phase 1 kitchen remodel

When we moved into our house, the kitchen was in sorry, sorry shape.  No dishwasher, very old appliances, and my least favorite part: very poor quality powder blue cabinets.  When we hired painters for the house, the quote to repaint the cabinets came in at a whopping $1800!  That seemed very steep for the number of cabinets we have.  We opted to leave the kitchen as is, and tackle it later.

Eight months down the road when we got our tax return, we tossed around the idea of getting new cabinets but quickly realized that new cabinets meant new counters, meant new backsplash, meant new sink, and we realized that we weren't up for round two of major remodel quite yet.

Doug and I decided that we would do our kitchen remodel in two phases a la Young House Love.  Phase 1 would be our temporary fix up.  We would spiff the kitchen up and make it livable.  Later down the road, we would do Phase 2, an extensive remodel once we'd lived in the kitchen for a while and figured out the best flow for the room.

So we went for it.  Phase 1 is nearly complete.  It took a LOT of work.  Meaning Doug did a lot of work.  I watched babies.  I still need to hang some art and regrout the tile, but other than that, we're calling it good.

Before

After

Before

After

Here's a break down of what we did.  I'm including cost to hopefully inspire my readers to take a stab at a budget kitchen remodel:

• Installed a dishwasher- $800 (gift from a generous family member.)
• Bought a new stove- $1600 (another gift from a family member.) We also got lucky and had our old oven break which was covered by our home warranty, so we received a check for that.
• Overhauled island.  New countertop, beadboard paneling on the sides, and a fresh aqua paint job- $500
• Installed new lighting including pendant lights over the island- $150
• Painted cabinets white and installed new hardware.  Love the oil rubbed bronze cup pulls- $200
• Removed the cabinet doors on the previously coke bottle glass cabinets (which was actually coke bottle plastic) and painted insides the same aqua as the island- free
• Built and tiled counter height tables for each side of the oven.  The oven wasn't centered under the cabinet, and we had a trash compacter that we got rid of, so there was an empty gap- $25

Total spend on phase 1 of our remodel- $3,275

And really, the appliances can be used in phase 2 of our remodel, so they don't even count.

I'm so happy with our kitchen, and it's really put the brakes on a full kitchen remodel which is awesome because I would love to spend that money on landscaping! Jungle be GONE!

violet six months

Violet is half a year old!!!  Seriously, I could just gobble this little sweetie up!  She's just the cutest thing I ever saw.  We adore her and are so thankful to have her in our family!

Weight: 16lbs (50%)

Height: 26 inches (50%)

At six months:

• Your sister is you BFF.  You guys love each other so much and it's the cutest thing.  Kennedy gets the best laughs out of you, and she is great at entertaining you.  The sweetest sisters I ever saw.

Cinco de mayo señoritas!

Hiding in Violet's stroller waiting for a dermatologist appointment.

• Have the BEST belly laughs.  I didn't realize babies could laugh as much as you do.  You crack yourself up constantly, you think your sister is hysterical, and you have a very ticklish neck.

• Are just starting to sit up for long periods of time by yourself.  You're still not really rolling over, but you have very strong arms and do a great push up. You can also spin around in a circle on your belly.

• Take two naps a day usually.  One at 8 and one at 12:30.  Bedtime is 6 or 6:30.  Not sure when wake up is because I let you lay in bed until Kennedy starts screaming to get up #secondchildproblems.

Easter Sunday with Grandpa Jesse wearing Great Great Grandpa's bonnet.

• You are just the happiest thing!  You're super content to play on the floor, watch what's going on, and hang out on mommy's hip.

Violet girl, we continue to pray that you will be confident of your identity in Christ. That you won't look to the world to tell you who you are but know that you are a child of God, loved completely, beautiful, and can be made whole through him.  You are our treasure.