Nice work. I, too, love dorks. And cats. Enjoy the results of your hard work!

I just realized my cat photo bombed a couple of those pictures! LOL We were going to have crown molding at the top of the cabinets, but as you can see from the one photo, the cat loves getting up there and we quickly realized she would pretty easily tear anything down we put up there!

What you don't see in those pictures, is that we have 5 dogs as well. I'm shocked they didn't somehow end up in any of those pictures!

Looks nice, you did a great job.

Looks really nice! And nice to know about the flooring standing up to all your rescues. You must be so thrilled!

The Pergo floor is fantastic! I went the full route of getting the Gold underlayment and following all the directions to keep the warranty intact (silicone around the perimeter, etc.) It's now fully "settled" in and looks and functions great. If it gets dirty from muddy dog prints (the side door is right there on the side) I just take a quick wet mop to it and it's clean as new! It was costly than other others, but worth it!

Yes, I'm careful with cleaning. Luckily, the new waterproof Pergo is even more resilient with water, but I still am careful to not have too much sitting water on the floor. My dogs adore going outside (go figure) when it's snowing and raining and then rooting around in the mud. I open the door and all five of them flood in happily dragging their muddy paws right through the kitchen. With just a few swipes of the mop, it's gone! (and I don't get angry with them hehe)

I went with a pergo floor too, just finished up the install yesterday and am in love! I love that floor in your laundry room. Where did you purchase that if I may ask?

You're going to laugh, but the laundry room floor is cheap peel and stick tile from Lowes. It was/is 88 cents a square. I wanted something unusual to go with the wall I painted, but something that would be quick and easy to put down. Lowes has started stocking a few more unusual peel and stick patterns, and I saw this and loved it! I used the VCT adhesive just to give it extra durability and sticking power, but it is great!! That one is Armstrong Flooring Terraza 1-Piece 12-in x 12-in Harbor Gray. I put that whole floor down in about an hour and I love it!

Wow!! That's a really great idea, definitely something that I'll keep in mind! It looks very nice!

It looks really nice - what a difference. The laundry room is great too. I love what you did with the walls and floor - very bright and cheery

I LOVE the juxtaposition of the kitchen/laundry!! That was a great room to go WILD in!!

To be honest, the laundry room is a great example of a quick, easy and inexpensive re-do. You can't see in the picture, but to the left is the rather large furnace unit, then there is a water softener and then the water heater. So, that room is both odd-shaped and sorely lacking in space. I knew right off the bat that I wanted a barn door to utilize all the space possible. Because of having both 5 dogs and a cat and doing puppy rescue, laundry is something I do on a daily basis (at least 3 or 4 loads a day). Plus, we keep the barn door cracked a little, and the cat litter box hidden in there.

I had ordered the washer and dryer, and yes, was excited about the red color so two days before they were due to arrive I tried to figure out how to get the room ready to go and that would complement the color of the new washer and dryer. So, I looked at all the leftover paint I have (I keep paint whenever there is enough to salvage).

I painted the whole room a nice bright white. The previous owners, for some reason, painted the whole house this really strange yellowy beige that made everything look somehow dark and "aged" if that makes sense. The bright white really made a difference. Then I just put up painter's tape in various lines and angles, and used leftover paint from the master bedroom (the blue) to paint the wall and create the pattern.

When I need to buy things (such as floor, etc.) I try to stick with Home Depot or Lowes because my husband gets a discount being a veteran. I looked on Home Depot, and they had the usual stone type peel and stick tiles, but when I checked Lowes, was shocked that they had a newer selection of more interesting patterns, which is where I found the one for the laundry room. I knew the pattern would go great with the wall. The floor cost me less than $80 total! Because of the components in the room that can't be moved (furnace, water softener, etc.) I knew I needed peel and stick so I could cut and get around the weird angles blocking me in that room.

Now I don't cringe when I go in there, and in fact, whenever I catch a glimpse of it from the kitchen, it makes me smile. When re-doing our home, I honestly tried to do it for us first and foremost. While I did try to stick with concepts that would retain or increase resale value, I wanted to feel like it was "our" home and did go with colors and styles that make us feel good.

I agree with everyone!! Looks great!!

Just curious--did you change the light fixtures?

