Have you ever done one of those DIY remodeling things and had to cut something out of the budget, even though you knew eventually you were going to end up replacing it anyway? Well. That is the case in my kitchen. Back in December of 2011 when I first started remodeling the kitchen I had a very small budget. Like $300.00 dollars budget. For a college kid not bad and for the most part it has held up rather well.
For instance the cabinets used to all look like this:
They were so dated. Being the English nerd I am I always feel compelled to hum a little Poe; "Once upon a midnight dreary while I wandered weak and weary." I just feel it describes the mood in the kitchen so well. Several gallons of white paint and elbow grease I was able to paint them white and pretty which made them look wayyyyy better. Not to mention painting the existing hardware a few years ago.
I have always hated the pink counter tops that were original to the house, which was built in the late '80s. They're older than me. So I used some counter top paint product, which has actually lasted pretty well since then. This was my scared face....
Here's what it looked like after all the paint was dried and applied:
The counters have held up pretty well in terms of the paint, I mean it has some wear and tear from hard use by roommates and just time. The problem with these counters is that they are rotting and sagging. So much that in one point from the wall to the end of the counter top there is a 3/4" slope by the sink and everywhere else a 1/4" slope. I was finally able to put some money away and save up for new counters.
Here's a demonstration with just my mini baby level.
So with the image of my present kitchen in mind and the overall theme and colors in my house... I headed off to the home improvement stores to start my journey...
I was super excited! It was painful and I spent probably 2 hours in home improvement stores on a glorious Saturday deliberating between whether or not to actually buy them. I had to call my sister into the store to help push me to do it. I decided to go with a pre-fab laminate product because it's a small galley kitchen which means I only needed to buy a 6' piece and a 4' piece to cover all the counter top space. Plus if I have a manufactured home it wouldn't be smart/practical/logical to pay for real stone, just to be honest on that score.
I was between two different counters, dark granite-y looking stuff, or light granite-y looking.
I went with the lighter. The reason being that with the dark counters I already have it felt to dark for such a small space, I am hoping with the light color it will make the space look larger and fit better with the classy, chic cottage thing I've got going on.
The nice fellers at Lowe's helped us get them loaded into the truck that my Dad's friend, Tony, brought to help me out. It was super nice of him! He's even going to help me install them! They look clean and fresh in the sun!
Total cost break down for the counter tops:
- 6 foot section: $120.00
- 4 foot section: $92.00
Discount: $22.00
Total Cost of Counters: 205.00
Not too bad really, when you think about it. I also bought a new thing of oil-rubbed bronze spray paint for the cabinet hardware, since I'm giving the whole thing a new face, I may as well touch those up as well. Plus a new faucet that is a bit taller is going in, even though I'm just going to refit the existing stainless steel sink. There's no point buying a new one since the cabinet is so small it's not like I can fit a deeper one.
I'm pretty excited! They should be installed within the next couple weeks!
