Kitchen makeover, part 3: After!

Finally, after almost a year of on-and-off effort on fixing up, the kitchen is done*!

*excludes floor, countertop, backsplash, lighting, appliance replacement, dining setup, island, and everything else that basically makes up a good kitchen.  God, I'm so tired.

There are separate posts for when we started scraping everything and the hardware dilemma.  As a summary and for ease of viewing, here are the before pictures:

And the after!

Um...

Wow.  What an underwhelming reveal.  Although it does look different and considerably lighter.  It still has a long way to go, but I'm liking this kitchen a lot more. Especially knowing how much of our own sweat, tears, and blood we've put into this project. Okay, fine, I'm being overly dramatic here, but it was a lot of work and it was our first major project, so I'm very happy that it's done and with the result too!

A few notes regarding this makeover...

• I can't stop staring at the fridge.  It is so big.  And white.  And protruding.   Kind of like my stomach nowadays, hehehe...
• The bright light on the ceiling is unfortunately not a heavenly light shining down upon us, it's just a skylight.  
• The little black strip above the drawers to the right of the stove is a slot for the cutting board (I'm not sure where it is), that we will probably cover up and paint.  
• The hole next to the dishwasher will be plugged. 
• A little GI Joe action figure at the window guards the kitchen from the kids next door.
• The microwave is a little too big so the sliding doors cannot be used.  I use this little thrifted artwork (from Goodwill, $5!) as a semi-door to hide the toaster behind it:

Still to do for the kitchen:

• Install lighting.
• Add plants.
• Organize the telephone area.
• Makeover the dining table and chairs.
• DIY a kitchen island.
• Replace the stove to a white one.
• Somehow remove or hide the black dishwasher, since we don't use it.
• Ideally, update the countertop and backsplash.  At least regrout the tiles.

Ultimately, I'd like have hardwood floors in the kitchen, although at that point I'd probably want to demo everything and remodel with a different layout and install a french door leading to the backyard.  Maybe, in five or ten years.  For now, I rest.

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