Wow, beautiful dramatic difference! Congratulations, enjoy.

Beautiful!!! Love your backsplash!!! Nice job!!!

I remember you working on your layout and it looks fantastic. Great job. How do you like the function now?

What a transformation--great job!! Although, I can't imagine why you wanted to ditch the old kitchen--lol! Enjoy your new space!

You must be in heaven! What a beautiful beautiful kitchen.

Wow! WOW! I'm speechless; what a great transformation! It's gorgeous!

Time to submit to the Finished Kitchens Blog!

Looks great - I showed DH the before pics and his comment was "looks like ours". what fun to see what you did!

Thanks also for the list of what you used - I am leaning heavily toward tile-look laminate and think this looks fantastic.

Enjoy!

I remember you!
Lovely transformation - excellent use of space and material - You must be loving the new space -
enjoy

Really nice. Your kitchen reminds me of mine minus the kid stuff.

Wow you really opened up your space and made very good use out of it- an amazing transformation! It looks fabulous!

What a wonderful change! Your kitchen looks absolutely lovely.

Gorgeous! I can't even believe that's the same space!

And I remember your kitchen now....we have pretty much the same backsplash! Great choice, if I do say so myself!

What a huge improvement!

Gives me hope! We are doing a very similar reno. I don't have my granite it yet, so don't have my peninsula in place- guessing from your photos that your fridge is opposite the end of your peninsula- I made mine longer- hope I don't end up feeling crowded.

Love seeing the befores- totally helps to appreciate the transformation!

Purty!!
How do you like your faucet placement? I have the same placement after years of having it centered. I thought it would be awkward but it is actually quite nice. And what do you think of the really deep sink??? I'm assuming it is a D shaped sink? I'm short so my arms get a good bit of exercise :)

What a transformation! You must be so proud and happy. And well deservedly so! ;>

What a beautiful new space! Congratulations!

Loved reading your post and seeing your pictures..it sounds similar to what we want to do..how do you like your black galxy counter..that is the one i love and just getting opinions on it..

Thanks everyone.
To answer some questions:
Love the black galaxy, nothing else seemed right with the cabinet color. And we did have it sealed.
The faucent placement is great and we LOVE the deep sink. Our previous sink was so shalow that pots didn't even really fit. Now we can put in a huge amount of dishes and it's not overflowing. The grate thing at the bottom is really nice too as it keeps everything level.
The fridge is actually just off center of the end of the penninsula. I got the french door style so that you can have the fridge open and still walk by the penninsula.
We love the laminate flooring. With 2 kids under 3 they both throw stuff on it and fall down when running and I don't have to worry about them cracking their heads open on ceramic. It's also not chilly in bare feet in the mornings. The color we chose hides so much dirt/messes, it's a godsend as I just can't keep up with the messes. NIce thing too is that we left the hardwood in the dining area and just wnet over it. No harm done.
The function is unbelievable. Before, our dining room was basically unused as I couldn't watch the kids in their while I cooked. So they sat in their high chairs in the old kitchen and DH and I would eat our dinner standing up holding our plates! We tripled our cabinets (LOVE the pantry piece) and have tons more counterspace. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the breakfast bar. My almost 3 year old sits at it every morning for breakfast. Her brother will join her there as soon as he's out of his booster seat. I envision homework being done here in years to come. While it did cost a decent amount of $$ it was totally worth out. It's amazing how much our quality of life has improved. ALso the kids run laps through the kitchen/dining room into the living room almost every night because it's all open. That's also why I wnet with the same flooring for it all. My kids will sit on the floor and push play cars/trains/balls back and forth to each other which was impossible with the old set-up. Definitely the best $20k we spent!

How pretty! It looks wonderful. Very nice job!

Congrats!! Looks great!

Congratulations on a terrific job! You must feel like you are in a new home. Especially like your backsplash - nicely done!

