Thanks everyone. And thank you abundant for the well wishes for my son :)

I do toss out that we should just wait. Maybe put the new drawer pulls on, and call it a day. But, I seriously can NOT live any longer with the red and green. I feel this way every spring, cause I'm not too opposed in the late fall/winter. Perhaps because it goes well with my Christmas decor!?! :)

Oh, and we do get quite a bit of natural light in there.

Our original plan was to keep the red, change the counters, and do black lower cabs. But that's all too much contrast I believe with the white appliances that have to stay.

I totally agree with Abuldant. Work with what you have for the time being and see how the job goes with your husband.

Right now it sounds like you have a pretty full plate and lots of stress with 4 kids, activities, medical issues and the economy.

IMHO, your kitchen is adorable!

I think it looks fine as is, although the red doesn't appeal to me and would bother me. Changing out the red with some fresh paint would give you a whole new look for very little money.

If our laminate counters looked as good as those, we probably wouldn't be ripping them out tomorrow.

(In the inspiration picture, how do they turn on the fan/light on the vent hood? With a ladder?)

I have to say I wondered about that in the inspiration picture also... I'm a shorty, but it looks like by moving the cabinets up that far that you might be GREATLY decreasing the utility of the cabinets.

I'm with everyone else. It sounds like you might be rushing into changes that you just aren't ready for or are uncomfortable with. I think your kitchen is lovely and I'd wait until you know FOR SURE what you want to do before changing anything. Your already purchased subway tile is probably always going to be a classic. Give it a bit of time for things to settle down in your life before taking on another project.

I keep screwing up this post (I think I'll blame it on my laptop, the keys are too close!) This is my third try.

Keeping things short now, these would be my thoughts:

1. Take everything off the tops of the cabinets for a clean lime. The greenery with the red makes it look like Christmas. I think you need an uncluttered look there.

2. Paint the cabinets the way you want them and install the subway tile. Once this is done I think the green color of the counters will look much softer and will actually look good with the cool colors of the cabinets.

3. Take everything off the fridge and declutter the counters. Take away the trash can by the counter.

4. Stand back and evaluate whether the red color works with the other colors you now have in the room. Remember that having a white kitchen with red walls is unusual and your kitchen will no longer be cookie cutter. If you don't like the color then, you can still repaint it. Actually, given the color of your flooring and appliances I'd paint the upper and lower cabinets white. You'll notice your inspiration kitchen has a stainless steel oven and that's why the gray color works for the lower cabinets. That makes a big difference.

I wish you luck. I hope once you start making some changes you'll have much more piece of mind. Most importantly, I wish you and your son the best possible outcome of his surgery.

The message I am getting from reading your post is that you want to make changes in your kitchen, but you are feeling that this is not a good time to spend the money.

I would encourage you to listen to that voice inside you. The greatest gift you can give yourself and your family is security. Security means more than the most beautiful kitchen in the world. If you feel your husband's job is insecure, I would put that $800.00 in a savings account and think of it with pleasure everytime you look at your kitchen counters, and know that the money is where your family can use it if it needs to. If things turn out that your husband's job is secure, then the money is there to do your counters with later.

That said, if you hate the red walls and green laminate, paint is cheap. And you don't have to just change the color. I did a stencil above my sink window, and people complement me on it all the time. Cost me about $10.00 to do it and an afternoon. I love it to this day. You could paint your walls a warm white and do a lovely stencil on the backsplash area with colors that complement the green in the laminate.

I think you have a really nice kitchen, and I hope your son sails through his procedure.

I really do understand and appreciate all the advice on waiting. But, I HAVE waited. I've waited almost 3 yrs to do something with this kitchen. It's consumed my life. Seriously. If my poor kids have to go to Lowes one more time this month alone, I'm afraid they'll snap. I pour over pictures, and magazines all day and night. I bring magazines to basketball games, and google kitchen images on the lap time during "movie night". Dh and I love doing DIY projects, and as stressed as we are..we look forward to doing this. Not just to get it over with. But, because it's something for US. And as annoyed at the shopping as the boys are, I've got these poor kids coming home from playdates talking about so and so's kitchen counter. Or this person's cabinets. It's really quite funny.
My 4 yr old learned HGTV's channel before he did NickJr, lol.

I'm pretty confident on what I want to do. It's just a matter of not being able to achieve it without some major guilt. Kind of like when I went to buy new shoes for myself last wk, and ended up leaving with new cleats for 2 kids, tennis shoes for another..and a t-shirt for the 4th. What'd I get?? New laces instead :) :)
Doing my kitchen would make me happy.
But, I'd be even happier to prove I can make it work on a limited budget!

