Your new space looks *so* much better - congrats! Also, I can't believe the excellent penny pinching.

That is a nice floor, the small section I can see. Great shelving job! You gotta be proud of that. Does that cork light glow when it is turned on? Great job, way to go.

What a great transformation! Nicely done.

Congrats on the progress...

Wow! Looks like you found some real bargains. Really nice. Enjoy!

BTW - It's all DIY. DH does the plumbing/electrical/framing. We hang the drywall. i do the drywall finishing, painting, tiling, and flooring in this case.

I haven't seen it turned on yet, but yes the cork pendant should glow. The cork is very thin and has some holes in it.

I need to get a closer pic of the backsplash. You can't see the accent strip very well in these pics.

Also my towel elephant was in use here so you can't see him well. He is a cast iron bank that I have had for over 30 years. He was collecting dust on a shelf at home, so I gave him a new job.

That truly was a redrum kitchen! Your new kitchen looks wonderful! Kudos to you for searching out great bargains and DIYing! You're close to the finish line--congratulations!

Wow, that is fantastic. It is beautiful, up to the minute and hard to believe you guys did it on such a smart budget. Very smart decisions. Warm, cohesive, pretty, just great. Congrats.

You got incredible "bang for your buck"! I love the Re-store finds and how you repurposed those cabs. You did a great job making a new kitchen out of not all brand new. You should pat yourself on the back, but better yet, put up your feet and toast your great job!

Thanks everybody.

Hopefully it will be finally finished in a couple weeks (we can only work on it on the weekends). We have decided to make our own doors for the closets. I didn't want the standard builder grade from HD or Lowes, and couldn't blow the budget. I am planning something that has a beadboard bottom panel and a frosted plexiglass top.

Also, I wanted to mention that I used Howard's Restor-A-Finish on the cabinets. I wish I had taken some closeup pictures before, because it worked great. It removed some paint and scratches and places where the original finish was worn off. I love how clean and shiny they look now.

Oh, and another question? Hardware?? Should I or shouldn't I? All of the doors have a knotch behind them to grab with your fingers.

If you think I should do hardware what direction? Nickel to coordinate with the SS appliances? Pulls or Knobs?

SS pulls would look great. You did an amazing job! Shows you don't need to spend 80K to have a lovely kitchen.

Your new space is a major improvement and I feel with the added hardware, the cabinets will look more updated. I need to add hardware to my cabinets but I may paint them first since they are still worn out no matter what I do. You and your husband are amazing DIYers! Please post updated pictures when the kitchen it totally done!

W-w-w-wow! Oh, never mind your after kitchen ... it is your before that I'm in awe of. Frightened of it, indubitably. But in unmitigated awe. Might I ask about the finish on those doors? Was that art? Style? Or? Also, what age was that finish "a la mode"?

Sorry not to be more congratulatory, but your new kitchen seems so much less heart-between-the-teeth (perhaps?) than your previous. It is pretty inspiring but a bit of a let-down after the first, sorry to say.
(And I bet you're ever so grateful for that :-) I would be, to be sure! LOL!)

Wait. The shiny maple cabs are newly purchased at Re store, right? Howard's Restor-A-Finish changed the slab doors to the shiny maple with routing? Huh, what gives here?

Where did you put the restored cabs? What are you showing us?

I need help in understanding how the original slab doors changed. Thanks.

Howard's Restor-A-Finish changed the slab doors to the shiny maple with routing? Huh, what gives here?

Eh?

R-a-F is what she used to clean the new cabinets. I don't believe she said the new cabinets were slab doors. The doors in the original kitchen were slab but I don't believe there's anymore of those things in the kitchen.

Yes.... her NEW cabinets were "$500 used" cabinets that she restored. The OLD cabinets are gone. That's what I understood. What a transformation and on a budget to boot! Great job!!

Barb, your new kitchen looks wonderful. I love the way your choices come together. Hopefully a lot of people thinking of tackling theirs will get a chance to see what you guys have done.

