Ok, the final piece of the kitchen puzzle was a pantry unit. I refused to pay $200+ at homenardowes, so I patiently checked craigslist for months until I found this monster for $20. Yes, just two digits! :) We like the staggered look of cabinets, and this was our chance to replicate that in our kitchen as our built-ins were staying put. Buuut rather than keep this pantry super high, I had Jake chop off the top. That way it wouldn't appear so overwhelming in our not-very-large kitchen, and more importantly, I would have a plant perch next to the patio door. A good coat of oil-based primer, added lattice to mimic the shaker look on the rest of the cabinets and a bit of crown moulding at the top, a thick coat of paint, spray painted hinges, a new matching handled, and voila: a new pantry for about $30. :)
Now to the fun stuff: the before and after pictures. Here's the before (except the floor, which we put in new when we did the rest of the house).
And the after! Where to start...
-the peninsula was akward and not big enough for our family anyway, so we ripped it out
-that left a home for the dishwasher which I used to have to hook up manually to the sink with each use (and I never complained because I was so happy to have ANY dishwasher other than myself!)
-the snazzy new pantry (see above) anchors that end
-all the cabinet and drawer faces were removed, sanded, primed, bordered with lattice board to create the shaker look, painted, and rehung with spray painted hinges and new knobs/handles
-some faces were taken off completely to get the "open storage" look for the microwave and on the other side of the stove (not visible in this shot) for cookbooks
-brand new countertops installed by dear husband and myself (previous post)
-new-to-us sink (ie craigslist) and faucet, though a new faucet is on my wish-list
-new light above the sink to replace the old can light, and new track lighting to replace the old flourescent beast
-brick faced backsplash ripped out as well as old drywall behind it, new hardibacker installed and the "frosting" of the whole project; our sparkling glass mosaic backsplash installed by yours truly.
If I had to estimate a total cost for this kitchen renovation, I would say between $600 and $700.
