Wow: what a transformation! That backsplash is so cool - what a great way to bring in some visual interest into a small place. I like what you did. It always impresses me that people can see beyond the ugly stuff and find beauty in the space and then DIY on top- very impressive as I'm useless at both.

All that for $5K?? It is hard to believe. Your vision to create a customized backsplash like that is impressive and a nice creative touch. Great job! Thanks for sharing.

Wow! That's a great transformation! Love the colors, and the floor is beautiful! And I'm totally blown away that it was DIY (since DH and I are completely untalented for that). Best of luck flipping this house although I don't think you'll need it. ;)

Nicely done! There is lots to learn here - I love that you didn't use your budget on countertops, which are ultimately a pretty personal choice, but anyone could easily upgrade to the granite of their dreams without a huge redo.

I would love to hear more details - where did you get the unfinished cabinets? How painful was the refinishing process?

PS - I'm sure that they were falling apart, but I actually love the green of the cabs in the before pics. :)

The back splash is fabulous!

Your backspash is very creative.

Wow, that is great, and I too love the new backsplash! Where did you find the drawer slides?

the cabinets were actually purchased off the shell from Lowes. They cost about 1100 total for the cabinets. They are pretty cheap cabinets, so as stated we ripped the slides out. Next I beefed up the bracing and added additional wood to the backs and side braces to make them stronger. The slides I ordered from Woodworker's Hardware or something like that. I can not remember. My wife and mother-in-law actually did the finishing. Sanding them good, priming, sand, and several coats of paint with light sanding inbetween. The hardware we ordered from someone on ebay, and cost $1.99 per 6" handle! Lowes/HD sells these for 5-8 each. I cut the center panel out of the uppers on either side of the sink and routed a new chanel in the back to set in a piece of frosted glass. This cost me a little work and about $40 worth of glass total. I added Blum soft close buffer, also ordered from the same place. These are the EXACT add on cabinet companies charge 10-20 each for...I paid 10 total for the 2 cabinets. If you can put in 2 screws, you can install these! 2 cabinets are not a lot, but if you put them in all of them in your kitchen that can really save.
I am also looking how they do it or parts to use, and then research and see if I can buy them and do it myself.

One example is the new kitchen we are using Bertch cabinets. They want $210 for a mixer lift in the cabinet. A quick google search and you can buy one for $80. Same with all of those metal pull out adds. HUGE savings if you just order stuff and add it yourself!

50 here and 80 there may not be much to people, but it all adds up. I estimated we saves over 1k on the "little adds" from searching online and ordering.

And finally, dont be scared of DIY! The web is FULL of how-tos and information for you to learn. Youtube is a great source, and even here on GW.

Wow, what a difference!! Great job :).

is the floor of the bar area tile or vinyl?

awesome changes/work done! a lot of good things can be done to upgrade a kitchen w/o spending a fortune on it!

it is tile in the bar area

What a transformation! That backsplash is hot!

I love seeing kitchens done on a budget! You did a beautiful job and should be very proud of yourselves (wife and MIL too!)

Wonderful transformation! I, too, have the 70's brick veneer backsplash that I painted over about 9 years ago to brighten and lighten the kitchen when I painted the dated original cabinets. I am happy to say it will be removed to make way for a new backsplash in the next few months. I also have lovely Pergo flooring and though I can't say it is horrible, I am thrilled to be replacing it with wide pine that will match the rest of the house.

Great job and tips!

What is that counter? Great job on the whole thing!

Izer

Quite creative, economical, whimsical -

Best of luck flipping - nice job

Love the pic of the clothing & sneakers on the kitchen floor - is that the strip off the work clothing pile?

pinch- counter is a dark brown "leatherish" laminate.

je- yes, that must have been! Ripping out plaster gets pretty dusty. I am happy there is not 1 ounce of plaster left in this entire house. (you should see the rest of the demo pics!)

I love the backsplash! Enjoy your new kitchen. :)

Great choice on a high impact backsplash! And the new bar room is a terrific idea. But I have to ask; how did you decide on a dark brown counter along with black and SS appliances?

FABulous kitchen that is even more incredible for the price. Well done!

I like the wood molding at the top of the cabs. That's a nice touch.

What did you do with the old metal cabinets? Do you know what brand they were? Love them!

Great job! Love the floor! I recognized the grain as mahogany because we just had mahogany flooring installed too. I am trying to decide how to have it finished. Was your floor pre-finished or did you stain and/or poly it? If you stained it, what brand and color did you use? Enjoy your new space! It looks so much more functional.

Excellent all around. I like how the wood trim on top echoes the brown counter top. And i like the stainless/black combo of the fridge. It looks modern artsy to me. I even like the black appliances in the white kitchen - surprising myself - because the marvelous back splash pulls it all together. Fantastic!

Congratulations!! Great deatils! Unbeatable budget!! Very smart.... you all are an inspiration!