DIY kitchen remodel

[(1VB)compforce]

So... My kitchen was starting to look like Fred Sanford should be sitting in a lawn chair drinking a beer in the middle. It's a fairly standard home kitchen. I had the counters pretty much full, bought a rolling table to use for prep and put in a big shelf downstairs to hold all the extraneous crap that was floating around. Slicer, bread machine, deep fryer, all that stuff.

Then I had a revelation...you see, that ugly yellowish color in the pictures is vintage 1980's wallpaper that was there when I bought the house. You can't see it but those specks in it are actually alternating blue and white violets... Time to repaint with something brighter.

Then as I was tearing wallpaper off the walls, another revelation... The cabinets were wasting a TON of space that could be used to store things and get them off the counters and out of the garage. Hmmm, shelving, why not... but how to make it look decent while still keeping it functional? Stainless! Got it! Here's where it stands right now as I look at the storm outside and the empty box of anchors...

The two holes over the stove will be covered by a stainless backsplash and the painting will be finished after I get all the holes drilled. Once that is complete the next step is stainless dishwasher and stainless 5 burner range (4+grill) with double ovens. Finally, I will replace the lower cabinets and counter with bamboo cabinets and LG Hi-Mac counter to match the island.

Any other suggestions? (yes, I know the nuke machine is pretty high, but I wanted the space for bigger stock pots and such)

The first two with the cabinets are the original kitchen. The second two are the corresponding "in progress" new shots.

[MSRlaw]

Originally Posted by (1VB)compforce

So... My kitchen was starting to look like Fred Sanford should be sitting in a lawn chair drinking a beer in the middle. It's a fairly standard home kitchen. I had the counters pretty much full, bought a rolling table to use for prep and put in a big shelf downstairs to hold all the extraneous crap that was floating around. Slicer, bread machine, deep fryer, all that stuff.

Then I had a revelation...you see, that ugly yellowish color in the pictures is vintage 1980's wallpaper that was there when I bought the house. You can't see it but those specks in it are actually alternating blue and white violets... Time to repaint with something brighter.

Then as I was tearing wallpaper off the walls, another revelation... The cabinets were wasting a TON of space that could be used to store things and get them off the counters and out of the garage. Hmmm, shelving, why not... but how to make it look decent while still keeping it functional? Stainless! Got it! Here's where it stands right now as I look at the storm outside and the empty box of anchors...

The two holes over the stove will be covered by a stainless backsplash and the painting will be finished after I get all the holes drilled. Once that is complete the next step is stainless dishwasher and stainless 5 burner range (4+grill) with double ovens. Finally, I will replace the lower cabinets and counter with bamboo cabinets and LG Hi-Mac counter to match the island.

Any other suggestions? (yes, I know the nuke machine is pretty high, but I wanted the space for bigger stock pots and such)

The first two with the cabinets are the original kitchen. The second two are the corresponding "in progress" new shots.

How tall are you? Don't want the kids making hot pockets?

The 5 burner range will be a real nice upgrade. It's a lot easier cooking in a nicer kitchen. The work looks good...how many hours of work would you say it took from the pics on the left to on the right?

[(1VB)compforce]

probably about 6 hours of actual work, not counting paint drying time and such. Add another 8 or so and you get this...

one more wall to paint, it's an accent wall in sky blue so didn't paint it with the rest of the white. Then it's on to cleanup from this part.

[MSRlaw]

It looks real good.

[BryanK]

Interesting concept. I like the idea of being able to access everything without shuffling things around, but my ol' lady would kill me if I messed with the cabinets! I've been on a little DIY bender lately myself. Bathroom repairs mainly .

I did however have the bright idea that once we moved to VA I would install a fire pit (that we can cook critters on ) and build a nice little patio. Due to a shortage of funds for materials at the moment I can't get the patio started, but yesterday I built a makeshift fire pit with stones I've collected over the years for just that purpose. I still have to finish it, but she can start burning now. The first pic below is the general concept I drew up using .ppt of what I want to do with it once funds allow, followed by the construction of the pit.

ETA: Does anyone have any good ideas for setting up a spit?

[psherlin]

It started with a request from my wife for a little more room in our bowling alley kitchen. It ended up with a total of 616 sq ft of kitchen and sun room. Still a work in progress
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I did get a 11.5 ft bar out of it. Being an engineer worked out very well for me.

[tonyz]

Originally Posted by BryanK

Interesting concept. I like the idea of being able to access everything without shuffling things around, but my ol' lady would kill me if I messed with the cabinets! I've been on a little DIY bender lately myself. Bathroom repairs mainly .

I did however have the bright idea that once we moved to VA I would install a fire pit (that we can cook critters on ) and build a nice little patio. Due to a shortage of funds for materials at the moment I can't get the patio started, but yesterday I built a makeshift fire pit with stones I've collected over the years for just that purpose. I still have to finish it, but she can start burning now. The first pic below is the general concept I drew up using .ppt of what I want to do with it once funds allow, followed by the construction of the pit.

ETA: Does anyone have any good ideas for setting up a spit?

Hmmm...fire...me like. Nice job.