I pretty much followed celticmoon's steps... (THANK YOU celticmoon!! :) My process: Remove doors. Remove hardware. We did leave hinges on and taped them off. (DH was afraid he'd never get them back on and didn't want to mess with getting new -- I picked my battles and went with it! ;) I lightly sanded mostly using sanding sponges which allowed me to get into the cut-outs better. My doors were VERY shiny so I sanded enough to get the shine off. Then tack clothed them, then mineral spirits. I put on a thick layer of General Finishes Gel Stain - JAVA. This stuff is so awesome. Then I wiped off. I left it on pretty thick... too thick. If I was to do it over I would definitely wipe off more because it took a loooong time to dry. I was trying to skip steps but I think 2 or 3 thin coats would have been better. It was a rainy weekend, too, so drying was tough in the first place. DH had rigged up a way for me to hang the doors by the hinges so I hung them to dry which enabled me to do fronts and backs. When they were finally dry I did a thin layer of General Finishes Gel Clear Coat. I spread it on until it all looked wet but wiped away any drips. Once dry I very lightly sanded, then tack clothed, then we put the doors back on. I did another clear coat with the doors up and left the doors open to dry. I've done a few touch ups here and there with a stain and a clear coat. I would highly recommend general finishes gel stain! I babied the cabs for a few days but my 3 and 5 year old kiddos have not and the color seems to be holding up perfectly. The plate rack - we needed to do something with the space above the micro since the doors would not fit back on. I measured it and ordered cheap plate racks from Target to fit across the space. I stained them to match and DH screwed them in. It was really too simple. Our granite was about $2300. We used a granite slab from an installer's shop which saved us about $500, supposedly. I LOVE my granite. Thanks for the brick compliments, also. I painted that quite a long time ago and have debated ever since about ripping it out and putting in a real backsplash. But I do like the simplicity of it and it all seems to tie together now. Igloochic - I'm not sure what you mean with the trim... I've seen it where they put wood fronts on the soffits to make them look like cabs but I'm not clear here. Do you mean there would be a trim piece on top of the cab, then painted soffit, then another trim piece? I think the wall is going to come out end of summer. Yikes. Another project in the making. Then we'll have to figure out new flooring. By the time we're done with this house - I'm not going to want to leave! :) Thanks again for all of the nice compliments. It's really hard for me to get good pics of the cabs and everyone that has seen them irl says my pics don't do justice! I love this site!

Sorry, all dimensions are in feet. I used a laser distance finder so everything is appx. X = Heating Duct (Forced Air) R = a mini closet that is accessible from the hallway, the dimensions are 2.04' w x 1.92 L.

My 3x5 shower with proper waterproofing, tile , fixtures, doors and labor cost more than your budget. And mine is not an upscale bath at all. Your budget does not allow for good workmanship and reconfiguring. A refresh of floor tile, fixtures and vanity are within your budget not a total redo. If someone says they can do what you want for that money be very skeptical.

Hire a Kitchen and Bath Designer immediately rather than making so many expensive mistakes. That you’re already making. Budget. Design. Specify. Select Contractor. Build. You don’t start at the end and work backwards.