So last summer...

[gaeln9796]

...we remodeled our kitchen.
A three month process during which, I nearly lost my mind.
There were mens, many many mens, crawling all over my house Every Day.
And while that may sound like a good thing, it really wasn't.

Still, I think it was worth it...pretty much. If you look closely, you can see Brian & Justin in the little fish tank. There are pictures so...

 the befores
        

and the afters
          

I think we did pretty good. And I am so glad we did it when we did because there is no way we'd be doing it now

Oh, and clickity-click will make them BIGGER.

Comments

[herefordroad.livejournal.com]

gayle, i saw the pictures when we met in august...but it's fun to see them again. everything looks nice and new. and when i click to enlarge, i can see the tiles that lauren chose. it is VERY fortunate that you did this last year!

jeannie

[gaeln.livejournal.com]

so fortunate we did this last year. I think I love Lauren's tiles the best. Thanks for commenting even though you had already seen the pics.

[lastglances.livejournal.com]

it looks great! the stainless steel looks wonderful against the dark wood. ah stainless steel, how you make me think of brian kinney.

[gaeln.livejournal.com]

'ah stainless steel, how you make me think of brian kinney.'

OMG, you read my mind. No other finish was even considered. Glad you like.

[shadownyc.livejournal.com]

OMG!!! Your new kitchen is AMAZING!!!

It's so fabulous and I'm so jealous. LOL

[gaeln.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for your enthusiastic response. It did come out pretty nice, actually I wouldn't change anything. And what I like is that it really was a collaborative effort. Daiv chose the appliances -- we'd shopped around but on the day we needed to get them ordered, I had a serious headache and told him to just go ahead and pick what he wanted-- Lauren had a huge say in the tile especially with the decorative band yadda yadda. So it really is ours and that's cool.

[ashmedai.livejournal.com]

Wow! That's fantastic!!

[gaeln.livejournal.com]

thanks, sweetie, glad you like

[qbeeqt.livejournal.com]

*sigh* I dream of a new kitchen. Even your 'before' pictures enchant me! But, ooohhh, the new kitchen! *drools*

[gaeln.livejournal.com]

'Even your 'before' pictures enchant me!'

I know, I've been told that before, that the old one didn't look so bad, but what you can't see is that the doors hung crooked on their hinges, that the plastic laminate on several was peeling off, the the counter was pink -- my husband says rose but I say pink -- that the floors were Prego on and on. The previous owners never heard of a home improvement store that wasn't Home Depot.

Before, I would *sigh* like you, with desire. I hope one day you'll be able to *sigh* like I do now, with satisfaction.

Kitchen

[fansee.livejournal.com]

Omigod, just gorgeous. I love the rich-looking wood and the stainless steel. And the desk space in the kitchen. It looks like you opened the kitchen up without losing cabinet space.

Thank you SO much for sharing. FanSee

Re: Kitchen

[gaeln.livejournal.com]

thank you. the cabinets were installed unstained, then finished to a color of our choosing. We have the same color wood in the bedroom and Daiv got the stain guys to match that for the cabinets, a little less cheery, a little more brown. We actually have more cabinet space, amazing...right? I really like the openness, but when Lauren and I are making dinner, we get loud and bother Daiv while he's watching TV (after a long day at work). That never happened beofore. So sad.

[court1429.livejournal.com]

omg that is one gorgeous kitchen. I love pretty wood. The stove tilework looks great. Thank you so much for posting these! Makes me want to redo mine. ;)

[gaeln.livejournal.com]

Thank you!! I have an architect friend who, when I sent him the pics, said 'another crappy suburban kitchen bits the dust.' If I encourage you in anyway to do the same, I will be thrilled.

My daughter picked out the decorative tile, she did good.

[critic75.livejournal.com]

Psychologists say that for major stress points, remodeling a kitchen ranks right up there with death and divorce.
However, the outcome is much more beautiful. Your kitchen proves that. Well worth the trauma.

[gaeln.livejournal.com]

I didn't know that about divorce and death, but cooking in the garage for three months was traumatic, yet creative somehow. We had already purchased the microwave and Lauren and I cooked with that and a camp stove. Point for me is that I did it...we did it and I'm glad you think it was worth it.