Technically, part 2 would be applying the hardware to the upper cabinets, but once we paint the bottom cabinets and put the hardware on those, I will have another post for ya'll on where we got the hardware and how we installed them. We did things a little out of order, but it's just because we were so excited to see what the doors would look like with hardware on them.
We seemed to deviate from the "plan" for the kitchen process quite a bit, as unexpected things or better ideas came up throughout the process. After we completed part one of our kitchen makeover, I was explaining our original plan of the process to some coworkers. The original plan was to start with the upper cabinets, then paint the bottom cabinets, and then install the countertops last. While talking it over, someone thought of a "hypothetical" situation where the countertop people would possibly ruin my freshly painted bottom cabinets if we did the bottom cabinets before installing the countertops. Well, after thinking it over with my hubs and talking about how much manual labor we actually put into painting the cabinets, we decided it would definitely be best to install the countertops and then do the bottom cabinets. He knew that I would be devastated if anything happened to my cabinets, especially after all of the treacherous work we had to do for the upper cabinets. This was definitely the best route because we were most excited about the countertops, so it was nice to get them even sooner than we thought and we also got to take one weekend off from painting and let the countertop guys get to work!
When we initially started searching for countertops, we weren't quite sure what kind of material we wanted to use. Obviously, I would LOVE granite, but we were on a tight budget and the slabs were definitely out of our price range. We did a ton of internet searches and made a lot of trips to Home Depot to look at samples of countertops and I honestly was not happy with anything unless it was granite. I finally came across this kitchen (which by the way, you MUST follow this blog...her home is lovely and her projects always inspire me). I noticed their kitchen countertops were made of tile and this sparked interest for me. A coworker of Matt's recommended a tile guy (company was called "Flooring Guys" and they don't have a website, so if you live in AZ, let me know and I will send you the contact information). When he came over for an estimate, he suggested checking out granite or travertine tile and said it really wasn't that expensive. He suggested we check out Floor and Decor because they had really good prices for all of their tiles. I was still skeptical, but went to check it out, and he was RIGHT! Since I LOVE granite countertops so much, you can only imagine how excited I was!
Since we were doing white upper cabinets and dark bottom cabinets, we wanted something that would blend well with both colors and help mesh the two opposites together. We found the PERFECT Empire White 12 in. x12 in. granite tiles for only $1.88/Sq.Ft. Isn't that unheard of?!?! I also liked that they were big tiles, so the countertop would appear to look more like a granite slab (Big tiles with very very thin grout). The Flooring Guys also said they would throw in a backsplash for only a tiny bit extra, so we picked up some white subway tiles for only $0.21 each while we were there as well. It was difficult to imagine what this would look like after the countertops and backsplash were installed:
The Flooring Guys took about two days to complete the project.They had to take off and discard our old, discolored, scratched linoleum countertop first and then start laying the plywood and hardibacker as the foundation for our new countertop. We had originally decided not to do a sit up breakfast bar because of the backing on the stove. A new stove was NOT in the plan or budget for this makeover (see I told you we veered off the master plan quite a few times). When the contractors were laying the foundation, they kept asking Matt if he wanted a bar or a lip on the end, so we thought, what the heck, why not. They suggested a 6 inch extension, so Matt took a picture of what this would look like and sent it to me (I was at work). This was the picture I received:
I kept thinking, 6 inches...6 inches?? I can't even fit an appetizer plate on a 6 inch space!?!?! That was when my BFF/Co-worker, Tracie, immediately began Googling what a standard bar would be. Everything said "at least 12 inches". Matt then relayed the message to the contractors and they suggested 10 inches. He asked me and I agreed that length would be ok, so they unbolted the countertop, extended it more and bolted it back down. Matt took a picture and sent it back to me:
The panic started to set in. I was thinking, it needs to be at least 12 inches! I thought about it for a few minutes, called Matt and asked him if he could ask the contractors to make it 12 inches. This is the picture that I received:
I felt horrible being so picky, but I had no other choice! It was either now or never! So, they did extend it AGAIN, and with the end tile, it comes out to 11.75 inches. So after three major changes to the foundation, and the contractors now hating me, I was a very happy camper :)
The next step for the Flooring Guys was to lay out the tile on the counter. We asked for very, very, very thin grout to make the countertops appear more like a slab. I felt sorta weird taking pictures, so I had to sneak up behind when they weren't looking.
