OUR KITCHEN RENOVATION WAS COMPETED 3 YEARS AGO.

AND THE “REVEAL POST” IS TO DATE IS MY “MOST READ POST” .

The kitchen renovation is one of those endeavors…like having 3 children under the age of 4…that I am not so sure I could do again…or at least wonder. “How did I DO THAT!”  BUT SOMEHOW I DID…and it still works. I have thought about getting all new cabinets…but with a second DeVito heading to college…that is probably not going to happen. But I like to dream.

ANYWAY…I thought i would be fun to share it with you, many of who never saw it the first time around! Enjoy!

BEFORE

THIS IS WHAT WE STARTED WITH! In 1967, the kitchen was Built RIGHT in the space, meaning that no two cabinets measure exactly the same…the doors measure all ever so slightly different…BUT On the plus side, every single inch was used and there is little dead space…cause…you gotta find a “plus side”!!!

AFTER

THE MAYTAG DISHWASHER LASTED A MEER 2 YEARS BEFORE IT BROKE AND THE REPLACEMENT PART WAS GOING TO BE MORE THAN BUYING A NEW FRIGIDARE….LIVE AND LEARN…SO WE HAVE A FRIDGIDARE NOW.

 **********************************************

Each NEW feature of this room; the countertops, the appliances, the hardware….  represented hours and hours of price matching and figuring out…weighing the cost benefit of this versus that….etc etc…and mostly SAVING money….

THE BIGGEST WAY I SAVED MONEY…. WAS ON THE COUNTERTOPS…

HOW? You ask? “How did you save with Marble?”

I saved because these countertops ARE ACTUALLY NOT MARBLE….

actually I have NICK-named it “FAURBLE”- FAUX MARBLE

THEY ARE FORMICA! CALACATTA MARBLE IN THE ” AMORE” EDGE From the 180x line

….and instead of costing upwards of $5000 to do my 60 square feet of countertops

…it was $850!!!

That’s $14 a square foot for you MATH whizzes…you can also get them for $30/sq foot installed,

WHY FORMICA?

Here is how my thinking went…”this kitchen is 45 years old. In order to save money, we decided to MAINTAIN the original footprint. We kept the cabinet bodies and replaced the doors and drawer fronts with an updated look and color.We chose white to keep the 4 walled space…space more open. I also DID most of the work myself. My ULTIMATE dream was to EVENTUALLY TAKE DOWN the wall between the Kitchen and Dining room and GUT renovate the space one day….but for the time being, I  chose to spend my BIG dollars on items that could be moved to a new space: appliances, faucets…even hardware.”

There is not a doubt in my mind that we could have saved an extra HUGE chunk of change had I gone with BUDGET hardware, LOW end inexpensive appliances, and an inexpensive knock off faucet. My goal was to GET THE BEST (within reason) FOR LESS!!! l challenge you to find any price LOWER than the ones I found for each of my purchases.

A FEW DAYS AFTER I ORIGINALLY POSTED OUR KITCHEN, I GOT AN EMAIL FROM FAMILY CIRCLE MAGAZINE. SEEMS THEY FEATURE A “BUDGET KITCHEN” MAKEOVER EACH YEAR AND WE HAD BEEN CHOSEN AS THAT YEARS “BUDGET KITCHEN OF THE YEAR!” .

IN PREPARATION FOR THE PHOTO SHOOT, I PAINTED THE VINYL FLOORING WITH BENJAMIN MOORE PORCH AND FLOOR PAINT.

IT HAS HELD UP BEAUTIFULLY. EVERY 18 MONTHS OR SO, I WILL ROLL ON A FRESH COAT…BUT IT BREATHED NEW LIFE INTO OUR DINGY FLOOR AND BOUGHT US TIME TO FIGURE OUT OUR NEXT MOVE. MY HOPE IS TO ONE DAY INSTALL SMALL HEXAGON TILE  – SIMILAR TO THE BATHROOMS.WE SHALL SEE

YOU MAY NOTICE THAT THE COUNTERTOP EDGE PROFILE CHANGED . WE ORIGINALLY WANTED THE “AEGEAN EDGE” –

‘AEGEAN”(ALSO CALLED “PENCIL”) IS A STRAIGHT EDGE THAT DOES NOT WRAP AROUND THE BOTTOM.  THIS EDGE RESEMBLED THE CUTS OF REAL MARBLE THAT I WAS MOST ATTRACTED TO.  TWO MONTHS INTO THE ORDER COMPLETION, WE WERE TOLD AEGEAN WAS UNAVAILABLE.  WE WERE BUMMED.

SO, WE GOT THE MORE CURVY “AMORE” EDGE NSTEAD. 6 MONTHS AFTER THE KITCHEN WAS COMPLETED, THE FORMICA COMPANY CONTACTED US, WANTING TO MAKE THINGS RIGHT…THEY GRACIOUSLY  REPLACED THE “AMORE EDGE” COUNTERTOPS WITH WHAT WE HAD ORIGINALLY WANTED. AEGEAN! TALK ABOUT GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!

FORMICA MAKES A GREAT PRODUCT, AND FOR MANY, THEY PROVIDE AN ATTRACTIVE AND AFFORDABLE OPTION.   I AM HAPPY TO REPORT THAT NEW TRAINING PROGRAMS HAVE BEEN INSTITUTED IN LOWES AND HOME DEPOTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, MAKING THESE COUNTER TOPS MORE ACCESSIBLE.  IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN FORMICA 180X AND ENCOUNTER  ANY ROAD BLOCKS, FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME AND I WILL DO MY BEST TO CONNECT YOU WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE!!!!

THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!!!

for more on my Budget Kitchen Makeover Visit the following Posts:

1. the-kitchen-makeover-saving-and-splurges-and-lessons-learned

2./yes-you-can-tile-over-tile-take-2/

3./budget-kitchen-deconstructed-part-2/

4.how-to-save-money-on-appliance/

5.painted-vinyl-kitchen-floor/