The new silestone countertops were installed on 12/28. We chose a black silestone for the perimeter area to contrast the white cabinets. To contrast that we selected a white silestone for the island, to contrast the darker wood choice for those cabinets. The word of the day here is contrast!
New Kitchen:
And here's the before shot:
Our new kitchen used to be the old entryway, stairway AND kitchen. We've since knocked out the stairs, moved the front entry, replaced the cabinets, countertops, appliances, replaced the window for a new patio door, installed new lighting, flooring and just generally made it a nice space!
Here's a shot of the new view when you're standing at the island.
And the best part about the new sink is that it works! Definate improvement over the bathroom sink we've been using for the past 2 months. You'll find that I get excited over the simple things that I had previously taken for granted - like running water for example!
New Living Room! We still need to install and paint the trim, but the floors are in and we even have our small little Christmas Tree in the corner!
And here's the before shot:
We opened up this space by adding the second patio door and second window, relocating the stairs and entryway, and pushing back a closet (not shown) to gain an extra 3 feet in dimension.
A few weeks prior Brian had ripped up all of the floorboard in the kitchen/dinning/living area. Some of it had gotten wet over the years and though there was no mold (thank goodness!) it smelled AWEFUL. So in the name of not having a stinky house, Brian ripped it all up and installed new floorboards. Here he is with the nail gun.
And after the floorboards had been reinstalled, my parents came over to lend a hand and help us paint before the cabinets were installed. That's me on the right, Mom in the middle and Dad on the left. The room still needs another coat after we install and paint the trim, but thanks for the help guys!
And while I'm sending thanks, I should Amanda for helping us prime the basement! Unfortunately I didn't take any embarrasing photos of her working though - next time...
And yes, below is the picture of the inside of our cabinets with dishes in them. But after you've had your things packed up in boxes for 6 months and have been eating off of paper plates, this moment seems worth memorializing!
We had wedding gifts from back in July that still hadn't been opened. It was like Christmas all over again unboxing our gifts for the kitchen!
We are making progress. We still have a lot left to do but it feels good to have part of our house back!
