen and bathroom, living in a renovation, the hours of physical labor, the emotional drain, never any downtime - always stuff to be done, the many many and big decisions, I'm so thankful for all that Greg did to make this possible and for all the help Abe did. Can't Even!

Before:

The previous owners hand made the cabinets in their wood shop in the 1980's or something. And after all this time they were falling apart. They were laminate and I hated them. Greg said they were beginning to be awful. At least they were white and not some ugly color. We also did not like the layout. We had to zig-zag through the kitchen, the over hanging cabinets blocked views and the cooler air flow. We just really wanted something nice and new. After 12 years we were done, it was either move or remodel. 

You can't really tell in the pictures, but they were uneven, missing knobs, peeling apart, chipping, and need I even mention the mauve/pinkish beige counter tops.

Plenty of pictures for posterity and to jog some laughs remembering. And the white tile! Ugh! What a pain to keep clean. But what a cute baby Rafe modeling for me years ago. Just ignore the piles and clutter it was the last week of school - enough said with all the crap the boys bring home.

And the outdated bathroom. Salmon color grout, peach/tan/brownish tile, cream counter with a sea shell shaped sink. Bone color toilet and original cast iron tub. It was long over due for a remodel.

Again, cute little models, but I'm trying to show the tile, grout, etc.

After:

Here it is, almost all done. Minor details left. Like a window sill, pencil trim, and some decor, etc.

We love it! We love having a kitchen again, I am so happy. It makes it seem like a whole new home. We rearranged the layout and the appliances. Now we just need to get new appliances... in time.

A close up and our bathroom almost finished too. Just some curtains and decor for in there.

This is my dream kitchen below. I am showing it for fun, so I can remember and maybe have a laugh at the style one day. I think is great right now, nice and modern. Perhaps one day it will be ghastly? But, I LOVE IT! It is my inspiration. And I talked Greg into doing the bold floor. But we had a difficult time finding it and getting in done in our time table.

Anyways, so now we are to the demolition....  We did it right after school got out in June (literally the next day). And Greg wanted to get it all done before he started his new job at ebay. So the night before we were packing our kitchen up and stashed the many boxes and things in the living room and office down stairs. I wish I had a good picture of our crowded living room, full of the fridge, dishwasher, stove, and boxes all summer long in chaos.

 Then week after week... we worked on the floors, the walls, the electrical. And the hours of running all over the valley looking at cabinets, counter tops, paint, tile, tile, tile, hours spent on line, shopping, the countless times running to Home Depot. It was a full-time gig I tell ya!

So glad I meticulously taped plastic up to block out all the dust. And I love Bodie's tongue sticking out while hard at work with a screw driver. The boys loved hammering at things, and at different times some of them were really good helpers and other times others would be. But they all enjoyed helping. It was great to have them haul debris to the dumpster in the drive-way.

Chiseling tile, no problem. Hauling away a 300 lb. tub, no problem. Ha!

What a beast of a job. Our kitchen is not only 60 years old, but the floor, walls, ceiling showed it. All different heights and uneven everything. Greg and I worried about some things, but in the end it all came together. We enlisted our bro-in-law Abe to help with demo, and drywall, and laying our kitchen floor. What a task! He came, and worked and worked with us, we used his tools, he came back again and again until it was done and he was ready to curse the uneven floor! Ha!  "Abe, you're my hero" - that's what I said to him every day he was there. In my Ferris Bueller's Day Off movie voice. :) And in the very end I looked at my hubby and said most lovingly, "Greg, you're my hero"! He's the man and I'm so glad he is capable to go and do and so glad he is persuaded by his wife to go along with my ideas.

After we got our floor half done, everything takes way longer than expected. So it wasn't all finished when we were scheduled for the cabinets to be installed. So after the cabinets were in, then the kitchen floor was finished! 

And that's me, grouting. Yes, I grouted our whole kitchen and bathroom floor. And I NEVER want to do it again. :) I had Jax to help me empty the water bucket and refresh it for me. And when I panicked about the drying, wiping, and cleaning before it dries I had Greg help sponge for me. I did the bathroom in one afternoon. It was ok. But the kitchen, oh boy. That was a lot of floor. My body died.

And then weeks later, after I painted the walls, after our counter tops were installed, Greg and I installed our back splash (ok mostly Greg). I helped and grouted with Greg. Team work is nice. And there's Abe laying the last piece of tile. I could shed tears of joy that it was finished and we were close to the finished product!

I chose dark brown tile floor, because we didn't want wood or faux wood. Everyone has dark wood floor, so we figured the dark tile will go well and be easy maintenance. I wanted Gray cabinets (like from my dream pic), and changed it up a little by adding white upper cabinets. I love marble back splash, so we did a glass polished that looks like marble. And the lighting was fun to add some bling. Our neighbor is an electrician and he helped install and move wires and things for us.

Picking a light gray paint color was ridiculous! We picked several, went through quite a few samples, and even painted full walls. Everything was too purple, blue, tan. How hard is it to mix black and white to get some gray? The last one we chose, we painted several samples on different walls and called it good. Then I painted and by the next day or evening I felt it was too minty greenish of a gray! Ahh! But I'm not painting over it. I'll just live with it for now. Everyone says it looks gray to them. So that's good enough. It's amazing how the certain time of the day lighting, evening, changes it constantly.

So many people live through building and remodeling. It is crazy, I don't want to do it again - at least for a long long time. Well after I've forgotten the toll it takes. Have I mentioned how much time Greg spent laboring on our remodel? How much time I spent? The poor boys were probably a little neglected this summer. But they survived and are enjoying our new kitchen with us. The End!

The details in case I need to remember...

Fashion Cabinets made here in SLC
We ordered tile and counters in the kitchen from Prosource

Aspen Countertops did Hanstone Quartz in Aurora Snow

Daltile, Concrete Connection glazed tile in East Side Brown, grout color Sable Brown

Kitchen back splash is from Arizona Tile the Baroque Carrara

Bathroom tile is Jadidi Back to Basics, polished Charcoal with grout color Truffle

bathroom countertop is Cambria Quartz in Dovetale (?) -we found a remnant

bathroom back splash is from Arizona Tile the Skylights Glass Subway tile in white &

the dark back splash boarder is from Lowes the Allen & Roth Shimmering Lights Glass Mosaic

vanity color is Benjamin Moore in San Antonio Gray

Wall paint color is Ralph Lauren in Silversmith

Kitchen sink is Blanco Siligranite II in Metallic Gray  (which I love!)

Delta Trask kitchen faucet.