Regarding handles, I don't think I would. The wood's handsome and why clutter a visually busy space unnecessarily? I would do something really nice on those shelves over the sink. to set the whole thing off. BTW, I also have a kitchen in that same calm overall honeyish look, just a lighter version (white cabinets, creamy walls, medium honey counters and floors), and I love that I can put almost anything up for decoration and have it all look gook.

Happy cooking.

Hoorah for the Restore, my favorite haunt! I got my cabintes there as well. Amazing handiwork and such great brainstorming went into this project -- sincere kudos to you both. I'll be interested in updates as your pantry doors take shape, too.

I must have missed this before but is REDRUM an actual The Shining reference? Makes sense, given those 'before' doors - egads. I particularly love how they carefully planned the bucolic Grant Wood wallpaper border to as an ironic counterpoint to the slaughterhouse feel of the finish, a real postmodern touch.

Here is a link that might be useful: link

Kitchen looks GREAT! And thanks for the laugh this morning - your REDRUM reference and circuspeanut's "movie". Danny has left the building Mrs. Torrance.

OMG those old cabinets were crap and are now at the dump. That paint job was done by the PO. They didn't just look bad, they were horrible cheap particle board from the 60's or 70's.

The used cabinets were purchased from one of my husbands plumbing customer's. They were renovating their kitchen and mentioned they were going to sell the old cabinets on craiglist for $500. So he scooped them up. All though they are older they are a good quality. All wood, no particle board. Since they were used, they had some light scratches and wear. Howard's RAF took care of them.

mindstorm - A previous PO had painted the old cabinets the dark red, then the next PO painted over the doors with crackle paint. I give her credit for her creativity. She was probably trying lighten the kitchen. Next door neighbor said the PO was so excited when she did it. Next door neighbor was horrified.

This is our 5th house were we renovated the kitchen. I have yet to go over a 5k budget. This one will be close because there was a lot of structural work because we moved walls & stairs and built the two closets.

rosie - what do you suggest over the sink? I just grabbed some knick knacks from home because I didn't want empty shelves in the pics :) I think some plants would look nice but I have a black thumb.

And since Halloween is coming here is another lovely pic from the demo. This could have been a GREAT haunted house!!!

This was what we found behind the fridge and cabinets;

What a great change on such a small budget!!! Kudos to you and your husband!! Can not wait to see the rest when it is all finished!

let me join the chorus of wow, what a great transformation! as soon as I saw the "before" pic I understood the REDRUM reference lol. I'm so glad you clarified your towel elephant as I had been squinting and trying to figure out what it was.

thanks for the thumbs up on Howard's RAF! I just got some to work on a cabinet that had tile on its edges that left mastic and a not-matching finish when we removed it. I even have the same color cabs!

good luck in your work to the finish and cheers

You are so very, very brave! I would have run screaming from that kitchen. But you saw potential. What an amazing transformation, well done!

(LOL, circuspeanut!)

Plants would be really pretty and could hang down in a very graceful way. Nicely convenient over the water, too. You'd need a fluorescent grow light, though; stock items, very inexpensive at a big box if you didn't pick a used one up somewhere. You miiight be able to hide it by setting it at the base of a shelf, so you didn't have to put up a piece of molding. I've done grow lights but never tried shining them upward. Would your plants try to prostrate themselves on the shelf, "reaching" for the light, I wonder? (BTW, a grow light could be left on all night if you wished and be turned off during the day.)

If you post a picture on the decorating forum, people over there will have plenty of fun coming up with other suggestions. Also the Holiday forum. It would even be a kindness on your part. :)

For the record, I didn't pick the REDRUM name.

I had posted a pic when we bought the house on my Facebook page and my BIL commented "REDRUM! REDRUM! REDRUM!

The first time I posted pics here somebody else posted the same thing, so the name stuck.

Thanks Rosie, I'll try the decorating forum. I'm not good at decorating. My love is in moving walls and changing floorplans to improve a house.

Wow, I am speechless re: the original and then the incredible transformation. Congrats!

Ooops, my misunderstanding. Thanks for clarifying.

It is a fantastic transformation. You are an expert.