Our kitchen remodel

We knew as soon as we bought this house the kitchen had SO much potential. Five years later, we've finally done what we dreamed of with it.

Prepare yourself for some truly crappy photography.

The befores...

As you can see, there were several things we needed to change. The kitchen was cluttered and cramped and just wasn't very pleasant to be in. We did not like the oak cabinets one bit, there was hardly any counter, cabinet, or storage space, the fridge next to the back door formed a tunnel, we wanted to open the doorway to the dining room even further, and we were not using half of the entire kitchen. You know, nothing much.

We also wanted to keep the style of our 1946 home while changing it all. It was a tall order, and took nearly 8 weeks to complete.

And this what we did with the place...



We chose white appliances over stainless to keep everything looking as open and airy as possible. (And I would never be able to stand the fingerprints!)



We kept the original cabinet boxes and just replaced the doors. It's nice that we have the original cabinets still in tact, but probably would have been cheaper and faster to have just torn them out and replaced them entirely.



I will warn anyone considering black granite that it is just like a black car....it seems like it would hide dirt, but it shows everything! Dust, little finger prints, everything. We were debating between a dark gray and black and kind of regret our decision.

Moving the refrigerator to the opposite wall gave the kitchen so much counter space, and since I was previously without a pantry, the 4 cabinets next to the fridge are now all food storage space.

I also totally recommend the Kenmore Elite french door fridge we bought. It has an icemaker in the freezer and water dispenser inside the fridge, so we have as much door space as possible.

The new back door in desperate need of a (mis)treatment. I'm planning on a navy toile roman shade. Just throw that project on the pile of things I need to do.

The cabinet glass we chose is called "wavy seedy." It looks really reflective in this pic, but it just has a nice, vintage-y feel to it.

The new arch, which is our view from the kitchen into the dining room. Don't mind the Exersaucer in the corner. At least I straightened up before I took pictures...

Our mosaic tile on the floor. True to our 1940s style! At over $9/square foot, it would have been cheaper had we just gone with wood to match the rest of our house, but I like how clean I can get tile.

I love my little crock filled with dish detergent. A great eBay find!

The tin ceiling is probably my most favorite aspect of the new kitchen. The picture (of course) does not do it justice. It's painted high gloss white and is SO BEAUTIFUL!

I also adore the tin backsplash.

A permanent fixture in the kitchen.

I'm so thrilled with the end result. The white cabinets, the tin ceiling, the glass in the cabinet doors...and all the new usable space. This is by far the best home improvement project we've ever done!