As for raising the cabinets..I agree, the top shelf will lose some function. But, I've never used a thing up there as it is. It's all storage. The floating shelf will hold my daily dishes, and glasses. As they'd fit will with what I'm going for. We're also not going all the way to the ceiling like they did.

And I know the pic has SS, and I don't. I've held up some greens and I actually like the look. MUCH more then I do with white lower cabs, and white appliances. And I think I definitly need to lean more green, because it's open to the living room where I have olive colored furniture. UGH, so many things to work with, lol.

Thanks again everyone!

I think that you need to leave those RED walls....they are so wonderful...and it is apparent you love them also. Get yourself those bright yellow flowers to add a bit of "sunshine" and declutter the kitchen (and get the things off of the top of your frig.)

If you can't change the laminate right now, there is a paint that you can do it yourself and change it to black.....or you and your husband could lay black granite tiles (or ubatuba, it is not expensive but dark)with a black grout in a 1/16" tile line. DH and I (and we are far from experienced) did our 75 sq ft counter-top for $345.00....put on OBR pulls (got them on line for .95 ea)and a $45 OBR faucet that I got on Ebay, sprayed our brass kitchen light with a $5 can of dark bronze paint and for under $500, we have a completely changed kitchen. We cut the tiles in 4" pieces for the "black-splash" and behind the stove. We used the same wooden trim around the tile that we already had before.

Give those cabinets a real good waxing and you will be amazed on what your "new" kitchen will look like. If white subway tile is your choice, I think if you do some shopping around, you can get them reasonable, or get the 4x4 tiles at Home Depot for .19 each~~ I know this economy has us all scared...and rightly so...we never know from one day to the next if we have employment.

Right now, I pray that your son will be okay....and your "kitchen" isn't the most important thing right now....after all, it is only a house.

Barb, yea..it is that darn voice saying don't spend the money that's getting me, lol.

I have NO problem with spending a couple hundred bucks for dh to do it himself. He's just scared. Perhaps several of you can comment on how easy it'll be. And how we can totally do :) :) :) Heck, he's willing to raise the cabinets. Something he has NO clue about, lol. But a little cutting a sink hole, and glue scares him. Go figure :)

phoggie, your kitchen sounds like my kind of thing. Even dh said if we had 20K to spend, we wouldn't. Mostly because we want to see what we can do. How far we can take it, and how little we can do it with :)

I've actually searched around for granite tile. Not at all against them. But, not finding them anywhere for less then what we could do the laminate installed.

Oh, and the top of the fridge AND cabinets are cleared off. That pic was from last yr. I cheated, cause I have a science project taking up my counters as we type :)

And again everyone, thanks for the thoughts about my son. He's having an ablation procedure. They're going in through the artery in his groin, and doing a study of his heart. While there, they'll burn off a "thread" or something they refer to that causes his heart rate to jump from 80 to 220 while just sitting around. He's been dealing with it for a couple yrs, but it's only getting worse. So, we thought we'd take care of it during spring break. It's an out patient procedure, but still kind of scary.

Mom,

DH had a radiofrequency ablation procedure years ago, when the ablations were pretty new. It was terrific! He had been on 3 heart meds to prevent the tachycardias, which sometimes were not effective, and had major side effects. He has been off all the meds since the procedure and has had no tachycardias since.

Good luck to your son! I hope it improves his life as much as it did my husband's.

Thanks Barb!!
I'm sure it'll improve a lot. But, mine will probalby be the most improved, lol. I watch him like a hawk, and I know having a hovering mom at age 12 isn't too fun.
:)

Was your dh very sore after? I'm thinking his leg will hurt for a bit, not sure about anything else. We drive to Little Rock the night before, and were told we could go back to the hotel after. And head home the following day. Other then that, very little has even been explained to us.

*disclaimer* I haven't read through all the previous posts, and somebody may have already suggested this...

Have you thought about painting the countertops? I mean, if you would replace them anyway, you could try painting first, no harm done. Looks terrible, move forward with the replacement.

I've never done it myself, but have seen some stunning results from other's projects on RMS. An example in the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Painted countertops

I've thought about painting the countertops, but it scares me. I have a good friend who just opened a pottery store. The building she's renting has old laminate. She's told me I could paint them, as a practice :) Because she's also wanting to change her laminate in her house.
It's an idea. Even though it horrifies my mother, lol.

