hello kitchen!

we did it! we are at the tail-end of remodeling our kitchen and it's only been three weeks (from tomorrow). all in all, a crazy success. but living through a remodeling project is never fun. our kitchen was straight out of 1982, popcorn ceilings, florescent light and all. oh, i forgot, the previous owners upgraded the hardware with some nice bathroom knobs and handles from target. here's the before:





we decided to go IKEA, mainly because it's so darn affordable and we could do a lot of it ourselves. we also like the modern look. we bought everything way back in november because IKEA was running a nice promotion and our doors were on mega discount because of discontinuation. score! i started building the frames a few weeks after the boys started school, and had everything finished in less than a week. we were ready for our contractor to start! here's some pics of the kitchen gutted, walls and ceilings floated and cabs layed out:



we really didn't change the layout. the only addition is a row of bench cabinets along the wall for extra storage and seating. the main components of the remodel were new cabs and counters, new recessed lighting, smooth walls and ceiling, new micro/hood and a wine fridge, new sink, faucet and backsplash. jordan's good friend is a contractor and he loaned us his two guys for the job. ramone and mauro are brothers and they were fantastic. i wish i had a picture of them! the boys were totally in awe of them and talked about them every. single. day. and every day they came home from school and marveled at what the brothers accomplished. i also have to give a huge shout out to jordan's mom, nana, who hosted us at her house every day for the past few weeks for after school snacks, play and dinner. we could not have done this with out her. period. so here's the unveiling (but remember, it's still not finished, organized or very clean!):







i still have to seal the backsplash, put handles on the bench cabinets, paint and then organize, organize, organize. and clean, clean, clean! and look for a table that works with the new bench seating. but it's a far cry from what it used to be. oh, and we are eventually going to get to the floor and we're leaning towards cork. but that's for another time. for now, we're just going to enjoy our new cooking and dining digs!