Oh Julie, how lovely. I liked your kitchen before but the after is amazing! We had a large fluorescent fixture on the ceiling in a home we built and I loved the light that it gave in the kitchen.

Please post a pic of the eat in side of the kitchen so we can see your new table and chairs. I just love the outcome. Many happy days in your new kitchen!

Not only is your updated kitchen beautiful, the story about your DD and her friends painting your cabinets for you made my eyes tear up. That is the sweetest story ever. I know you will enjoy your kitchen even more now!

PS - did the pig move out with the POs?

What a huge improvement to remove the island cooktop, and install a range where the old wall oven was. Looks like that resolved a lot of problem issues in one fell swoop! Everything did change, truly, from an ugly duckling to a swan. Good for you for being able to see what was possible.

It's really helpful how you detailed each change as it evolved. I can see why you wouldn't change a thing. Terrific too that you can think of your DD and friends every time you see the cabinets.

(I'm glad the pig left, he was kinda scary.)

Nice!

Omg, I was actually almost embarrassed to admit, but I just saw Marina girl did, that I got a lump in my throat reading about your dd and friend painting your cabinets! She and her friend just sound like a couple of wonderful young adults! What a nice thing to do, and then I imagine them feeling great taking a road trip with the burden of gas money taken off their shoulders....just such a nice story!!

And, the kitchen looks great seriously! What a nice space. Would love to see your table too. Congrats on a great kitchen, and even better, raising such a generous kind hearted daughter!

Aw, you guys are making ME tear up now! She is fantastic.

Here is the table and the bay window. It is a northern exposure, with the side bays east and west. So sitting on one side you can see the street, and the other the nice wooded back yard. There are a total of 4 chairs. Got that at a local "antique" mart for a steal. I think the table might be hand made, as there is not maker's mark on it.

And yes, lil' piggie did leave with the previous owners. Imagine how ironic it was to walk through a kitchen with a pig in it. It was like an aura of GW was already there.

Oh, and added bonus.

The ovens and oven cabinet that were removed were taken by my BIL for his cabin.

Tile guy took the old sink and faucet.

Habit Restore got the old ceiling fan, 42 cabinet pulls. Door knobs, (and lots more from LR, DR, and bathrooms).

So only the non-working coil cooktop, and the formica and backsplash were not re-used.

Bravo! Drives me crazy when people are smashing things with sledge hammers, during the demo phase on HGTV. Good for you for finding new homes for all those things.

I love the table and chairs, and those great tall windows.

Great job! Although it looked good before the cabinets were painted they really do finish it off perfectly. Well done to your DD!! :)
Love the butcher block. It looks right at home.
Congrats!!

Very nice!!!

Can you tell me about the tiled counters? Was the tile put over the existing formica or did a new countertop need to be made to apply the tiles to? Did you keep the original backsplash or how did he change it?

Wow!!!
It looks like you were lucky to start with a pretty spacious area. You've really optimized it.

I am really happy to hear you recycled your stuff. As one who is building from reused stuff :) I also hate to see the HGTV destruction.

Ironically, they talk about doing things that are good environment, reusing, going green, blah.
Then they have these "cathartic" demo sessions, where the people make the same stupid comments as they waste perfectly good stuff -- to someone else. Don't get me started on another rant. I've already done one this week.

ANYWAY! The paint job is lovely and changes the entire feel of the place. The really beautiful table lends warmth.
I hope you enjoy it!

Thanks for all of the compliments and good wishes! I owe a lot to GW, so I wanted to show what can be done by "seeing" the layout function first.

Also I used the new SW alkyd cabinet and trim paint. It is soap and water clean up when wet, but scrubbable after it cures. It levels very nicely. We used it on kitchen cabinets, bathroom cabinets, and whole house doors and trim. (painters sprayed it on the areas they did. I laid on with a brush and laid off with a foam roller on the projects I did.)

Tinker, the original back splash was very basic 4 x 4 "bathroom" style tiles in the same antique white as the formica. So they are kind of hard to see in the before pictures.

The installer had to remove the old counters and lay down a new plywood base for the install on the counters. He removed the wall tile and I believe he only had to patch drywall in a few spots. There were also some drywall patches behind the stove area, as the 220 outlet had been removed by the electrician, and in the wall area where the original cabinet had been. It took the tile guy and plumber a week. He was a true pro and knew that the drywall patches needed to dry, that the tile needed to be set up before grouting etc. He was very proud of his cutouts by the electrical outlets, and we showed him the tiles we had to work with and asked for his input on the details. He came up with the diamond behind the stove. We like that because that tile, and the half round liner bar were leftover tile from our previous kitchen, so that made it feel like home. So the backsplash is the same porcelain as the counters in the main field, with the sesame colored liner bars, and the black running bond horizontal tiles.

Wow, nice!!

What a wonderful warm kitchen,,,enjoy!!!

I really liked the transformation before you painted, but now it looks even "more" better - ha! Great story - regarding the painting and donations. It's always great when good stuff can be used by others versus trashed.

The table is fabulous. It looks great and the perfect fit too.

Wow, nice update! I wish I could see the potential in stuff like that, it's a whole new room with just a few changes! Looks great.

What a darling DD. Your new kitchen looks wonderful. Love the butcherblock & the thick tile countertops. Great kitchen table.

That is so impressive that you were able to "see" past what was being shown into what the kitchen could be. That's wonderful that your daughter helped you out with the painting. That's so sweet.