Kitchen Renovation - before/after

[surferguy]

Hey guys,

I just completed (ok 98% - almost completed) my kitchen. I have been working in my spare time since March to get this done. The majority of the work was done myself, outside of electrical, mudding & taping, from the design to flooring and the concrete counter tops. I had friends here and there help out and definately would not be were I was today without them. So thanks to them.

That said I wanted to share my before and afters. I welcome any sort of feedback, good or bad. I have been thinking of getting into interior design as a career but have no formal training. I just wanted to share to see what peoples thoughts were...

Enjoy... I hope.

BEFORE:












AFTER:



















I still need to cover the fluro lights on the one wall. They will be covered with stained glass sheets along the entire wall. I will also be building doors with glass inserts for the upper cabinets.
Cheers for Looking!

[arsenal]

all i can say is wow...

[FlamesKickAss]

wow!! great work man

[Phaneuf3]

want to do some work on my house?

very nicely done.

[MaDMaN_26]

ya pretty impressive...

would it be rude to ask how much that cost... I'm redoing mine... and I'm amazed at how freakin expensive every little thing is.

btw, is any or all of that IKEA?

[4X4]

Why the stove on the island and sink on the counter?

That looks great. Like, professional.

[arsenal]

I wish I had the space in my place to do something like that.. My kitchen is soo freaking small, there is barely enough room for me to open my fridge the whole way, with out hitting the other counter...

[Burninator]

What do you think of your concrete counter top. I've heard some pretty mixed reviews of it. It looks like it might be chipping in your pictures, or is that the way it suppose to be?

Kitchen looks great BTW.

[Flashpoint]

Omfg!

[surferguy]

Originally Posted by MaDMaN_26

ya pretty impressive...

would it be rude to ask how much that cost... I'm redoing mine... and I'm amazed at how freakin expensive every little thing is.

btw, is any or all of that IKEA?

Not rude at all - currently sitting at 17.5 G. That got me - enitre set of lower cabinets from Ikea, an electrictian, mudders and tapers, new cooktop, new wall oven, used washer/dryer unit, and a used wine cooler. the only thing that made it from the old kitchen to the new is the fridge (will be replaced) and the pendant lights.

Only the lower cabinets and faucet are from Ikea.

[return to the red]

very nice smurferfry

[surferguy]

Originally Posted by 4X4

Why the stove on the island and sink on the counter?

That looks great. Like, professional.

Plumbing issues - the issue being - I did not want to deal with moving plumbing.

The island, i felt, need a cooktop. lol

[bigtmac19]

Beautiful!!

[surferguy]

Originally Posted by Burninator

What do you think of your concrete counter top. I've heard some pretty mixed reviews of it. It looks like it might be chipping in your pictures, or is that the way it suppose to be?

Kitchen looks great BTW.

Thanks for the reponses, the concrete, does has some cracks. I went with an industrial style look to it. I figured it would work with the exposed pipes in the ceiling. I don't mind the counters, but I do not have the smooth finish that you would get if it was cast in a mold then installed. This was a pour in place due to size. So the countertops are rough in some spots from the trowels, etc. I need to re-seal it with an epoxy sealant, and that should smooth things out. note - counters are not chipping, just air holes from not vibrating the mix enough.

[Dan02]

[Frank the Tank]

As a self-proclaimed DIY king, that fricking RULES! Very European looking. Love it.

[surferguy]

Originally Posted by fotze

Will the counter stain if you spill something lke wine one it?

For a second I thought the before pics were the finished product. I wasn't going to comment. It looks good. Is it for resale or for yourself? Might be be too modern/funky for optimal resale but I would like it if it was for myself.

there is a very thin sealant on the counter now, that will prevent staining if it was spilled. That said, the sealant went on to thin and is now pealing back - so I need to reseal with a thicker epoxy - that will completely prevent any opps situations.

The condo is not for sale, yet. I did the living room first, and will do bathroom next winter (once I pay off the Kitchen ). Then I plan to sell. The kitchen is mostly for myself, I don't care for the brown walls and plain style needed for maximum re-sale. Somebody will buy it eventually because they love it and have a similar taste.

[urban1]

Looks great...

Is that a washing machine in your kitchen?

Is that a wine fridge under the island?

Wheres the dishwasher? It looks like you have a stainless steel one in your old pics.

Is that the oven in the wall? Whats on the other side of the wall that you were able to fit an oven in there?

[Dion]

I'm speechless!

Great work, man!

[surferguy]

Originally Posted by urban1

Looks great...

Is that a washing machine in your kitchen?

Is that a wine fridge under the island?

Wheres the dishwasher? It looks like you have a stainless steel one in your old pics.

Is that the oven in the wall? Whats on the other side of the wall that you were able to fit an oven in there?

Yes it is a washer and dryer combo unit. I did not have one prior and did not want to lose the space that a stacker would require. The combo unit runs on 110 power and does not require a vent.

Yes there is a wine fridge under the island.

The dishwasher is hard to see in these photos (one pic did not work) but it is to the left sink.

The wall which houses the wall oven also houses a air exchanger for the condo building boiler. I am main floor and it comes up through the unit and out the side wall. The kicker, the wall actually had 4 feet of dead space under the exchanger, a perfect spot to slide in wall oven. It looks a bit weird when you first look at it, not being at a regular wall oven height, but when you think about it, that is the same height as any stove or range unit.