what a dream!

from old.....to new!!!

last year i blogged a bit about my kitchen remodel....but, i never really went into full detail.....my old kitchen was great....very cozy...cute....comfortable....but too small...if there was too many people in it...we were all on top of each other.....

original kitchen......(click on pictures to make larger)

so, i talked to my fantastic contractor, mike meru....best contractor ever!!! and we came up with a new design..the kitchen designer, mark, and mike and i all got together and brainstormed.....it was fun, yet a little scary to plan...
in january 2013 i packed everything away...for the next 6 months...the kitchen was walled up...had plastic everywhere..i had a make shift kitchen in my family room...my microwave and a little cupboard...refrigerator in the garage....it was make do...but, it worked...the grandkids loved it...it was like playing house.....
the guys came in and ripped the kitchen to shreds....down to the studs....moved a couple of walls, raised the ceiling to the roofline....moved windows, doors, ripped everything away...and then they were off!  i had come up with the idea to flip flop my kitchen...because my old dining area was larger than my kitchen area....plus, by moving the living room wall (18") and the old kitchen wall (22"), it really added space...which you wouldn't ever think!!!
i love it when builders come and start ripping things apart! it's always so exciting...i love the whole process.....

ripping it out!

so, in the next couple of months i chose the appliances, the cabinets, the tile, the granite, the flooring, the finish on the walls...you name it...we chose lighting....and it's bright and i love it! i had help from all mike and all his subcontractors, they have a lot of experience and great taste! a lot of choices that make you wonder if it will all come together...one of the hardest things was getting the right finish on my cabinets....i don't like shiny!  on my granite (honed) or on the cabinets...it makes them look too new...we lucked out with our cabinet stainers....they came up with a beautiful finish...they have a shop, but, had to do most of it at my house...so about 4 pm for a couple of weeks, they would show up every night to work on the cabinets...it was a 14 step process....alot of work...they wore masks....had a huge fan so the fumes wouldn't get them!!!!

rebuilding

Finally, at the end of may it was all finished!!! woo hoo!  i was able to move back in and decorate...put my house back together....because of course it turned out to be more than a kitchen project...our house had oak paneling in the living room and down the halls and bathrooms....so when we put the new walls up, we took all the oak down...i'm going for a mediterranean look now...so, they plastered the walls a white, like the kitchen, stained all the doors dark ..had to rebuild a few bookcases, bathroom cabinets etc....it turned out gorgeous!!!! i love it!!!!

almost done

a bit of the rest

when i walk into my kitchen i just think how much i love it..it's so much fun to have people over now...there is so much more room, it's so beautiful...it's perfect!

                                       
                                                                              finished product
..the guys did such a fantastic job!  thanks, mike and crew!!!