Before and Afters - the Kitchen

Ahh yes the kitchen. I'm sure I've posted a few progress shots along the way, but I don't recall if I ever provided full on gory before shots. Looking at them now I have to admit I don't remember it being that bad.

Before:

Here it is in all it's cream and brown glory.

You'll see in the after shots I chose to lose the pantry to open up the space.



During:


Carcass of the kitchen cupboards being installed.






After:

Is it my ideal kitchen, no... if I had the opportunity to do things again, would I change anything... maybe, but hindsight is a bitch. At the end of the day, I do love it. Even if I still dream about having extra money in my budget to install stone bench tops in as opposed to laminate. I think I made the right decision for my house and the market when (if ever) I sell.

Down, but not out

OK, so I may not be able to figure out how to insert a drill piece into a drill... but give me a hammer and nails and I'm unstoppable!

I decided to hang some frames today - for the time being I've just printed out some photos from when I went to NYC and Mexico last year.


It may or may not have taken me several times to make sure the pictures were in line... but if you can't see the failed attempts, it doesn't count, right?

I purchased these hand towels ages ago and have always thought they were too pretty to be actually used as towels. Instead, I thought I'd see how they look framed:


They need a bit of an iron, but overall I think they're cute. My only concern is, I'm not sure if they suit my style. What do you think? In the words of Tim Gunn, can I "make it work"?

In other news, my house is looking more like a house. That's right - I finally have a fridge in my kitchen:

And I've finally brought my KitchenAid out of it's packaging. Doesn't she look so pretty?

I'm suddenly overwhelmed with the urge to bake!

Kitchen splashback

I posted in great depth my kitchen dilemma, in deciding what to use for my splashback after finding out that my first choice of glass would break the budget.

I'm happy to report that the glass tiles I chose were installed today and look amazing... even if I do say so myself.

Here are a couple of photos (before and after the tiles were grouted). I'll try and get some better photos at a later date... six of my lovely friends and I spent the whole day painting my house, so it was in a state of shambles. Drop cloths everywhere aren't particularly conducive for taking nice pictures.

Before grouting:


After grouting:

Kitchen dilemma

I'm approaching the end of my renovations - the bathroom is in, my kitchen cabinetry has been installed and the flooring is in. I'm lucky that I've had some great tradesmen working on my place.

One issue which has been causing me a lot of grief is my kitchen splash back. I decided to stick with a very neutral kitchen - white cupboards, light grey/white speckled bench top and silver handles. Here are some pictures of the cabinetry:

Please ingore the ugly curtains! I can't wait for them to be replaced.

In an ideal world I would have a glass splashback. They are gorgeous, sleek and easy to clean.


Image from MichelDignand .

Unfortunately for the whole 2 square meters of my property I have been quoted about $1,200. Yikes! The proposition of this sent me straight back to the drawing board (and the hunt for suitable tiles).

My next port of call, if I coulnd't have a glass splash back - the next logical choice would be glass tiles? Right?


Image of Matrix tiles in "lagoon. See Southern Cross Ceramics for more information.

But no, once again I hit a block in the road. As much as I would adore tiles such as the ones featured above, the cost of similar tiles is approximately $400 per square meter. (Please note I did not obtain a quote for the exact tiles above). With my splash back measuring at 2sq/m this puts me at $800 without installation costs!

Talk about being at a crossroads... I visited countless tile shops and was faced with the same issue. There are some ok mosaic tiles for in the $40-$80 per sq/m price range (generally with a flat finish or maybe a metallic shine) and then the glass tiles jumped to $400 per sq/m! Call me fussy, but I want a bit of a wow factor. I think I'm typical generation y, I want it all, I want it now and I have champagne tastes on a beer budget!

Just when I was about to cave in, after explaining what I was after to yet another sales assistant there was a lightbulb moment. The wonderful lady said "oh, why don't you come with me and see what stock we have in our discounted area". Discounted tiles? Discontinued stock? Why has no-one told me about this earlier?!?

I was promptly escorted out of the flashy showroom and into the warehouse, where I was able to view a range of tiles that were heavily discounted. All of the tiles were perfectly good but had been discontinued and were only available in small quantities.

I wish I had known of this before I renovated my bathroom, but alas- you live, you learn.

So what did I end up picking for my kitchen? These gorgeous glass mosaics:



The pictures just don't do them justice - they are glass with a white backing and have a very slight soft green tinge to them. I'll be sure to post photos when they have been installed.

They were discounted from $40 per sheet (30cm x 30cm) to $10, a saving of 75%. The tiles set me back a total of $230 (I bought a few extra sheets, just in case).

So for anyone else out there renovating, don't be afraid to ask - you might just find a bargain.