Shiny and New

That is what it feels like in our kitchen now a days....

I cannot believe that we are almost done with this transformation in our house.

And let me tell you...what a difference a kitchen makeover can make.

This used to be my very least favorite part of the house when we originally walked in to check the place out...and now it is my favorite place to hang out with the family.  (I might even want to start cooking in my new kitchen....haha that was a long shot....me? Really?  One can dream)

Well after a long process that started pretty much when we moved in, 4 years later I have a kitchen that I LOVE!

Well who doesn't love a 'Before' and 'After' Photo?

Unfortunately my true 'Before' picture is on my broken laptop :(  So this one will have to do.

When we originally bought the place everything was primer white, with gross gross gross appliances, flowered ceramic hardware, floral contact paper on the back wall and beautiful ... not so much fake dusty flowers across the top of the cupboards.  So I was pretty excited when we at least made it look somewhat cute and cozy.  I did say from day one though that I HATED the countertops and wanted those to go right away...well 4 years later I got my wish :)

And my after photo.....

It is amazing how much brighter it is.

The new appliances came as soon as we moved in, along with new hardware for the cabinets (2008).

The wood floors and white woodwork were completed in the spring/summer of 2010 by a friend of Josh's and of course the very talented Eric Chap (our brother-in-law)

I repainted when I was oooooh about 36 weeks preggo with Reese :)  That is my version of nesting.

Josh worked VERY hard on transforming our cabinets.  He sanded, primed, sanded, painted, sanded and painted some more.  And we actually contracted a guy to make us new beautiful doors.  It was totally worth the price and was so much easier!  Especially with a 2 year old and a babe on the way.  Anyone who wants to change to white cabinets, I completely recommend this option.  Still some DIY involved, but the finished product turns out so nice.

After we ordered the granite the guys knocked the 2 level island down to one and attempted to get rid of those obnoxious posts.  Well....then came a little disapointment.  One was weight bearing.  So we decided to still get rid of the one on the left.  It opened everything up and gave us about 6 inches on that side.  Made a huge difference!

Granite was installed in September and soon after Eric worked his magic with the bead board around the island and up the post.  I came home to this gorg kitchen.  The same day he also installed the new crown on the cabinets.  Did I mention he gave me three outlets in my island as well.....I am telling you Eric....if you weren't so darn great at these things....

My mom and I then went to work on the backsplash.  

I had a hard time picking tile out.

I found a great white penny tile at The Tile Shop but ultimately chose this neutral glass tile from Home Depot.  It goes great with the granite, and I was afraid it was going to be too white with a white penny tile.  Applying the backsplash was fun and quite messy, but very easy.

New sink (that doesn't leak) and a beautiful new faucet!

Another view

Beautiful Crown

Family calendar under my glass cupboards.

I am kind of bummed....because I just returned these to pier one.  4 days old and a piece broke off of the chair (not the greatest idea for a family with youngins.  So I LOVED how they looked in the new kitchen, but will have to go searching for something a little more practical.

and my rooster has his spot back in our kitchen

sweet little birdy on the window

Our backsplash

Well after a long process that started pretty much when we moved in, 4 years later I have a kitchen that I LOVE!

Only a couple more smaller details to finish.  

We are going to change out the light fixtures.  

Just need to figure out what will work in the space.

I absolutely love these from Shades of Light (I orginally saw the 1st light in Young House Love's blog)

And we are also planning on adding a bamboo type shade to the kitchen window (same color as our wood floor)  This will break up all of the white and allow Carter to sit at the counter in the morning without squinting :)