"New" Kitchen

And here's what our kitchen looks like now!!

The total cost of my redo was about $20. I spent ~$10 on a 5 gallon bucket of joint compound, and then bought two gallon cans of "oops" paint for $5 each at Home Depot. I already had the tools on hand.

The "backsplash" was made from these old vinyl composite tiles that we had stacked in our basement for about 20 years. They were excess from some carpentry job my uncle did for a school, and would have otherwise been thrown out. I used our old grout from when we first put our tiles down in the house 20 years ago, and it seemed to work out alright. Oh and I used old flooring adhesive to glue the tiles to the wall. That was kinda annoying since I had to stand a while and press the tiles on until they stuck well enough to dry on their own, but oh well. Funny that a few days later after I stopped by the hazardous waste paint depot there was a giant tubler of contact cement there that could have really helped me out. Oh well. I picked it up anyway for future projects, along with a ton of other paint goodies. I love free stuff!!

We couldn't afford any elaborate renovations at this time, such as new appliances or countertop and such, but perhaps in the future.

Oh, the lighting was a great deal too. I bought these cheapo $5 light kits at Lowes, and they had a dated and cheesy square frosted glass covering, and then I replaced them with these $9 sorta splotchy more modern glass pieces and I think they really made them look awesome (and more pricey!) I was very happy with that. We were going to do the track lighting thing, but our lighting budget was unfortunately only $100. I ended up making it basically half that (~$60), so huzzah. I'm thinking of having a pendant light above the sink and possibly one or two above our new island/peninsula (though the electrical wiring for lighting above the island will be difficult since it boarders the wall our chimney is enclosed in). The new lights use two 60 watt bulbs each and it's so lovely and bright. Having a dimmer would be nice, but there is difficulty with there being two separate switches for controlling these lights in two different areas. It can be done, but I'd need more special equipment than what I could just easily pick out at some hardware store, and also more special electrical tools that I just don't have so it'd be something for a pro to do. But it's not completely necessary, just something to possibly think about at some point in the future.

Um, what else... Yeah, unfortunately the gold and oak of our cabinetry had to stay, since my mom likes it and since new hardware would add up quickly (there's 33 handles, and our hinges are exposed so those would have to be replaced if we wanted anything to coordinate, and there's then another 22 hinges I believe). Our cabinets are actually very good quality ones: they've help up superbly since the house was built in 1988, and they still make almost the exact same style today. And actually, that sorta made our island creation a bit easier, since the cabinets we used were able to basically match almost identically.

Ah, yes, the island. That was put in so we could make the kitchen more accessible for my mom, who uses a wheelchair. The island is lower so she can reach the sink. The sink is a bar sink and we picked out basically the cheapest sink and faucets out there that would suit our needs, and that total came out to be less than $100. The sink is 15" by 5" deep, so it's tiny but it serves its purpose. The countertop to this island is a butcher block we custom ordered from Home Depot for $227 (that's including tax) and measures 42" x 25." We bought two wall unfinished oak wall cabinets, placed them back to back, then I stained them with the same stain as our original cabinets so they'd match (my mom wanted matching). The cabinets were each $68. So, for the materials for this island, ($100 countertop, $100 sink/faucet, $136 cabinets), that's $336 total, and then add in extra plumbing supplies and whatnot and it makes it less than $400. Oh, there's also an electrical outlet on it, so my mom can plug in her teapot to boil water and make her tea, or plug in her bread maker and make bread and such. It's awesome how something so little can improve someone's independence like ten fold.

So, for this kitchen makeover, it cost: $60 lighting, $20 walls, $400 island, for a total of $480. Less than $500. Now, that's wicked expensive for us, but the main expense was the island, but even that, with it being custom made and needing to be wheelchair accessible and also functional for my moms limited movement, that was a good investment. Though we were able to get a grant actually to pay for the island so that was nice. :-)

I was kinda bummed that my backsplash ended up making the kitchen look more dated (it looks rather 60'ish or something, though I like the 60's). But oh well. It was completely free (made from stuff we had on hand) and it can be looked at as being a one of a kind art installation. :-)

Oh, and don't mind our fridge. It's packed with stuff, but I like it that way for now. :-P