Wow! Fantastic transformation and you did it yourselves! I'm impressed. You must be so excited with your new kitchen. Congrats!

Love the two lights above the sink. They're a great splash of color and playfulness.

what a great way to get some marble into your kitchen, without worry so much about durability!

Beautiful.

What a beautiful job - congratulations! And it is so nice to see an Askome kitchen, there doesn't seem to be very many in the States (at least not many posted on line). I think I heard that Askome is very popular in Europe, however.

Any way, it is stunning. Enjoy your kitchen!

Nicole

I love how the wood floorÂs ginger tone warms the color of your cabinets. While your counters, stools and appliances are sleek and contemporary, the soft-toned marble creates a perfectly balanced, organic backsplash. I agree that the pair of vibrant pendants is perfect. I love it, and I tip my hat to you and your very handy DH--along with the two young helpers. Great job! Enjoy!

Mayland, that is one marvelous kitchen! It is not only gorgeous to look at, but it impresses as a highly-functional and FUN place to do your kitchen work and entertaining. Ikea and DIY to boot? You guys totally rock!

Your house must truly thank you! What a beautiful transformation that brings new life to an aging home. All the more remarkable by the do-it-yourself aspects. I love the pendants, the use of marble for the backsplash (very smart!), the mix of colors and materials...just gorgeous and original.

Amazing transformation. I love Ikea cabs and yours look terrific in that space. Great job!

I've been hoping to see your kitchen. I remember when you were planning it. Looks great! Which ikea boxes did you use (white or birch)? Did you have to do any special tricks to make them work?

I love your island. Great job!

DIY and IKEA are music to my ears! I think KDs are getting a run for their money trying to out do kitchens like the one here.

Gorgeous, nicely designed, great layout and its DIY!!!

I think we should start a website for a contest for the best, budget kitchen. The most for the least...
Congratulations...

Fabulous transformation. You'd never know that gorgeous space existed in a split level. I didn't have the nerve to start fussing with the footprint in mine. It all looks so beautifully put together.

Gulp! I'm so impressed. You guys are good. What a lovely, lovely kitchen. Bravo!

Wow, what a transformation. Beautiful!!

Looks great!! However, I was disappointed when I saw the floor was refinished - hoping to find out where you found it - it's beautiful!

stunning and a DIY, to boot AND TWO PRESCHOOLERS helping. Your husband ad you should be extremely proud of a job done so well!!

Congratulations on the kitchen and the rest of the house!!

Get out and plant!!!!

Very nice, I love it. Black Galaxy is one of my favorite granites. You should add your kitchen to the Finished Kitchens Blog - as well as the IKEA fans site - I've never seen a pic of an Askome kitchen in either. Mine's Adel white - fairly common in IKEA kitchens.

Thanks for posting the pics of your beautiful Ikea kitchen :-) We are still finishing our DIY Ikea kitchen (w/help from an experienced friend) and it's neat to see the similarities and differences and how different the end products can be! Great design and wonderful kitchen--the transition is amazing.

Wow, it's beautiful! The neighbors must be amazed at the transformation. And I bet your kids love sitting in those cool swivel stools!

Wow, that is a stunning kitchen! I love the marble backsplash. I can't see any grout line in the picture. Did you set it with 1/16 in spaces. Too cool!

Thanks for all the kind words, everyone! Yes, we are definitely enjoying the change from the "before" photo. The whole house was in a similar condition ("a big mess", as our 4-yr old described it), so everything has undergone quite a change.

Nicole and Gina, yes, I read somewhere (IKEAfans maybe) that Askome is not very popular over here but sells well in Europe. DH is from Germany and I'm from England, so that fits! We had planned to go with Adel Birch but saw Askome in the store when we went to buy and liked it.

Sarschlos, thanks for thinking of me! I hope your plans are coming along, havent seen an update from you lately? We used the birch boxes, the color is quite close to the ash doors. DH made a few modifications:
- he "fortified" the oven cabinet by building a frame of 2x4s for the oven shelf to sit on. That top drawer under the oven is actually a pull-down front -- we can use the space in there but the 2x4s meant that there was no room for drawer slides.
- the oven cab is also sitting on 2x4s (which are screwed down into the floor) rather than on the IKEA legs. we looked at the plastic legs and just didnt trust them under that weight of oven! he did the same thing with the island cabs, to spread out the load.
- the cabinet for the wine fridge (under the island) had to be "hacked" in order to fit the fridge into it. there is not much left of it!
- the cooktop drawer cabinet had to be cut out at the top a little to give venting space for the induction cooktop.

I forgot to mention that the pendant lights are by ET2. I wanted to add some color as the walls are white and backsplash is very light.

The undercab lighting is Lowes own-brand xenon strips. We like them.

The marble was DH's idea -- i had suggested those small marble mini-bricks (like Alku05's) but we had a hard time finding any and he preferred the idea of a single sheet of something. We saw these larger marble tiles at Expo and he suggested using them. We're really pleased with how it turned out. Bethesdamom, yes the grout lines are 1/16" (we didn't do the tiling!). here's a closer-up pic, you can see the grout lines here.

i think our kids are enjoying the new kitchen almost as much as we are. I thought we would have to create a "strap" to hold the 2-yr old on her swivel stool, but she has worked it out very well. They can sit close enough to me when cooking to help mix/add but are not too close to the heat (and the induction cooktop is great as the rings do not get hot enough to burn).
They have learned lots about various tools and know our local HD and Lowes (and IKEA) intimately! They have also developed an incredible ability to sleep through all kinds of power tools, as we did most of the work after their bedtime. One of our 2-yr old's first phrases was "daddy's making noise"!