Here's a link to Rust-Oleum. They make a countertop paint in 16 different colors. It looks like it would be easy to do.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rust-Oleum Countertop Paint

okay...here's the one I was looking for and couldn't find! This was amazing. This gal is pretty impressive with her talent. She even did a faux tile backsplash with paint.

I completely understand the fear!! It keeps from even getting started on most of the stuff I'd like to do.

Here is a link that might be useful: more painted counters

Don't despair...you can re-laminate counters. Ask me how I know LOL. The first time I re-laminated our counters was over 4 years ago. I did them in a port wine color from Wilsonart and they turned out gorgeous. Since then I have found that red is a difficult color because in direct sunlight it fades because we don't have window coverings in the kitchen. I'm now getting ready to re-laminate them again, this time in a honed/textured black Formica (basalt slate). Since I have the tools from the last endeavor all I need this time are the laminate sheets and adhesive. Granted, it's not brain surgery, but it is tedious and time consuming. You cannot do it in a weekend, unless you're the Energizer Bunny. The bear isn't the cutting and laying of the laminate, it's the finishing process, which includes the edging and filing (yes filing, and alot of it).

My DH still can't believe I actually took on the project once and want to do it again. I figure that once I remove the top layer of laminate I can use it as a template, which will make the job easier. Cutting and routing out the sink isn't hard, so tell your DH not to panic. What I would suggest is to Google "re-laminating counters" and start researching the process, then talk to folks at your local HD or Lowe's for pointers, purchase a Roto-Zip, laminate bit, laminate knife, roller and file, and make a plan.

Mrsmarv..I totally think he can do it. He's done some DIY stuff that totally surprised us all. I think he's just worried about messing it up. I've googled DIY laminate for hours on end. Showed him videos, pics, etc. I really think he should be more worried about busting my cabinets, LOL. The guys that were coming out to do it were going to go over my old, and rip off the wood edge. And put another one on. That's MY biggest concern. I'm afraid for him to do that part. But, don't see how we could laminte over that edge..???
The high def laminate sheets were only $230 at the place we were getting it done from if we only bought those. I'm now kind of liking a different color. Not the most expensive. I think it's like $127 for both sheets I need, per their measurements. And we have $150 gift card at Lowes we could use for supplies.

Is it hard to rip off the old? Cause I like the idea of having it a a template. If not, I also worried about getting that little backsplash thing up. Because I don't want that at all.

Don't rip off the original laminate, just make sure you sand it well for adhesion purposes. We have the original layer plus the "new" layer on top and it's held up with no problems. I am going to try and remove the second (red) layer because I don't want more than two layers of laminate on the counter.....that will probably be harder than the rest of the job ;o)
I can't see how beveled your edging is (it looks like a "custom edge"), but if you have a square/flush edge, laminating the edges should be no problem. You might have to remove the edging if you're lucky enough where it's a separate piece that's attahced to the countertop. I would look into that option first. Then you can cut counter edging from your laminate piece and glue/roll it on the flush edge.
The Formica basalt slate in a "honed" finish will cost me around $160 plus the cost of the adhesive. Another tip is to use the heavy-duty-stink-to-high-heaven-make-your-eyes-water-and-burn adhesive, not the water-based adhesive. Don't forget to open the windows and keep them open during the process.

It's not hard to rip off the old laminate, just tedious and the chemicals are yucky - you need acetone or lacquer thinner, some good scrapers and chisels, and a lot of patience.

Personally, I'd just laminate on top of the old, providing it's solid and not peeling up anywhere. I've googled and this is apparently perfectly acceptable practice. You just rough up the old surface a bit with heavy sandpaper so that the contact cement will grab well.

You don't really need a pattern for the new sheets -- you laminate it as a rough cut, then trim all the exposed edges with a special router bit or a trimmer gadget (they make them just for this purpose) after it's been glued on and dried. This makes the nicest edge, and is actually much easier than trying to measure exactly, and saves you lots of cursing and wasted material (ask me how I know).

The wooden edge trim is likely just nailed/glued on, and can be pretty easily pried off with the judicious use of a small pry-bar.

Tell your DH that if I can do it (and I'm a middle-aged female literature professor) aNyone can! :-)

You don't have much to loose by trying to paint them first....and from what I have been told (although I have not tried it), it is easy to do....just be sure you get the old laminate very clean, etc. so the new paint will stick....and I think a black would look great. But I LOVE that red paint....so try a different counter top before you repaint. I personally like the paint color behind under the cabinets instead of a back-splash....not as pricey and it gives the kitchen more color....and certainly easier to change than tile.

