Kitchen Revelation...I mean...Renovation

By terryswaler

Last year (yep. Not a typo) my SO gutted our kitchen. We are definite DIY'ers and this challenge, although overwhelming, was something we knew we could do.

You know how life sometimes takes sudden twists and turns when you least expect it? What? That hasn't happened to you? <laughing>

Our kitchen is still in a state of disrepair and we have few $$ to finish it.

Notice the...ummm...lack of ceiling, floor, and cabinets? A long, long way to go!

What will we do? What will we do?

Contrive:

I found an entire set of kitchen cabinets (with sliding drawers, countertop, island, used double oven and corner lazy susan cabinet) on Craiglist for $1100. They're sitting in storage. I think I'm going to paint them or do something funky with them -- I havent' decided what yet.

Craigslist also supplied me with a brand new stainless steel double kitchen sink with a Moen faucet for $20.

Tile flooring is going to be put in by trading work with a tile guy.

Drywall is done by us. Electric, new electric panel, new outlets - we brought in a professional. There's some things we just don't want to mess with!

Appliances -- again (see the pattern here?) bought on Craiglist -- one year old -- owner wanted stainless instead -- so got refrigerator, stove, and dishwasher for $375.

We are determined to renovate our kitchen, have it look amazing (doesn't everyone?) for as LITTLE as possible. And that means we've had to be creative.

So...applying for the Curbly Spring Giveaway seems to fit into our definition of "by any means necessary" to get this renovation done and be something we can be proud of.

And...I'd like to be able to stop preparing food in the living room. Living rooms were just not meant for cooking.

Estimate for complete kitchen gut and renovation: >$4000.

Timeline to completion? Endless. No. Just kidding. I have told the SO that this would make a FABULOUS 40th birthday present -- so done by the end of May. Which means it's a 16 month project.

Tagged:
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March 02, 2007

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terryswaler's blog (9 posts)

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Member since: 11/17/06
About: I live in Upstate NY (Rochester) and live in a 1930's bungalow that I'm restoring. ...

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KatNap

March 27, 2007

Glad to hear I made you laugh... I had worried it was too harsh, but felt that if you submitted it, you'd definitely understand! haha. We just re-did our kitchen, but just the wallpaper part.. Ugh. I definitely feel your pain because our walls sat with only half the wallpaper down for about 10 months before I finally found a great handyman to take the rest off. How's that for a great do-it-yourself attitude?! Good luck - I hope you win the gift card! kathy

susan

March 03, 2007

Well, have no fear, you can do it and you can do it not only good enough, but in a fabulous way, trust me. I know, I did it on very little money, seemingly temporary, but it's still going strong (mostly) with no plans to redo it. At the time, our daughter was getting married and we couldn't afford the Long Island wedding (I won't even go there) AND a dream kitchen, and with family coming to the wedding from Europe and other family, it just had to be redone, there was no way around it. So, I figured I'd get to work and redesign the space and do it in a VERY inexpensive way. There was no other choice.

We reused our old cabinets, had them painted for $400 (they're worn now, it doesn't last) reused our old appliances, every one, added a ton of windows, and I designed the rest of the room with strong lines and numerous built ins.

The Lesson? Sheetrock (we call it sheetrock in our area) is a good thing, and it's CHEAP. What's cheaper than sheetrock is my husband's labor. Added together was a new kitchen. We even took space from an area beyond the kitchen.

Here's my finished kitchen, click on the big white arrow to see more images:

http://www.kitcheninteriors.com/portfolio/kitchen/chelsea_a.html

You can do it in a fantastic way. Good luck!

jasimar

March 02, 2007

You can do it. It sounds like your shopping is off to a great start. We went Ikea and tiled our own floors. Good luck with everything and please keep us posted.