100 year old farm kitchen to 2012 new.... like magic.

I was hired by a family to "gift" a new kitchen to a relative.  This really kind of turned into  our own little version of  "Extreme Home Makeover".   You could actually see into the walls from inside the cabinets.

This lady deserved it and what a wonderful gift to get from her family members.  Everyone chipped in and also worked on parts of this project.  I was in charge of coordinating and repairing walls, ordering new cabinets and installing the finished product and other carpentry.

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Above is the kitchen "BEFORE" we started.

The drawers were in such bad shape that you couldn't even open them.  The handles, and in some cases the entire drawer front, would just pull off.  The doors just fell off too several years ago.    The counter top was de-laminating  and wasn't the best thing to prepare a meal on.

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This is the finished product.  

To save money we got basic unfinished stock cabinets from the local home store and the family finished them.  The cabinets didn't have all the bells and whistles that your usual garden variety cabinets but as you can see this was a DRASTIC improvement.  

The "tile" you see on the right hand end of the counter will be the tile that the owner will apply as a back splash.  The "window" above the sink and the door and trim on the left will be painted too by the family.

We were going for a kind of upgraded country kitchen look.  The rest of the room has white wainscoting like you see on the back of the peninsula cabinets.  I installed a new door to a laundry room / bathroom on the left that will be redone in the future.  

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A new laminate wood floor was installed by a family member to really finish off this space.  

The "purple" you see on the wall is the drywall board.  It is a mildew and mold resistant product.  This is the best thing to put in these old homes and ESPECIALLY in a kitchen and bath.  It may cost a few dollars more per sheet, but we only needed 3 sheets.  It will be worth the investment.

She is going to LOVE this finished product.  It was so much fun to see her eyes light up each day when she would come home and see the transformation.  I can't wait to hear from her tomorrow after she gets home from her second shift job and sees this.  It is all cleaned up and ready to bake cookies with the grand kids again.  It is   worth all the long hours on this project to see it finally done and usable again.

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If you would like to discuss some kitchen options in your own home don't hesitate to contact me.  Not every kitchen has to look like HGTV.  As you can see "simple" can be a definite upgrade.  It is amazing how something functional can just make a person feel better too.  Trust me.  It was magical.