We got our granite tiles from Lowe's....and they were under $4. for a 12x12 tile....and use epoxy grout...it doesn't stain. We reused our wooden edging...just be careful taking it off and you will have to refill the new nail holes.....but no problem. Good luck and let us know what you decide to do.

Praying for your son.....

ok, so here's our edge. is this something that can just pop off easily and be replaced? or covered? i'm thinking because of the funny edge, you can't just put something over it.

oh, and we thought all along we'd just go over the old, because it's in great shape.

phoggie..any pics of your counter???

few pics of the rest of the space, showing how it's open to the living room as well. i'm really trying to get a good plan that brings the rooms together, as well.
if it wasn't an open floor plan. i'd probably be slappin' some lime green paint on the walls, or something fun :)

go with your dream, use your counters as a template for new or you could remove the moulding..TILE the counters..and then reattach that or a new moulding..

if you do laminate, remove the moulding first..and then use a router to cut the laminate alont the old counter edge..glueing new down over old..and then replace the moulding or put a new edge on..

i think it is important to follow your dream and not be swayed by something someone else suggests.

one option..you might fine granite or marble or some other stone TILES that would also work..over the old, cheaper than solid pieces..

I probably wouldn't use the edge again, as that's been one of the biggest problems for me to get past. I honestly prefer a simple, straight edge.

thanks again for everyone's posts. I may not get to responding to every one. But, I'm absorbing it all :)

Coming out of lurkdom to say just a couple of things:

If you find you HAVE to keep the wood edge or replace w/ another wood edge -- you can stain it w/ a polycolor to blend in better w/ whatever counter color you use. You can strip or sand down the old edge for the stain. Paint can chip -- stain will not.

Since you have boys in sports -- have you networked w/ any of the other parents about experience in this? Some one could have done this, knows someone cheap who can do it, or have other ideas for you. Someone who may have the talent to do this for you could be willing to barter for it.

Just a couple thoughts. :)

Mom~~~
Sorry, but I am so computer illiterate that I do not know how to post pics....I know there have been posts on how to do it, but can not figure it out..... We have cherry cabinets with a pecan stain...the tile I got was brown, black, white, and gold mixture...so the ORB things went very well with the brown in the tile....If you use the tile, we found it was much easier and cheaper to reuse our wooden edge. I also have white appliances.....but my walls are a sage green. But my next one will be RED...love it~~
If you decide on the laminate look, try to paint your present one if it is in good smooth shape.....sure would be a quick and easy fix....and again, I think black would be very attractive. But you have to follow your heart....do as you please and good luck~~~~~

"But, what on EARTH do I do with that edge??? I don't want to paint it. But, can't leave it.......I don't want to paint them. I don't think it'd hold up. "

I do not understand why you think it will not hold up? You are painting your cabinets right? Why would the edge be any different?

I love the inspiration photo and it would be an easy transformation. You already have purchased the subway tile and it is waiting to be installed. You say you are raising the uppers and adding a shelf, and then painting the all cabinets. The laminate counters are in good condition and there is no reason to change them. Paint that edge.

The eucalyptus color of the counters will go well with the new look. A black edge will make it more like the inspiration pic. Or you can do it in a matching eucalyptus color. The idea to stain it that was proposed by a PP was a good one too.

Are you planning to DIY the subway tile? If so, I agree with phoggie & ronbre's suggestion -- TILE the counters too. Materials should be inexpensive, you can choose a color that you like, and there are edging/trim pieces of tile that could cover your wood edge.

Otherwise, I athink that the light green would probably look nice with your painted cabinets if you change the wall color to something lighter. I think the tones of the two are competing too much right now, and that may be what's bothering you; the red looks warm and bright and the green counter is cool and muted.

Hi Momto4.... gaaaawd.... reading your post, I can so relate. I've been living with a kitchen nightmare for four years, dreaming about the day we can finally remodel. Our "plans" have been all over the map, from a full gut with high end cabinets, to maybe we should just try Ikea. I would happily take your current kitchen off your hands! Mine is 20+ years old and in bad repair but it's still difficult to justify the expense of a brand new kitchen in light of our financial realities. My kitchen is beyond the help of a "cosmetic" face lift, like new paint or a new counter or anything like that. Even the small price tag would be wasted in this kitchen. SO, long story, but the point is, I sympathize!