Yes, we did change the light..that's why you see the holes in the ceiling in that one picture. Because of this house' age, a lot of things were not ideal, like the lighting. There is no overhead lighting in the living room, for instance. In the kitchen, there were two lights, neither of which was very good. I'm thinking they were going for an "eat in" area type of look, but neither light gave off good light. So, we removed one light entirely, then got a large bright LED light (in the picture) that we centered in the kitchen. So, that one light illuminates the entire area.

To better explain, the area you don't see, is where the laundry room door is, and there is also a side door to the outside, with a large window next to it. So, we ended the cabinets where the dishwasher is, and I just purchased a large counter height table that sits sideways with four chairs. This way, it doesn't take up much room in the room itself, but still gives us a nice area to sit and eat in when we want. So, the change to the lighting worked out perfectly.

Congratulations, you did a great job. Plenty for people to learn from here. What is that fun backsplash?

Awesome job! Love the laundry room walls.

TBL, the backsplash is MSI Magica 12 in. x 12 in. x 6mm Glass and Stone Mesh-Mounted Mosaic Tile. I picked it up at Home Depot for $7.99 a sheet. Since this whole job was a budget conscious re-do, I spent a lot of time deciding which items to get. For the backsplash, I didn't want tile that would be recognized as the "low cost" tiles at Lowes or Home Depot (you know, the ones you see and instantly recognize as the ones always on sale). I saw this, and because of the backsplash area not being that huge, thought it might add just the right amount of interest and fun without breaking the bank.

Each sheet, as you can see, has various pieces including glass tiles, some silver/metal tiles, white textured, just a fun mix of all different types of tiles. Each color really played well into the overall colors of the kitchen, and I love that it's unusual. It holds up well, also to the kitchen area and the messes that happen in there!

Are the kitchen pictures of the pergo floor or LVP? What color is it?

The darker floor is the LVP (first few pictures), which was the Lifeproof floor from Home Depot (multiple size planks). The last 2 pictures are the Pergo floor (lighter). It is the Pergo TimberCraft + WetProtect Waterproof floor in Ocean View Oak. Only Lowes carries the new Pergo which is waterproof. I love it. You have to put silicone around the perimeter of the floor, and also use better underlayment to qualify for the warranty, but I love it! It is thick, feels great underfoot, and no issues even with 5 dogs and a cat!

Thank you! My husband jokes that the kitchen broke him (lots of sore muscles), but when all was done, we were really happy with how it turned out. Getting the lighter floor really finished it off, and I adore cooking and baking in the kitchen now. Having so much storage space and utilizing the kitchen space fully really shows how getting the right cabinets and layout can change a space!

Looks great! Love the new flooring!

To make sure I’m differentiating correctly, you also changed the direction that you originally laid the floor?

Yes. The first floor as you can see I laid left to right opposite of the cabinets. Big mistake on my part, because the floor was LVP it caused bowing because it was parallel to the floor joists. With the updated floor (Pergo) I did it in line with the large window in the kitchen, which also strengthened the floor since it was running opposite the floor joists. So, no bowing or planks coming apart. It was a stupid mistake on my part (the first floor) and I should have laid it the right way. But, in the long run, the first floor we put down didn't really look right color-wise and made the kitchen seem darker, when in truth I wanted a really light and "fun" kitchen. I like rustic, but prefer a more weathered/light rustic.

koda1969, love your kitchen and laundry room, just beautiful! I know this is an older thread but we are also looking at the Pergo floor (dogs who love to drag mud and snow in, cats, etc). How has your floor held up? Also, does it dent or scratch easily?

Brenda, it's funny you should ask. We actually just sold our house and the kitchen was a main point of excitement for prospective buyers! I can say (happily) that after 3 years, the floor held up very well. With snowy Michigan winters, our 5 dogs tracking in snow and mud didn't create too many problems! Yes, we had to mop a lot on wet days, but the floor always came back bright and sparkling.

The only thing we had as far as deformation, was two very small chips at the edge of a few boards, but that was actually my husband's fault as he hit the planks too hard when trying to seat them during install. The floor itself didn't show any scratches or cracking in the 3 years we had it, and the color remained true. Bear in mind, that on top of our 2 large dogs and 3 small dogs, we usually foster pregnant dogs, and in the course of 3 years, have had dogs in the 60 to 70 lb. range we've fostered, and the floor stood up to them! (including accidents) So, all in all, I'm very happy with the quality.

I'll include a few pictures of the kitchen now, so you can see how the floor has held up! I can say without a doubt, this kitchen really gave us a bang for our buck in terms of equity. Our house sold in less than 2 days! (we actually move into our new house Monday hehe)