We are in the process of remodeling our kitchen. This is a project we started almost immediately upon moving into our house in 1997. Since then we have replaced the old mustard colored appliances with new white appliances. Here's some pictures of the kitchen and breakfast nook prior to any changes: before kitchen pictures
We are now on to phase two. We are removing the soffits and the two built-in pantry closets. We are replacing the cabinets, countertops, and floors. We are also removing the large florescent fixture in the middle of the kitchen and replacing it with recessed lights as well as adding undercabinet lighting. Here's what the kitchen looked like after demoltion: after demo pictures.
In order to move the heating ducts that were in the pantry walls, a wall was framed out on the fridge wall except where the refridgerator goes. This will give the fridge a built in look. The water pipes were moved so that they and the plumbing stack would be hidden behind the moulding which will go on top of the cabinets along that wall. Twelve recessed cans where installed and the rest of the electrical rough in was done. Once the new dry wall was taped mudded and primed, we painted the ceiling and the walls before the new bamboo flooring was installed. Here's some pictures of the kitchen prior to the cabinet installation: new floors and walls.
After the floor, the hickory Kraftmaid cabinets in Sunset finish where installed and the finish electical was done: cabinet installation pictures. The lazy susan cabinet in the corner between the sink and the range did not come in as ordered, the door on the wall cabinet to the left of the range was damaged and has to be repaired, and we still have to pick out a light for above the sink. There are a few other minor details that need to be taken care of, but we are very pleased with the way things look.
Next up will be to move the appliances back in and then countertop installation along with the finish plumbing work.
Getting the countertops installed proved to be the most painful part of the remodel. The company that we originally contacted was a fabricator for Silestone trying to establish a network of installers. They handed our job off to another company to do the actually installation. There were problems setting up communications between these two companies and I was not kept informed of the progress. After many calls, I got an installation date, the installers came, set down the new countertop and discovered that the hole for the sink was 2 inches too big! I was actually pretty calm about this. However, the customer service at the installation company was bad to say it nicely. I felt like they did not take my problems with the delay seriously. At any event, I had to make several more calls before they gave me another installation date which was 1 week after the original. The installers did a great job! The next day the plumbers came in, hooked up the sink and dishwasher and we were back in business ... almost eight weeks after demolition. Here are some pictures of the counters and sink.
The countertop is Silestone, which is an engineered quartz product, and the color is called Tea Leaf. The sink is Kohler and the left bowl is 10 inches deep, the right is 8 inches deep. The faucet is also Kohler. After three weeks of using the kitchen, I am very pleased with the changes. The lighting is great, the sink is wonderful and I love the new countertops. The new cabinets provide great storage ... pull-out shelves are wonderful things! And I'm also pleased with the way things look.
It's now June and except for a missing drawer the kitchen is complete. We still need to tile the backsplash and finish the trim. The plan is to complete the remaining work this summer. When that's done, I'll post the final pictures.