Wow! It looks like HOME!!! Your kids are going to love all the memories in this great new space! I love the faucet and sink...we just installed a sink like that and I really need to get the grate thing...did yours come with it? My sink is 16x24..is yours larger? And you must be so proud for all the hard work you both put in...I'm sure you saved a lot doing some of the stuff yourself!! I really love the wall color in there as well!!! GREAT TRANSFORMATION!!!

Tara

Wow. That is great. That "before" kitchen really needed to go. LOL.

Congrats!

Your new kitchen is fabulous! Love the way your red valance pops! Enjoy!

Fantastic change and a beautiful space. I've wondered how your kitchen was turning out.

Congratulations, Nadine! What an amazing difference. I, too, have been wondering how your kitchen was coming -- I remember your dilemmas with the backsplash choices. It looks beautiful! Funny how a functional space can improve the quality of your life so much, eh? Enjoy!

Beautiful! And I have to say, yours is the first kitchen I've seen in here that started off nearly as badly laid out and as small as mine (see the "Tiny kitchen layout redux" thread for picturs of where we're starting from) so it just gives me courage to continue this particular Odyssey... there is hope!

Thanks for sharing - and congrats on a lovely new space!

Hey,
That is a wonderful transformation! I think it will hold up well over time and you will enjoy it for many years to come. It looks lovely, warm and functional.
I wish you much happiness and many happy meals ;)

Wow. I'm tickled just imagining the difference trying to cook in the 'before' vs 'after' - with little ones no less!! You must feel like you are in heaven.

Lovely choices. I especially like the backspash.

ENJOY!

Wow, excellent job. Love all your selections in cabinets, tile, etc. Can't imagine it was the same space. Reminds me of when we redid our current kitchen 19 years ago. It was such a drastic change, from the 60's to the 90's.

I'm going to copy your backsplash in our second kitchen redo :) It's very pretty and simple (which I need since it's in a brick surround). It has great detail, but given the all white, it's subtle.

Now to be frank....I have to critize something....

I think you had a lovely purse holder in the first "before" shots...I was looking for one for my kitchen :oP I can't believe you took it out heh heh heh

Your kitchen is beautiful!!! Can you please tell me where you got the valances? Love the color...

Love your new kitchen, congratulations! What is the color of the American Woodmark cabinets? Also what is the style/color of your Mannington flooring? I'd been unsure of laminate flooring from a looks point of view (but a must with my poor back) and seeing your beautiful floor just convinced me. I also love the layout design of your backsplash. On your dishwasher, did you order a new front from GE or somewhere else? I'm sorry for so many questions, but your kitchen is very similar to what I want to do. Thanks in advance!

Ok, here are some more answers:
WE got the Maple spice color for cabinets.
Flooring: Mannington Natureform collection, Pacific Island Stone Natural Beige.
We ordered the dishwasher parts from an online parts store (I just did a google search for dishwasher parts. I think it was either Partselect.com or repairclinic.com, I'd have to check). Also if you look close you'll notice we didn't buy a new handle as we thought it was included in the new front panel. It's barely noticable so we just left it.
The valances are from a cheap dollar like store in my area. Only $9 a piece!
The "purse holder" was a hanger left from teh previous owners and it's actually my daughter lunch box as we seriously had no place to put it!

Great kitchen! It looks totally functional and yes, you will have many nights of homework completed on the breakfast bar. Kitchens are all about getting the family together!

Nadine33, just wanted to say your kitchen looks great. We also have American Woodmark cabs but from HD (hickory in spice finish) and like you decided on Mannington Laminate in a slate look. We have had our kitchen done for over 3 years and the floor and cabs look the same as they did the day we put them in. We also have 3 little ones and you are right in saying the floor holds up beautifully and easy on our little ones knees and heads, lol!! Enjoy your new space.

Dramatic difference. Nice work.

Can't believe the curtains are from the dollar store. Great look for a great price. I should be so lucky!!

hi nadine33 - may I archive your kitchen in the Finished Kitchens Blog? If so please submit the FKB Category Checklist. Thanks!

Here is a link that might be useful: Finished Kitchen Category Checklist