Kitchen Revamp – Day 6 (and beyond)
I know – there is about a 2 months difference between Day 5 and this post (Day 6) of our kitchen remodeling adventure, many things have changed and many delicious dishes were cooked since, but though of bringing things to a partial closure with this post on kitchen remodeling, so we can get on discussing cooking after all.
One of the reasons was the IKEA took about a month to deliver the Adel solid birch cabinet doors. Apparently they were switching wear-houses in Pennsylvania so we got bumped back on the delivery date. Nevertheless, I was very eager to have them delivered and finally put a “face” to our kitchen.
And it really was worth. I was amazed at IKEA’s cost versus quality ratio. Mounting the whole thing myself (with help of course from Steph) I learned and believe that the cost of a kitchen remodeling consists 60% if not more in the work – not necessarily in the materials used, although that can be costly as well. Of course we didn’t change the whole thing – like the fridge, or the oven and that wasn’t needed, since it blends in well with the retro look.
I was pleasantly surprised at how much warmth was brought to the kitchen by the natural wood look. Just compare how the kitchen looked before the remodeling and after to have an idea of the overall ambiance. Not as I have anything against white in the kitchen – but for my eyes there needs to be a color balance of sort.
Nope, I am not done yet – still need to install the back-splash, find a baseboard that’s 8″ wide as found on old houses, and all the little stuff that still needs to be fixed/added etc., etc., but at least I am at a point where I can concentrate more on cooking, baking, making fresh pasta from scratch, instead of aligning cabinet doors, cutting, mounting, and so on.
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July 18th, 2009 22:55
Lovely! It looks great, Gabi. Good work, my friend. yes, labour costs are a good percentage of renovation costs so if you can do it yourself (which you obviously can) it’s all gravy! Way to go!
July 19th, 2009 18:18
I really like the color of your new cabinets. The hardware is also a very good choice. Oh, and labor IS around 60% of a kitchen remodeling budget, because most people don’t have the knowledge to handle expensive cabinetry and other expensive items. But from the pictures I can see you definitely know how it’s done.
What kind of backsplash are you going to install?
July 20th, 2009 13:16
Sam: Thanks for the comment! It does indeed help if you know what to do, but if you would ask me if I would do it again, I would have to think about it. The time invested definitely gets also very expensive.
Toby: Thanks!! I am installing a red oak (oiled) 5″ wide backsplash.
July 29th, 2009 02:31
Investing in your home for energy efficient is a smart way to cut down on your energy savings for the long term and when the housing market picks up. Your home will be worth more.
August 4th, 2009 02:44
Hey..These are looking really AWESOME.
Could you give some suggestion on wall color of kitchen…is light green is better choice…
August 7th, 2009 12:28
Hi, Gabi
Nice work with the remodeling job! Hardly can wait to have some time for “sampling” some good red wine together and just share some common histories:-)
Mitch
January 31st, 2010 15:49
Very pleasing job you did. Thanks for the picture of the counter top butt joint. I am in the middle of gluing up a butcher block top and was debating with a friend whether or not to go through the headache of making 45 degree joints. I can see now that a but joint is better looking. A 45 would look contrived.
March 24th, 2010 17:01
It is amazing how much bang for your buck you can get but refacing Kitchen Cabinets. For the dollar spent you will see one of the best returns possible when you go to sell your home. Most people do not even realize that this is a viable option.