Now, on to your kitchen. Sounds like you had a specific laminate pattern in mind? I would try pricing a less expensive laminate, like a solid color (black? chocolate? charcoal?) rather than a pattern, with a standard edge rather than an upgraded edge. OR, have you looked at the off-the-shelf laminate at one of the home improvement stores? I THINK, though don't quote me... that the popular Basalt Slate (soapstone lookalike) Formica pattern is now available in pre-formed pieces. The home improvement stores are feeling the crunch right now too, and it seems to me that there should be some real bargains out there to be found.

I love your inspiration picture... I have seen that somewhere before, a magazine maybe? I remember thinking... how the (#*$ do they reach those upper cabs? ;)

Last year my sister painted her cabs a greenish gray, with solid white counters and white subway tile backsplash. It is so pretty!! She painted her walls a light biscuit yellow, but I was pulling for aquamarine (which I love with olive green, BTW).

Finally, I want to tell you, advice to wait awhile, although it's EXTRA SUPER DOUBLE HARD, is not bad advice. But if you can break this into phases, go ahead and paint the walls. Then in a few months, do the cabs. Then in the fall, replace the counters. Meanwhile, get your grill cleaned and stock up on outdoor dishes and cook and eat your meals outside all spring and summer. That way you won't even have to look at your kitchen.... that's what I plan to do anyway. Good luck to you and your family, and let us know how things work out, okay? :)

FOLLOW YOUR DREAM!

I haven't read all the post, but I think your kitchen could look just like the one in the pick and with everything revolving around others, you need to do something for yourself to make you feel good. Your kitchen is where you probably spend huge amounts of time - it should be somewhere that makes you feel good.

I can't remember who it was or I'd search for some pics, but someone here posted pics of their kitchen with granite tile counters and wood trim. Very cheap option. go to home depot and price out 12x12 granite tiles. You should be able to mount them right on top of that laminate and then put on a new edge that would work better with your style than what you have now. However, I do think that once those cabs are painted, the counter is going to look fine. You'll buy new moulding to tap on over the old wood edge and paint it to match your lower cabs and ta-da! it will look amazing.

Now do it! (or better yet, get hubby to do)

syllabus, I have asked a few friends if they've done it. One did say her husband may be able to give dh some pointers. Her dad actually does tile/laminate for a living!! But, I feel funny about asking him too much.

only kind of tile we'd do on the counter, would be granite tile. but, it's not really our first choice.

dilly, I think the cabinets will take a beating..for sure. But, the edge I think would really suffer if painted. I have bad aim when I put away my silverware :)
But, I'd totally stain it if that would work!?!?

amanda, I guess I shouldn't be too picky. I know it's all cosmetic. And some people have even bigger dreams then I have and can't achieve right now. I think that's the frustration. It's easy stuff (sort of). If I really had it my way, I'd gut the 5 yr old kitchen, lol. Or move :)
And I wish I could just stay out of it, and move on. But, it's literally the ONLY thing I see any more. Open floor plan and all. First thing you see when you come in the garage door, front door, back door. Sitting on the couch, lol. It's haunting me!!

budge, I think that's it. I've spent so much time, money and energy on my kiddo's rooms, and doing for them (with pleasure) I just want something for me. Selfish, I know.
Dh just informed me his bonus is $2500 more then expected. Did I jump and say COUNTERS??? No, I said.."new swing set!!!". Ugh!! I could use that...but, I can't justify it. The guy's gonna have to do it himself, lol. Simple as that.

It won't be difficult to get that wooden trim off.

Here ya go:

I'll preface this by saying I haven't read all the posts and someone may have already suggested this, but have you looked at Skimstone to resurface your countertops? It's not paint, but it trowels on really thin, sort of like venetian plaster. I've seen it in person and it's really beautiful. It has a soft luster and seems very durable.

Here is a link that might be useful: Skimstone website

circus, wow..is it really that easy? lol. Hmm..doesn't look so hard now. Thanks for taking the time to do that!!

equest, I think I saw that on an HGTV show. Hmm, I'm gonna have to google some more on that and check prices. Doesn't look too hard. thanks!!

Dear Momto4boys,

First things first;
I wish your son and your whole family a very speedy recovery and good health for a lifetime!

Second, I know exactly where you are coming from.
In our 30+ years of marriage we have been in your situation 4 times and since the middle of last year, we started our 5th journey into the 'unknown', as we like to joke about it.

Not that it's a joking matter..noooo.
But like you said, you both enjoy the DIY aspect, it's something you both can do together, and it's a fantastic feeling to know you did it yourself, saved boo-koo bucks and heck, what better way to bond? :)

Seriously, for us, it almost became a game, a challenge...to see something we liked in a magazine and put our brains together to see what we could come up with that was similar (nowhere near as nice/beautiful or professionally done) but it was passable and made us happy.
Not to mention the memories that although we couldn't laugh at during the process, we can look back on now and laugh til our sides hurt.

