The Big Kitchen Reveal

You have no idea how excited I am to write this post because it means that we are officially done with the kitchen (squeal)! We knocked out the few remaining, but uber important to a perfectionist like me, projects this weekend.
We started out with a lot of poor design choices. A hunter green countertop, dark paint colors and open shelving just to name a few. It definitely wasn’t in the running to be America’s Next Top Kitchen.
And here she is today in all her glory! I’m not sure where to begin, but we got the ball rolling by hiring a contractor to install a dishwasher, disposal, new bottom cabinets, countertop and sink.
Here she is from another angle. All I see is all of our clutter exposed!
Ahhh, much more calming! It’s amazing how just putting those cabinet doors back on made such a huge difference in the feel of the room.
Those stacked and crowded appliances are making me cringe.
Yay for clutter-free countertops! Our microwave got donated because we never used it anyway and our toaster oven is stored away.
See how those dark colors make the small room appear even smaller?
Now you can see where the cabinets end and the wall begins.
Can I get a whoop whoop for bad cabinet painting jobs?
We redeemed ourselves and did things right this time as described in this post.
Here’s a close-up of the cabinet hardware. We only needed 2 additional drawer handles that happened to be on clearance at Lowe’s, so we opted to keep the old hardware and I think it looks sleek and modern.
Since we took down the hanging pot rack (which you can see in the first pic in this post), we needed more storage area. We opted for espresso brown floating shelves. They worked great after we bought better anchor hardware.
We installed 2-36″ shelves above the dryer and 1-24″ shelf above the washer.
I have the bamboo window treatments partially open for the lighting in the pics, but this is what they look like closed. We debated between these and 2″ white faux wood blinds, but I’m loving the texture they add to the space. I also decided to paint the door white like the trim so it wouldn’t stick out.
We’re still getting used to having a stainless steel sink vs. a porcelain one. I love the modern feel, but it seems harder to keep clean. Yesterday I used a lime and baking soda method that I saw on this YouTube video and it worked alright. My favorite is that little magic disposal button on the left!

So there you have it – our kitchen remodel on a small budget! We did hire a contractor for the big stuff, but we did a lot of it using our own blood, sweat and tears. We’ve already been cooking at home a lot more because we love this space now (the dishwasher is also a huge bonus!). What do you all think?