Kitchen

The last room downstairs is almost finished. We are so excited with the results of our kitchen reno. We hired people to reface our existing cabinets. The boxes were in great shape, just dated. They are real wood cabinets, not made out of particle board or mdf, so they were a great contender for refacing. Hall and I had originally planned on taking out the wall where our sink is and opening it up to the dining room and creating a great big area, but we didn't really have the money to take out that wall since there is major plumbing being routed in it and to be honest we LOVE having a formal dining room. It's where we eat every night.

We also paid for someone to put in our counter tops and sinks. I installed the faucets and connected the plumbing underneath with my brother. Hall was out of town for the entire installation, but he gets to make up for it by completing our master shower upstairs that is in limbo (like studs are visible, concrete board is partially up). ;)

My parents helped me install the back splash before Hall got home. It was a huge help.
We extended the new countertop over the peninsula by about 10 inches so we could fit counterstools underneath. We also updated the bar with all the same things from the kitchen since both rooms connect to the den.
Here's the details:

Cabinets refaced in Picket Fence by Martha stewart
Counter tops  Silestone Quartz in Sygnus
Faucet Lindley by Delta
Mini white subway tile back splash 2x4
Grey grout

I'm still not sure yet what to do with the island. We bought it for extra storage when we moved in and it still is great and needed. Obviously we bought it to go with the old cabinet color. I don't know whether to leave it or paint it. I guess I'll need to see it with the floor first then make my decision. I'm going to keep it butcher block though I love having the wood in there.

The floor will be tiled. It's just not finished yet. We'll get to it in the next few months. Originally we were thinking slate, but I think that's too dark. Ideas??

Whenever I see a ceiling fan in a kitchen I can't help but think of the book The Help. Constantine had it right, don't EVER put a ceiling fan in a kitchen. ;) Anyway this is our before pic from the walkthrough. You can see a little itty bitty Jack on the kitchen table they had in there. 

 This is our den before with the old homeowners things. When we moved it it looked much the same until a few weeks ago. The bar was always there it was just behind the closet. It's always been a wet bar too.

I have to say a HUGE thank you to my parents and brother for their help while Hall was gone. But I really need to say thanks to my friend Heather for her help in the demo. She came over on her day off and helped take out tile backsplash, rip out countertops and disconnect plumbing with me. Did I mention she's a former Crimsonette and not some big burley girl? She's tiny! Don't mess with her! ;)