WONDERFUL!!! I just saw this and wanted to add my voice to the chorus. I've never seen an Askome kitchen before, to be honest, and you've done what should be considered the textbook example. The combination of the counter and backsplash with the Askome is brilliant.

Unbelievable transformation, layout (inc. the over-fridge wine cubbies--so is that wine up above and beer in the cooler? :)), and balance of warm and cool.

And I hear you about the learning opportunities for kids...we started when DD was 6, and we're just now maybe possibly winding down to the end of the first floor (before we start on her bathroom upstairs) and she's 10...you should hear her on the subject of strandwoven vs. vertical/horizontal bamboo vs. red vs. white oak, on the use of caulk rather than grout in plane changes, hardibacker vs. durock etc... LOL it's an education!

Wow...Amazing...Incredible...Gorgeous...Very impressive. Congratulations and enjoy!

Gosh, it looks like it is right out of a magazine.
BRAVO!!!!!!!!

Excellent!!!! Where did you get the L-brackets under the island overhang?

I'm curious. If to code you cannot put a chandelier over a tub, how come you can put pendant lights over a sink? Not being snarky but I don't see the difference.

Beautiful! This is almost exactly what I have planned for my new house, but I'll have Adel white cabs, honed absolute black counters and carrara subway backsplash. SO HAPPY to see my 'vision' in real life - I love it!

So beautiful! I am gobsmacked how you could do that remarkable space (whole house, actually) DIY with two little-bitties. My two are slightly younger than yours and there is NO WAY we would have been able to accomplish what you did. I am so impresed!

Well I don't know why the old one wasn't good enough for you...I mean it was umm HORRIFIC lol (It took vision to buy that house) heh heh

I love the new kitchen. What a great family space, and it's such a clean and cool look :) Really nicely done!!!

Just gorgeous!!!! Contemporary yet comfortable. Great job!!!

Yes, you can plant flowers so you can bring them into your beautiful kitchen!

Congrats!

Very nice - absolutely amazing for that budget. I am drooling over your cooktop! How are you liking the fridge? (I ask becuase its same as ours only I have the french door). I like mine but I find the freezer to be kind of a pain - sometimes it doesn't want to open all the way and the layout of the sliding trays inside makes it just plain awkward. I end up using the freezer just for ice. (its pretty much the same design as all counter depth bottom freezers so its not a knock on jennair)

"Vision" is a kind way to put it Igloo! There was something about the house that pulled us in when we saw it, despite the total lack of curb appeal and the hideous kitchen, bathrooms, living areas, garden, etc etc.

Flyleft, yes, wine above the fridge (required to give us the "vision"). I know its not the best place to store it, but we're not talking long-term storage here! The wine fridge has "good" wine (1 bottle of) and a couple of beer bottles but is mostly full of Pellegrino water. Your DD is getting a very thorough education in "Advanced Remodeling", she will be ready to graduate soon ;)

Soigne, we got the L-brackets at Lowes. i think they were in the hardware area (not the shelf bracket aisle, those were not heavy-duty enough). they were very cheap, maybe $10 each.

Dgmarie, I don't know whether the pendant lights are code. I do know i have seen other pics on here of pendants hanging over sinks, which doesn't mean that its code of course. My DH installed them (and the undercab lights). They each have their own box in the cabinet right above the pendant, so if they somehow fell, they would cut out. But i do not know if its code -- anyone else know?

Mystery, we like the fridge but wish we had gone with the french-door version you have as we didn't think about clearance between door and island -- there is not too much space to get round the door when its open (at least not for me, but thats another topic!). Yes, I agree the freezer is annoying, but i suppose all bottom-freezers must be similarly so. I do prefer having the fridge on top as we are not huge freezer-users, so for us, the frustrations of the bottom-freezer are worth it.

The cooktop is fantastic, my DH researched and bought it and I'm very glad we went with induction. We paid a lot less by importing it (I think it was about $1000), as I've read for others importing from the UK or NZ.

Mayland, your kitchen is beautiful! Well done!!

I just realized that we ordered the same sink and faucet for our remodel, which is underway. Can you tell me how well the combination is working for you?

Thanks!

What an awesome kitchen! Congrats on all your hard work. It is just beautiful! Great job!

Beautiful, absolutely beautiful!!!!

WWWWOOOOOWWWWWWWWEEEEEEE!
I love it. You guys should be proud! Can you tell me where you got the stools?

Fantastic job! You must be so proud. Are you happy with the Ticor sink? Also, where did you get the stools?
Thanks!

Thank you!
Ni_2006, and beachcomber, we love the Ticor sink, it looks great and was such a good price. I got it after reading great reviews of Ticor sinks on here. No problems with scratching and its easy to clean. I really like the sink grids that came free with it.

The faucet is Ok, but we are not as happy as we thought we would be with it. We have a few other Danze faucets (bathroom) that are great, but this one has a little "wobble" in the neck, which is a little unexpected. Its also a little "sticky" to push back in the pull-down faucet head, and the hose inside it is made of some kind of acrylic rather than metal (which i probably would have known if I had read the product info better). It looks great (we think!), and so far no problems with leaking or anything, it just doesnt feel as sturdy as I had expected it to.

The bar stools came from a shop in Atlanta called By Design -- I'm not sure where you are, but they have stores in GA, NC and NJ. I'm linking their webpage, although I can't see those stools on there at the moment (we bought them in November). I can look at the stools later and see who the manufacturer is. They are made of molded wood and were about $100 each -- I don't think they are the best quality, they are already creaking a little (we're not _that_ heavy!), but we didn't have the budget left to buy what we really wanted from Design (not) Within Reach.

Here is a link that might be useful: by design