The big reveal

I'm so excited to show what we've been working on for the last couple of months.

It all started with the plan to replace the countertops. Now, please don't get me wrong...the hunter green countertops were perfectly wonderful in 1994, but currently, the fashionable neutral is much more up my alley.

And I have wanted to paint the cabinets to something other than the orange tinted brown they have been but Aaron was completely against the painting process.

We went in to discuss our options for the countertops and after a few minutes of talking with the kitchen lady, she discovered my distaste of the orange cabinets and showed me something new that would be better than painting the cabinets.

So, suffice to say, what started as replacing the countertops, turned into replacing the counters, changing the color of the cabinets, replacing the cabinet above the stove with a smaller version and adding an above range microwave, adding crown molding on top and pulls on the doors and drawers.

Needless to say, it was quite a process, but we are thrilled with the end result.

Allow me to give you the tour...well, okay, after all the through-the-process shots, you'll get the tour:)

When you start a large project like this, its always wise to include a well known contractor...

(trust me, he's very affordable.)

And he's great because he's all about "Safety First"

Our friends Bill and Eve were gracious enough to host our boys for a day to allow us to finish most of the cabinet transformtion process. Thanks guys! We couldn't have done it without you. And let's just say, anything Aaron and I do with the boys now doesn't nearly meet the expectations set by Mr Bill and Miss Eve when they toured the boys around their side of town!

Because it was still cold outside, we refaced the doors and drawers in the guest room downstairs. (it really pays to have an unfinished floor in the house!)

Throughout the whole process, the boys have been troopers. We ate almost every meal for a month at this little table. The boys loved it, but I was definitely ready to get back to a normal height for eating. Being at a level where I could easily shovel the food into my mouth made for some very fast meals:)

And while not at all esthetically pleasing, the lack of cabinet doors is very functional. You can shave so much time off by skipping the step of opening the doors when you need something.

(note to self, if I ever desire to make any of my cabinets doorless, I must remind myself that it is not worth the effort of making it all neat and orderly all the time. Not to mention trying to tie in all those different colors!)

I have to say that I surprised myself with how well I handled having my entire kitchen spread throughout my house. But yes, I did have everything back in order just a day after the last cabinet door was hung and yes, that is my dish washer in the middle of the dining room:)

Now...on to the fun that I know you're really here for.

The before and afters:

Ta da! Just check out my HUGE new sink. We decided to go with a one basin sink and its so large, I think I could go swimming in it! Well, okay, not really. But it is big enough to get all my big pots and cookie sheets in without having to finagle them all around.

And yes, this really is the same kitchen. Just with a much needed update.

Thanks for stopping by. Feel free to stop over anytime. I'd love an excuse to hang out in this room:)