My Kitchen Redo

[Lisa S]

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When my husband and I bought our 1926 cottage style home about 2 years ago, the kitchen was 1980 redo disaster!

I spent day after countless day, trying to figure a way to make my odd shaped kitchen work. On one side of the room, I had to cover some water pipes that hung below ceiling level, I needed to mask an old chimney and I needed to incorporate a strange pantry add on that started life out as an entrance to the basement. I finally decided on a building soffit. This helped me to create a "flush front" for all of the cabinets. The detail on the top of the cabinets is borrowed from something I saw in a magazine.

We did all of the demolition ourselves but brought in the big guns for sheetrock, electrical work and carpentry. The cabinet builder we hired was awesome! He set up shop in my living room and dining room and built my kitchen cabinets and countertops. (Less steps for him to take = less expense.)

I really love my kitchen. It's warm, welcoming and old fashioned. It was worth living in the basement for four months.

P.S. I recently had the opportunity to buy the old victorian house I grew up in and always mourned for after moving. I decided against it. I love my cottage house. This is my home for life.

[Lisa S]

Oh, thanks! Bead board is really cool... have you seen the bathroom tile that looks like beadboard? I've never seen it in person, but it looks nice in a picture.

Tell me about your house!

[zuzus_garden]

LisaS!
So beautiful. Yours should be included with the other Cottage Living featured kitchens!
Zuzu

[Lisa S]

I think I love you... Thanks!

I'm so pleased with this magazine. I subscribe to about 4 publications and this one blows all of the others away. The Christmas issue was just one great article after another. I'm a big fan.

[Lucy]

Newbie here, just wanted to congratulate you on the beautiful job you've done on your kitchen. We are hoping to remodel ours within the next two years. I will post pics of my present kitchen once I figure out how so that perhaps everyone here can share ideas/suggestions with me.

[Lisa S]

Thank you. It was a great experience! I'd love to see pictures of your kitchen. Good luck!

[Tyler's Muse]

Boy Lisa, the job you did on your kitchen is just beautiful! I'm sure it was well worth the wait. Just beautiful. Bet the rest of your house looks just a great!
Linda

[blessingshappen]

Hi Lisa S.

What a beautiful kitchen!!! Thanx for sharing the pictures. We have beadboard in one of our bathrooms and really like it. It's definitely one of the items on the cottage "charm factor" list! You did an amazing kitchen redo and your cabinet maker is very talented. :D

[Lisa S]

Thanks for the compliments...You made my week!

After using the kitchen for a few months, I find that we made a mistake. We used a polyurethane finish on the countertops. It holds well on the top but the "drop side" portion is getting scratched and worn by the buttons on our clothes. Does anyone know of a really tough sealant for wood counters?

[ptmanan]

What a beautiful kitchen - kudos to you and your crew! Love the contrast with beadboard, glass doors, and wood. Very warm and inviting. I also love the architectural details! Looks like you made great use of your space. I'm sure it was well worth the wait!

Congratulations on a job well done!

[Lynzee]

It's absolutely beautiful, Lisa! I love the beadboard and the glass cabinets. Nice job!!

[CottageDreamer]

What state are you in and what is the APPROX. ball park figure for your kitchen re-do? If that question is too personal, i apologize. I am looking at hosues (first time homebuyer here!) and see many houses that need new kitchens. I really don't know what i am looking at in terms of cost. The only numbers i can obtain are appliance prices since i get a Home Depot flyer every week in the paper.

Thanks in advance!

[Lisa S]

We live in Oregon. We've lived all over the country and it's my experience that home prices/remodeling jobs are on the high in end of the scale here. I did some bargain hunting when it came to completing our kitchen. The total cost was slightly under $18K. We did all of the demo work, acted as our own contractor, my husband did the plumbing and I designed the kitchen. We hired a friend of a friend who was an electrician, a drywall guy, a floor refinisher and the cabinet builder who also installed the crown, the bead board and countertops. My custom cabinets were about the cost of off the shelf cabinets. The mess and time factor was much greater, but the end result was worth it.

This project was the first time we had ever hired anyone to work on our house. I have no design experience. We carefully thought out the project and the steps it would take to complete it. Fun, fun, fun! I wish we could do it a million times over!

[ChrisNH53]

My husband and I redid our kitchen last summer and it was the best thing we ever did. But I have a funny story about how this came about. We have lived in our house for 21 years and the whole time I have been complaining about the kitchen. Yes, it was ugly beyond belief but the part that bothered me the most was that the kitchen just didn't work as it was cinfigured but it fell on deaf ears. Then Thanksgiving 2 years ago was going to be at my house. The Monday before Thanksgiving I came down with pneumonia. I was going to cancel because I was so sick but my husband said no, he'd do the dinner and he did and did a great job. But right after he said, "This kitchen is horrible to work in"!! Ya think?? So that's when the plans started and we got it done. I should have got pneumonia way before then I guess. We did the demolition ourselves but had a carpenter install the cabinets, and an electrician and plumber do that work, and the counters installed by the fabricator. We did all the painting and finish work and even installed the floor ourselves. We did a Pergo tile in a checkerboard and I love it. We also spent about $18,000 for everything.