Well that escalated quickly…

Recap: We explored several budget-friendly options before deciding to replace our cabinets with a local vendor. They were able to get us on the books for installation right away, which sent us into an absolute panic trying to get the awful backsplash removed in time.

The backsplash wasn’t the only item to check off our ‘to-do’ list. We also had to paint the walls before the cabinets went up.

It was a lot of work, but the dream of finishing our kitchen (and no longer having to eat takeout on the floor) pulled us through…

We were so ready to go from this hot mess:

…to this work of art:

The pre-assembled cabinets were delivered a few days before installation. I discovered them in our garage while we R was working on the backsplash.

I was like a kid trying to peak at Christmas presents without tearing the paper…

Besides putting in our cabinets, the guys had quite a bit of electrical work to sort through. To accommodate our new appliances we’d need a 220v outlet behind the wall cabinet for the oven, and a 120v outlet for the gas cooktop.

We were a bit concerned that this would be a pain in the ass because installing a new 220v would necessitate a new breaker in the garage and corresponding wire (what this means, I’m not really sure… my knowledge of electrical matters ends with a very elementary understanding of what a GFCI outlet is).

By some miracle, though, the guys found a 220v box just hangin’ out in a hole in the wall. Seriously. Just hangin’ out.

They still needed to add a new 120v wire for the range, and move an outlet down in the bar area for the wine cooler… but they were able to get it all done in two days, and I was quite impressed!

Things were really shaping up at the end of Day One, but when I came back at the end of Day Two…

We had a whole new kitchen!

I kept twirling around in absolute awe, opening and closing soft-closing everything.

R very impulsively (the day before scheduled installation) decided we needed under-cabinet lights. Don’t tell him I said this, but he was an absolute genius:

They make such a difference!

Our wall microwave / oven combo looked so (dare I say) swag! When we were shopping for appliances we went back and forth a bit on 27″ vs. 30″ ovens… and I’m so glad we went with 30″. This had to be custom-fitted into a 33″ wall cabinet, and it turned out great. I think a 27″ would have looked too small (and limiting, right?)

A lot of the ‘inspiration kitchens’ I’ve seen pair white shaker cabinets with black mushroom knobs. I had absolutely no time for this (bleh). I wanted something a little more… sleek? to compliment the door levers we chose, and tie everything together.

One of my biggest qualms with kitchen design is that there’s no designated place for dish towels.

People always just hang them on the oven handle… but that’s clear across the room, which means you have to traipse over with dripping hands to grab it. Ew! Why have we not figured this out?!

So in my kitchen, I put a super-sized handle on the drawer front directly beside the sink. Hello, dish towel holder. #LifeChanger

I’m already amazed at the transformation, but there’s still a lot of work to be done…

Next up, countertops!