After that, they started applying the backsplash to the wall. Now, I started to get EXCITED! It finally looked like it was coming together.
Once, they did that, they applied the grout, stuck the new sink in (LOVE the new stainless steel sink) and cleaned up shop!
YeeeHaww! Part 2 of the Kitchen was complete!
Stay tuned for Part 3...Painting the Bottom Cabinets.
Have a lovely day!
We seemed to deviate from the "plan" for the kitchen process quite a bit, as unexpected things or better ideas came up throughout the process. After we completed part one of our kitchen makeover, I was explaining our original plan of the process to some coworkers. The original plan was to start with the upper cabinets, then paint the bottom cabinets, and then install the countertops last. While talking it over, someone thought of a "hypothetical" situation where the countertop people would possibly ruin my freshly painted bottom cabinets if we did the bottom cabinets before installing the countertops. Well, after thinking it over with my hubs and talking about how much manual labor we actually put into painting the cabinets, we decided it would definitely be best to install the countertops and then do the bottom cabinets. He knew that I would be devastated if anything happened to my cabinets, especially after all of the treacherous work we had to do for the upper cabinets. This was definitely the best route because we were most excited about the countertops, so it was nice to get them even sooner than we thought and we also got to take one weekend off from painting and let the countertop guys get to work!
When we initially started searching for countertops, we weren't quite sure what kind of material we wanted to use. Obviously, I would LOVE granite, but we were on a tight budget and the slabs were definitely out of our price range. We did a ton of internet searches and made a lot of trips to Home Depot to look at samples of countertops and I honestly was not happy with anything unless it was granite. I finally came across this kitchen (which by the way, you MUST follow this blog...her home is lovely and her projects always inspire me). I noticed their kitchen countertops were made of tile and this sparked interest for me. A coworker of Matt's recommended a tile guy (company was called "Flooring Guys" and they don't have a website, so if you live in AZ, let me know and I will send you the contact information). When he came over for an estimate, he suggested checking out granite or travertine tile and said it really wasn't that expensive. He suggested we check out Floor and Decor because they had really good prices for all of their tiles. I was still skeptical, but went to check it out, and he was RIGHT! Since I LOVE granite countertops so much, you can only imagine how excited I was!
Since we were doing white upper cabinets and dark bottom cabinets, we wanted something that would blend well with both colors and help mesh the two opposites together. We found the PERFECT Empire White 12 in. x12 in. granite tiles for only $1.88/Sq.Ft. Isn't that unheard of?!?! I also liked that they were big tiles, so the countertop would appear to look more like a granite slab (Big tiles with very very thin grout). The Flooring Guys also said they would throw in a backsplash for only a tiny bit extra, so we picked up some white subway tiles for only $0.21 each while we were there as well. It was difficult to imagine what this would look like after the countertops and backsplash were installed:
The Flooring Guys took about two days to complete the project.They had to take off and discard our old, discolored, scratched linoleum countertop first and then start laying the plywood and hardibacker as the foundation for our new countertop. We had originally decided not to do a sit up breakfast bar because of the backing on the stove. A new stove was NOT in the plan or budget for this makeover (see I told you we veered off the master plan quite a few times). When the contractors were laying the foundation, they kept asking Matt if he wanted a bar or a lip on the end, so we thought, what the heck, why not. They suggested a 6 inch extension, so Matt took a picture of what this would look like and sent it to me (I was at work). This was the picture I received:
The panic started to set in. I was thinking, it needs to be at least 12 inches! I thought about it for a few minutes, called Matt and asked him if he could ask the contractors to make it 12 inches. This is the picture that I received:
I felt horrible being so picky, but I had no other choice! It was either now or never! So, they did extend it AGAIN, and with the end tile, it comes out to 11.75 inches. So after three major changes to the foundation, and the contractors now hating me, I was a very happy camper :)
The next step for the Flooring Guys was to lay out the tile on the counter. We asked for very, very, very thin grout to make the countertops appear more like a slab. I felt sorta weird taking pictures, so I had to sneak up behind when they weren't looking.
After that, they started applying the backsplash to the wall. Now, I started to get EXCITED! It finally looked like it was coming together.
YeeeHaww! Part 2 of the Kitchen was complete!
Stay tuned for Part 3...Painting the Bottom Cabinets.
Have a lovely day!
♥ Natalie
BA-NAN-AS.... looks sooooo good! JEALOUS!
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