In November 2011 we moved into our new fixer-upper house in Orleans. Since then we have done a number of renovations and I’m only getting the time to write about them now. We started with the ugly kitchen that had old cherry painted cabinets doors on white cupboards, laminate floors and countertops, white painted walls, and a ceiling fan light. It was dreary and depressing but a good size. Here are some photos of the old kitchen when we moved in.
First, with the Chuck’s (Scott’s father) help, Scott tackled the lighting. He went in through the attic to install and wire five beautiful pot lights and three glass pendulum lights.
Once that was done, we painted the walls and the ceiling using a light taupe on the walls and a dark taupe on the ceiling. We bought custom kitchen cabinetry in a white shaker style and bought new stainless steel appliances. I made the decision to have all of hte handles in the cabinetry horizontal and I really like the way they turned out. And, Scott installed custom ordered American Walnut style vinyl flooring. We found that the vinyl flooring was a breeze to install!
Once the flooring was installed our beautiful quartz countertops and under-mounted chocolate-coloured granite sink were installed. That was a beautiful day. 🙂
Once the counters were installed we were free to install the glass and stone backsplash. At this point, I was really excited about the way the kitchen was coming together!
We also
found a solid wood bar table and some saddle stools for the corner of our kitchen which works great for breakfast in the morning. So, here are the photos we took right after completing the renovation.
The kitchen renovation started in mid-November and was finished in mid-January. Although there were some challenging moments, overall Scott and I really enjoyed ourselves throughout the renovation. And, we are very happy with how it turned out. I’d love to hear about your kitchen renovation stories. Feel free to comment on this post :).
Acker by design. 
My best advice for cutting glass tile with a wet saw:
• use a drop cloth that you are going to throw away – it will fill up with tiny glass shards
• wear shoes/work boots. NOT flip flops or sandals unless you don’t mind the sight of lots of blood
• wear safety glasses (duh)
• keep your mouth closed while cutting!
Yes, we’ll remember that when we do the bathrooms!