Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Fixer Upper Kitchen

Don't we all love a fixer upper kitchen?
Or fixer upper anything?
I surely do.

When we moved to South Florida,
we had to look for a fixer upper house.
That's what we could afford.
before

before

It seems a challenge for some people to look past what they see.
before
Not everyone has a vision of what could be.
Fortunately for me, 
I am a visionary at heart.
Always have and always will.

We lived in the house for about 5 months before we started the gut job.
During those months, I ripped up the floor and replaced it with the laminate 
I changed out knobs and pulls and also replaced the appliances. 
In addition to that we went ahead and added new cabinets (that you see in the background in the following picture) in what was going to be the new kitchen expansion. 
demolition

demolition

I knew what I wanted to do with this kitchen, 
and I had most of the material priced, 
picked out (and even bought) 
before we ever 

moved in the house.
demolition

Thing is,
kitchens are not cheap,
but you can always be frugal about it.
And that was my plan.
demolition
Nothing too extravagant and within our budget.
New cabinets being installed

New cabinets being installed

New cabinets being installed

New cabinets and trim being installed


trim


Please make sure you do have a budget for everything you do...
and always plan for the unexpected.


I was definitely blessed to have a good friend who does remodeling. 
He can fix, build and replace pretty much anything.
He has hands of gold and pays so much attention to little details.

action shot
He definitely knows what he is doing and most times I can follow directions.
So that was a good deal for us. 
my first tiling job



We had to update electrical, new lighting, ceiling patching and popcorn ceiling scraping, plumbing, kitchen demo, wall knocked down, floor patching, drywall, tiling...you name it.

We ended up doubling up the size of the kitchen 



and adding much needed counter space,




 cabinet space and a nice size kitchen island.





You can call it my dream kitchen,
although my life dreams are much bigger than a kitchen.
Just saying.

With the added lights and the lighter cabinets this space looks much more inviting.

Sweat equity at it's finest.

Considering how much I enjoy cooking and having people over, 
this project is definitely a winner in my book.
Listing picture. The before

In progress

The new kitchen
material used:
floor- Nucore in "mixed grays"
cabinets- off white color
counter- Granite, Bahamas White
appliances- Frigidaire stainless
backsplash- subway tiles with dark gray grout

Stay Frugal,






8 comments:

Ron said...

WOW! The updated kitchen looks so good. Kudos to you and "your team" for the hard work. It paid off for sure.

Our Hopeful Home said...

I love it! Those cabinets and trim really give it a rich look. When we redid our cabinets to white it made all the difference in the world. Love that sink and counters, too! xo Kathleen|Our Hopeful Home

Revi said...

Daniela, LOVELY choices! Your kitchen is definitely a winner.
-Revi

Junkchiccottage said...

Oh Dani this is gorgeous. What a great re love of the kitchen. I love all your choices. Looks so pretty. Great job.
Hugs,
Kris

Mariette VandenMunckhof-Vedder said...

Dearest Daniela,
You are truly a visionary and the results are so very positive. That makes working in this light environment a pleasure.
Gaining space, convenience and efficiency pays off big time.
Your very first tiling job resulted in perfect tile section.
Sending you hugs,
Mariette

Linda said...

Wait a minute!! You live in South Florida?? Why does that surprise me? I guess I didn't know.....
Your redo is as awesoem as a Fixer Upper redo!!!
GREAT job!!

Carla from The River said...

WOW!!! Great work!

Beauty is A Lifestyle Thing said...

This just a fabulous make over! Wow great job, I love the finished area fantastic! Mary from Beauty is a Beast Thing