I'll start with some before and after photos of our recently renovated kitchen. But first, some background... I bought this 1,000 square foot, 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom condo (read: shoe box) in the Peachtree Hills area of Atlanta when I was single, and the market was at its peak (unbeknownst to me). So, fast forward a couple of years to when we got married - Matt moved in and we have really enjoyed living here thus far. Great neighbors, great location, convenient to both of our offices and lots of fun activities, and I could go on and on...
However, when we began to talk about starting a family, we discussed finding a bigger space... but the market thought otherwise. We put our condo on the market in February 2010, priced significantly lower than what I paid just 4 years earlier in 2006. The condo was for sale for about 8 months - we were blessed with lots of showings, but not a single offer. After a few short sale condos showed up in our complex, we decided to take our unit off the market and make do with the space we had for the time being.
Which leads me to...
Our Renovated Kitchen! Since we plan to be here for at least another year or more, we decided to take advantage of the depressed construction market and get a great deal on an updated kitchen. We had been enduring the ... uh... "unique," "vintage" tile countertops and the accompanying hard-to-keep-clean grout, natural oak colored stripped wooden cabinets, "1960s hospital green" walls, and an old school over-mounted stainless steel sink with an aging faucet. So we did a quick refresh (I say quick, it took less than a week for the entire renovation!).
Below are the photos of before and after our kitchen facelift.
We are very pleased with the results! Here are the itemized upgrades we made:
1. Replaced tile (and grout!) countertops with beautiful, neutral granite. Similarly, we replaced the white subway tile backsplash with a natural tumble stone backsplash.
2. Replaced the old school sink with a stainless steel undermount sink and new faucet
3. Installed a new microwave with hood vent fan over the stovetop to free up some counter space.
4. Painted the cabinets Sherwin Williams "Roman Column" white
5. Painted the walls with a more neutral color than the lovely green as it was before. We chose Glidden's "Soft Suede" for the walls.
6. Knocked out the hollow sheetrock above the cabinets for a hollow space to make it look larger. We also installed crown molding around the top of the cabinets.
7. Installed lights under the cabinets, as well as a new overhead lighting fixture, which was a vast improvement to the modern yet not functional model that came with the place.
We (obviously) did not do this alone, though Matt was very involved by staying at home with the contractors while I was on a business trip for the better part of the time... that said, we owe it all to Win, our handy contractor, who was very professional (and quick!) with his renovating skills. I would highly recommend him to anyone in or around Atlanta who is looking for a kitchen or bath renovation in a timely manner and for an affordable price. Visit the web site, http://www.designfloorandbath.com, for his portfolio. Tell him the Roughens sent ya!
All in all, our first renovation was a great experience and I hope that all renovations in the future follow suit, though I fear we have been spoiled by the ease with which this one came to fruition. We can dream, I suppose...
As you were,
Meg
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