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feeny What a transformation! Outstanding work.

olldcan That house seriously owes you a huge thank you. From eye sore to no more, nice job!

feeny I agree, Candace. That "before" photo looks like the whole downstairs when cpwo bought it consisted of "ice-cream social" pink and blue striped decor. You must have really looked beyond the surface to the bone structure of the space to have accomplish this, cpwo.

olldcan Too funny, first thing I thought was Ice Cream Parlour too. cpwo just proved again that taking your time, doing your research, using the right materials, along with a plan can give an amazing result without breaking the bank.

muppetpinchess Gorgeous!!

mrstinylady A W E S O M E!

rivers300 Appaluse, Applause, Applause!!!!

Walker Woodworking Looks great! I know you are enjoying it!

augerma Bravo!

Century21 fabulous! would you mind saying what the budget was [planned and actual]? maybe some ideas about where you sved the most?

Shelly Herrington we are getting ready to do a remodel, one room at a time. I am so uncreative and cannot see the big picture. Any suggestions?

cpwo Look at your house as a whole rather than separate rooms especially if you have an open floor plan. Go to Open Houses, Model Homes, photos on real estate sites for your area and spend time on Houzz to get ideas of what you like. Set a budget. Determine if your style is more traditional. transitional or contemporary. If there is one element in the room that you won't or can't change ($$$) such as the flooring, cabinets, etc. use that as a starting point for coming up with your plan. The two elements in my kitchen that I was not going to change were the brick surround and the slate flooring, I also knew that I wanted white or cream cabinets. I spent hours searching on both Houzz and designer sites using the terms: white cabinets, kitchen with brick wall, slate flooring. I sent a photo that I found on Houzz to my carpenter and he replicated the hutch around the octaganol window. I watched Craiglist and a local resale site for months until I found a copper sink that I love. I was fortunate to find my large range and lighting on that site as well. Make sure you know what the big picture looks like -- how you would love your home to look when it is all remodeled. Don't start until you know exactly what you are going to do or attempt to do a room in piecemeal fashion or it won't look the way you want. I chose my granite for my countertops last and hauled a brick, slate tile and copper sink with me to the stoneyards. I bought lots of Sherwin and Williams $5 samples to find the perfect color for my cabinets and walls. If you plan to be in your house for a long time, pick out paint, etc. for your tastes. If you anticipate a move in the next couple of years, probably safer to go a bit more neutral, Hope this helps!

feeny Fabulous advice!

Roots and Rafters Lovely! This renovation was very well done indeed.

Marie Hebson's interiorsBYDESIGN Inc. Hi cpwo, very nicely done. I'd like to see photos of it in the light of day though...natural sunlight and not incandescent lighting.

I would say you had your existing cabinetry painted, new countertops, got rid of that awful striped wallpaper, new fixtures and new hardware - adding additional lighting under cabinetry with new backsplash. Added the glass tower to the desk area, added posts with overhang to your island.

Labour should have cost you $4 to $7,000
Hardware, lighting, countertops and tiles coming in around $5-7,000.
For a whopping $10-15,000 for this renovation with laminate countertops
if the countertop is soapstone or granite, I'd add another $4500 to the total, which brings
us to under $20,000 for your kitchen refresh.

I'll give you up to 5 years use out of the painted cabinets IF they were cleaned, sanded, primed, sanded and then painted (3 coats) with sanding inbetween coats, and then top lacquer for sheen, and wipe-ability.

Again congratulations on the end result!

Marie Hebson's interiorsBYDESIGN Inc. Best place for copper sinks is www.iptsink.com
http://www.iptsink.com/category/0009/Copper-Kitchen-Sinks.html

Hand-made, hammered copper apron sink $1199 - shipped to your door!

feeny Well that was quite the passive-aggressive little analysis.

Christine Really lovely. You knocked it outta the park. I LOVE the niche where the stove is. Love it

cpwo Thanks so much for all of the positive feedback. It is very gratifying!

Home Repair Tutor The brick looks great. Nice job and thanks for the great tips.

fianna192 love that you kept the brick, and the floors look great too!!!

Julia Chase The cabinets around the window are beautiful. A very nice use of the space.

Paradise Restored Landscaping & Exterior Design What a wonderful transition - you are amazing!

houssaon I agree, feeny. Wonder why. I had my cabinets painted more than 10 years ago and they still look fine. What I like best about this remodel is that cpwo kept the brick and worked with it.

Paradise Restored Landscaping & Exterior Design Saw this yesterday and now happened by it again - funny how what we loved at one time - really loved can need a face-lift after a decade - that should tell me something about my hair style - same since high school - eeeecccckkkk! Anyway - back to your amazing transformation - I'll say it again - love it! Simply love it!

Reico Kitchen & Bath A real beauty - well done!

Stoneshop Probably one of my favorite "Before & After" posts that I have seen! Beautiful kitchen. The brick surround is such a wonderful focal point.

Carolina Photo To Go LLC Thanks for sharing!!

sandpthomas Agree with everyone above, you have done an amazing job. Glad you kept the brickwork, everything works really well. You must be thrilled.

trendesdesign Absolutely fabulous!

Bonnie Ross This is just beautiful - has so much warmth and character without being over the top. Quite the inspiration!

Jennifer Cavan I'm onto year 16 of painted cabinets and they look just fine!

Bonnie Ross Jennifer Cavan - what was the method you used for painting your cabinets?

Jennifer Cavan I can't remember exactly. But they were cleaned, sanded, primed, sanded, painted at least 2 times, with light sanding in between, then glazed, then sealed with polyurathane, I think....

Bonnie Ross Did you paint them yourself Jennifer and, if so, would you recommend it?

wnicholson Holy crap. Amazing. Stunning job

julie77777 Wow - amazing transformation!!!! And thanks for all the info above -- very helpful :)

Cabinets 4U, Inc. You should be so proud of your final results - it was well worth all the homework you did. I am especially impressed with all your designer touches. Enjoy!