If it's oops paint from Ho-De for 5 bucks a gallon or mix your own color from leftovers (just make sure you mix enough! don't ask), like the others have said, a coat of paint will do wonders!

BUT, if you want to take on something a little more challenging, I can tell you from experience, countertops/laminate AND Tile CAN be painted, and yes, it lasts if you do the proper prep.

Here's proof.
Old Tiles, grey/white swirls. Broken, glued down, primed, painted, sealed.
We are going on 5 no...I think it's 6 years now but don't quote me, I'll have to ask Hubby to be sure.
This is our only entrance into the house without having to jump a 6 foot fence. In other words, this entrance gets used daily, tons of times daily.
The most I've done is use some 409 on a sponge mop and wipe it down after sweeping.
Oh, and one tile came loose but that was the fault of the installer (me!).
I've painted kitchen and bathroom countertops that were supposed to be temporary fixes....lasted several years before we had the funds to put the better stuff in.
Like I said, it's all in the prep.

Most people will say the countertops being painted is not a good idea because of the paint coming in contact with food.
Before I painted my countertops, I never cut or prepped food directly on the counter...it was always on a prep board or chop block. Maybe that's why they lasted as long as they did? I don't know but I'm not careful at all with the entryway and it doesn't look any different today than it did when I painted it.

Don't be discouraged. In fact, there is nothing like a mini-budget redo to brighten up not only the atmosphere but brighten up the mood of all family members.

We had to redo the kitchen in our last house in order to get it ready for sale and we did not have a big budget. We did everything ourselves. We gutted the kitchen and installed Home Depot off the shelf cabinets. Home Depot also had ready made countertops that simply had to be cut to size. You could also purchase the endcaps etc. We chose Formica Basalt Slate which came anywhere from 4 foot sections to over 12 feet. We measured them and as I said we cut them to size, added the caps and it looked great to me. I am pretty fussy and I could not see the difference. The front edges were already done. I would say any do it your self person could do this quite easily. The 10 foot section was something like 60 bucks. We were so satisfied with the outcome that we put the same counters in our suite over the garage. I think it is worth a try and there are plenty of videos to show you how it is done on the internet. We did our entire kitchen countertops in an afternoon. I think this option is alot less labor intensive than gluing a top on or painting them. We sold our house in a week so it could not have been that bad..lol.

Hi momto4boys,

I don't have anything to offer about your kitchen I will leave that to the experts!

Just wanted to tell you that 9 years ago my 16 year old son was having the same issues your son is. He had the ablation procedure...his lasted quite long but that was because of other complications the dr found with his heart and he had several extra "pathways" that needed to be ablated.
When she was done with the ablation procedures, she could not stimualte any more arrythmias so she was satisfied that he was fine. The next day when he got up out of bed to go to the bathroom, 3 people came running into his room just as he was sitting back down in bed. They were all like, "are you ok?" He had had like 5 beats of VT show up on the monitor. Anyway, he wound up having to have another surgery to have a defib put in. He had it for 5 years, and it never went off, never recorded any VT. So when the battery was down, the dr. reevaluated all his records and took it out. He was one that really puzzled them. His readings showed like VT but now they think it was SVT with wierd stuff makig it show like VT. I'm sure nothing like this will even come up with your son, but just wanted to give you some more info. He is 24 now and getting ready to graduate with a Mechanical Engineering degree and has never had any more problems, or none that he's told us about anyway! I am soooo there with you you in thoughts and prayers, and will even be holding your hand. When is the procedure? He'll be back to running and bouncing around in no time!

Me again, here is another product for doing over counter tops. They used the product over paint. I think they painted it black and then put the resin part of the product over top of the paint. I saw the episode on tv and it looked very easy and amazing when it was done.

Here is a link that might be useful: counter top redo

I asked DH if he had felt much discomfort in his leg after his procedure. He said no, but did say that he had to lie very still with a pressure dressing on his groin afterwards for several hours. He said that was the hard part, and if he had to do it again, he would ask for sedation.

DH is a hyperactive guy who can't sit still through a TV program!

