Kitchen Remodel.....A Dream Come True!

Wow....it's been another busy week.....I'm sure you all can relate!  Normally we get to catch up a little on the weekends, but this weekend we went to Dallas to watch the AR vs A&M game......it was FUN......and I would be remiss if I didn't say this....

WOOOO PIG SOOOOOIE!!  GO HOGS!!

Sorry.....couldn't help it......but seriously it was a good game and if we wouldn't have had a bit of luck it could have turned our very differently!

Ok, so that's out of the way.....now onto some more good stuff.....I've been wanting to write on this all week.....and just now I am finally getting it all together.....

So....anyone interested in a mini kitchen remodel?  Well.....we were.....for years I was dreaming of granite countertops.....a new sink.....painted walls......etc.....SO FINALLY we pulled the trigger and went for it!!  YAHOO!!!

Ok....so the sad part first.....I hardly have any Before pictures.....I mean what was I thinking???  I don't know......so we'll just have to make do with the few sad Before pics that I have.....

So here we go (please ignore all the "stuff" on the counters - we were getting ready for a party)....

And here is the only close up pic that I could find (this was actually an old film picture that I had to scan in.....wow.....technology has come a long way).....

And you might wonder what is going on in this picture.....yep....that's the hubs cutting the top of our wedding cake for our one year anniversary.....and if you are wondering.....it tasted TERRIBLE!!  AND.....this also tells you how old this picture is.....yep.....almost 9 years to the date......BUT I promise....not one thing was done to this kitchen in all those years......LOL......no......seriously......it stayed exactly the same......

We started with white cabinets, some sort of neutral linoleum (maybe), and neutral backsplash with a few green diamonds mixed in.....ahh....yeah......I know your jealous.....ha.....well....probably not......oh yeah.....and the kitchen was painted green to match the diamonds in the backsplash of course!!

SO.....what did we decide to do......well.....like I said.....I had granite on the brain.....so we knew we were going to do that......but what kind???  Hmmmm......I had no idea.....and then the backsplash.....oh my gosh.....I really had NO IDEA!!  You see this was before I knew about Pinterest (if you need an invite, then let me know) and all the awesome blogs out there......

SO.....I just looked at the kitchens of people I knew to get ideas.....and we ended up really liking the granite that my brother had in his house......Tan Brown......which is not really tan or brown.....but anyway....that's what it is called......it looks like this up close.....

It's really more black with some brown/red/white mixed in.....at least that's what I thought......in any case we thought it would be a nice contrast with our white cabinets.....

Now.....the backsplash was a more difficult pick.....we AGONIZED over this choice......I mean this is a good bit of $ that we are about to spend on this stuff.....so we wanted to be sure we loved it!

SO.....we talked with "our guy" who does granite, tile, wood floors, etc, etc....and he gave us a disk of his previous jobs to look at......which was a really big help! 

We decided to go with a stone backsplash with granite accents....and we also had them do a medallion over the built in stove top (wasn't too sure about that, but really loved it once it was installed).....

Oh yeah.....and the thing I love best about this makeover.....we had them extend the island just a bit, so that we could have two barstools and eat at our island.....LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this......we like to eat here a LOT and it seems to be a place of conversation whenever guests are in town.......love it! :)

Ok.....so enough....jibber jabber......here are the After pics......

 

And a few up close pics.....

The medallion over the stove top.....

The new stainless steel sink.....I highly recommend one of these.....so pretty......  :)



Super up close, so you can get a look at the stone tile with the granite accents....



And one more shot of the whole room.....note....we still haven't painted in this pic.....so we still have a lovely green over the sink and above the cabinets.....

And here are a few pics that I took today, so that you could see the finished kitchen with the new Studio Taupe paint by Behr of course....LOVE their paint!! 
(Hopefully I stood back far enough, so you can't see my dirty dishes in the sink :) )

Yay!!  So happy with how all of it turned out!!  I just LOVE this room now......now if I just knew how to cook we would be in business.....ha, ha!!

A few more quick notes.....the barstools are from Target.....they just fit right in with our color scheme....the wood is black and the back and seat are a tan linen looking material.....and the stove top is a GE Profile.....the sink....no idea.....it came with the granite :)

AND.....if any of you live close to Houston.....and need "a guy" who does all types of countertops and flooring....we used Reema Flooring located in Pearland, TX.....the guy who owns the place is great to work with and we were really happy with everything!  He does jobs all over Houston and the Houston suburbs....he even told my brother that he would go as far as Beaumont......

Ok....so again enough with the jibber jabber.....what do you guys think?  Do you like it?  Would you have done something different?  Have you recently done a kitchen remodel??  I'd love to hear about it and see some pics!!  :)

Well....I've got to run....my baby just squirted juice all over the floor....and she's wanting me to play.....so....

Until next time.....

XOXO,

Kristal