I hear you about whose life will be improved! I remember many runs to the ER to stop the tachycardia, and admissions to the CCU afterwards before the procedure. All that is gone from our lives now, and DH is fit as a fiddle! His ablation procedure was 17 years ago.

amity, wow! Impressive entry. And thanks for the encouragent on painting. I'm going to go to HD tomorrow afternoon, and see if they have the stuff. Along with pricing the stuff to re-laminate. My realtor/friend about fell off her chair at lunch today when I told her I was thinking about it, lol. Oh well. I promised her if I went that route, I'd change it out before we had her list it in a few yrs :)

mel, because of the shaped counter we have, and that bar..anything preformed wouldn't work. It's really funky where the sink is. Although the basalt slate is a color I'm thinking about right now, too.

imsoconfused, thanks for the info. Kind of scared me a bit more, lol. But that's ok. I know I can't take this lightly, even though I've been trying. Hopefully his will be simple enough. One thing I'm concerned about is they're telling us it's out patient. We go the night before, because we're 3 hours away, and go early the day of. (march 19th) They want us to stay near by (hotel) till the next day, because of the drive. Other wise, they'd send us home. Now I worry he should be in the hospital over night??!! :(

budge, I'll ask about that one, too. But I just read some message board, and read horrible reviews. We'll see, though.

budge, thanks for asking him! 12 yr old, staying still? HA! :) Guess we'll be packin' the Nintendo Ds for sure :)

Rustoleum has a brand new product specifically for painting laminate countertops.
It's Rustoleum Countertop Coating

I'm getting ready to use it in one of the bathrooms in our new (to us) house until we have the time to do the real remodel.

It would be an inexpensive interim fix until you can get around to putting in the counters you really want.

oops, meant barb..thanks for asking dh :) sorry, I said budge.

joanie, I'm going to look into that option tomorrow. How about you do it first, then let me know??? :)

Sorry I'm late to the party! First of all, I hope your son gets along well with his procedure. I have 3 kids also, 2 boys and all 3 in baseball. Our kids keep us very busy too so I know what's ahead. I know you're excited about the possibility of redoing your kitchen. From your pictures we all can see that you have a comfortable home and wonderful taste. I just want to say that it's only a house. Right now with being hesitant to spend money (which is very wise I think), your son's medical problems, the busyness that lies ahead, it seems to me like you have enough on your plate. That's the thing about decorating. It's supposed to be fun! Yet it never ends, at least not for me anyway. As soon as I complete something, I'm on to the next thing. Maybe you should slow down and enjoy your family time right now. I actually really like your kitchen. The red is wonderful and is warm, just like the tone of your cabinets. Although I love your inspiration picture, it is not your kitchen. I would work with what you have. If you still feel so strongly later when your husbands job is more stable, when your son is completely healthy, and when you have more time, then take on that project then. I don't know about your husband, but mine runs as much if not more with baseball than I do. And mine needs some time to himself on the weekends to relax. Your husband just may not be up for everything you want him to do right now.
If you insist on doing something to your kitchen, clear off the top of the fridge and declutter a little bit. I can see the white subway tiles really brightening up your space and complimenting your white appliances. That is clearly a do it yourself job. Then wait on the rest. Painting cabinets sounds like so much work to me with everything else you have going on right now.
Put away those decorating magazines and get out some board games, pop some popcorn, and relax in that beautiful home of yours.
I hope I didn't offend you. Just my opinion. My oldest is almost 16 and the time is just going by so quickly. I find myself wanting his time before he is grown and gone and he just wants to be with friends. sigh...we used to play board games.

Thanks Joanie, I really appreciate your words. And I definitely see what you mean about how fast these kiddos grow. And enjoying the time we have with them.
I think I'm putting out that I'm stressed to get this done. I think it's more like I'm so anxious, that it's stressing me I can't make decisions. I just want to get started. I've talked about it for so long, I just want to break some ground. And being that I didn't think we'd be here even this long, I want it finally to be MINE. And enjoy the space since we've decided it'll be a couple more years with the market and all.
As far as dh's job, well..I don't think anyone is safe anywhere these days. He works for Wal-mart Cooperate Office (I know there are 100's of walmart haters here, but it pays the bills :) ) His particular job is pretty safe, but it was just scary to see so many around him leave. It just put things into perspective a bit. Like it IS just a kitchen. And that spending the money on my family means more to me. And like I mentioned before, I'm just so excited about getting something done. Every DIY job we've taken on..we've included the kids. We let them help if they want. Sanding, painting, digging, planting. You name it :) And at the ages of 5, 7, 10 and 12..they're still happy to do it, lol.

I've realized staring at the pics I posted that all that crud on top of my cabs HAVE to go. It looks soooo country, lol. Which is not me..but, my mother. In fact, it's all hers!! hehehe. She gave me stuff to put up there when we moved in, and I've hated it from day one. I think that's why I want to raise the cabs. To take off the pressure of putting stuff up there.

I know there are some other quick fixes with that. I'd looked for a couple of things to hang up on the wall, instead of up on the cabs. But, I really have my heart set on raising them. And so does dh now.
We sit around every Sat. afternoon while kids are off at friends, or playing legos on the floor..wanting something to do. So, yea..stressed and busy as we are. We love projects.

If we decide it's too much to take on right now. I'm sure I'll just dump all the stuff from the cabs into the trash bag, and to the tan that's in the living room. Something that will match the green counters. Because I can't take looking at that red and green any more. And it's embarassing to keep making excuses when people come over, because I've been saying from the day we painted it (2 yrs ago)..we were changing out the counter. I just don't want people to think we painted the walls to go with those counters, blech!

Anyways, thanks again. Everyone's words and encouragement mean a lot :)

what's the measurement between your cabinets and the counter? 18" is standard but in my home in WI I had them but cabinets at like 21" above cabinets. Another option would be to leave your cabinets where there are and stack smaller cabinets above - each same size as cabinet below in width. Stacked cabinets can have glass doors with lighting and then crown molding goes to ceiling. I used to be a kitchen and bath designer.

If you move those cabinets higher, I hope you have long arms!! I know I would never be able to reach them. I like threedgrad's idea to put cabinets above them, if you think you need something up there....I saw some cabinets the other day that had open spaces with "arched" areas over the cabinets and they had put colored plates, etc. in it....looked great....just an idea. I still am for changing that counter, vs. painting the cabinets and walls......but it is your house and you have to live there.
Blessings to your son~~~

three, it's 18 inches. I figured we'd put the shelf 18 inches, and go 10 inches from that with the bottom of the cabs. I pulled out that figure, only becaause that's the current space between my bottom and middle shelf. We may go lower?? Right now there's nothing on the top shelves that I reach daily. It's holiday plates, and old pie pans. I have white every day dishes that I thought I'd put on the bottom ones right under the cab they're in now. Bowls, plates, cups and glasses. Then in the corner, either bring up the canisters, or put my spices down on those (get new, cool containers to get them out of the cabs)
Will that hurt my resale?? I dunno. I've asked both my realtors who are pretty honest with me, and friend who does appraisels for the bank. They don't seem to think it'd be too bad. There's also the thought of building more of an extention to those cabs, if the floating shelf is too hard or expensive. Again, I wouldn't lose anything. And I already bought a new step stool :) :)
As far adding to the top. Oh, I'd LOVE that!!! Especially with glass doors. But, $$$$$. And I don't think dh is quite that handy.

phoggie, trying to picture what you're talking about with the arches? I'm open for anything :)

And work aside, I've looked forward to getting rid of this ugly golden oak since the day we moved in. I love, love, love painted cabs. And I MUST have them :) Course, unless we totally screw it up, then that'll suck, lol.

Ok, this weekend I had DH take all the country crud that belonged to my mother off the top cabs. Wow, makes a big differenc already. It's such a big space, though. Looks kind of funny. But, I honestly prefer it! Still want to move cabs up, though :)
Crazy..I know!

This will at least buy me a couple more wks, lol. Gonna craigslist anything "fowl" :) I've grown to hate roosters since my mother started buying them for me every chance she had. I liked them 7 yrs ago! Different style house. I'm over them!!

What an improvement that has already made to get some of the clutter off of the cabinets.....I didn't even notice that nice crown molding and the corner piece that you had....good start. You could still use some clusters of greenery with some colorful plates or something if you need something added up there, but go sparingly. You have had some great advice about black laminate....I think it would look so good.....of course, leaving that beautiful red paint that I love......what color is it, do you know?

The red is SW Bolero. I do love it. Especially at night. Well, any time really. If I HAVE to give it up. I'll put it in my little laundry area that's off the kitchen. Just so I have it. One of my boy's has a red room, so I won't totally be without red :)

I have a friend that has these silver like platters or something. Can't remember exactly what they are. But, she has them up on the wall over the cabs, and it looks great. Just a few for something there, but not over whelming like all the crud I had.
I just informed my mother I was having a fire sale in roosters, lol. She's not too happy.

I wish I could get more off my counters. But, we use the toaster daily, and I hate stuffing it into the cabinets. And the coffee pot is also used quite often. My blender could go, I guess?? And the canisters I'd put up on that little shelf thingy if we put it in. But, they could also go if it's just too much still.