Kitchen Makeover

I have finally managed to get organised enough to show you the progress on the kitchen! I would love to say it is all finished but there are a few little things left to do. So if you notice the couple of minor items that still need to be finished please just ignore them. If I don't share with you now I have a feeling that these little jobs may take another few years to complete and I will never end up sharing our kitchen with you!

Behold.... the after!

and now the before...

It looked like there was a wall oven once upon a time that must have died and instead of replacing it the alcove was patched and a convection oven was put in its place.

The rangehood and the stove top were so filthy we decided then and there to rip them straight out and buy a new oven. We did that before we moved in.

The kitchen sink looked like this when the tenants moved out!

It needed replacing but it had to wait

We discovered that if we sprayed the sink nightly with bleach it looked clean for a little while!

My wonderful father in law got stuck straight in and replaced our splashback tiles.

We had a wonderful crew of family members helping us out for a few weeks before we moved in. They helped paint the house from top to bottom among lots of other things.

A year later and this is what the kitchen looked like, new splash back, new oven, new lights (almost finished), cornice waiting to be finished and ceiling still needs some patching.

The benchtops and the cupboards were a pale pink, we had a hole in the benchtop from where we ripped out the stove and we still had the horrible glass chopping board built in to the bench. It was crooked and was pefect for catching crumbs. Oh and we still had the horrible sink.

We decided to add some interest to the breakfast bar and to the end of the cupboards where our bins sit (above and below)

We decided to snazzy it up with some panel board. My Wonderful Husband cut it to size and used some adhesive to stick it up in place. I got the job of painting it.

The cupboards all got painted white as well!

I actually worked on these during the winter so it took a few weeks for me to get them all finished, I had the doors and drawers laid out on our dining room floor to dry.

We finally got our new sink and tap.

I spent ages trying to find the tap that I wanted and I finally convinced my WH that we needed a retractable hose so it was easier to wash the pots and pans!

In the end I found one we were both happy with, from Ikea.

The benchtops are bamboo and they are from Bunnings.

We bought three tops and WH cut them to size.

I didn't do much at all as they were very heavy. WH had to do most of it by himself.

I did help measure but that didn't work out very well : (

I found some new handles online for half the price that they were in Bunnings so I was very happy with that!

The Bamboo benchtop needs to be oiled in order to protect it, we started with just 2 coats.

I'll just keep an eye on it and oil it as required.

So what do you think? We have still ot a few bits and pieces to finish off but it is mostly done!

We are happy with it and very happy with the end cost!

Lots of shopping around helped keep the makeover cost to a minimal.

Quick breakdown of prices if you have any questions please ask, I am happy to help if I can.

Tiles - free in garage when we bought the house, leftover from bathroom.

Ceiling and wall paint  - was bought for the whole house 

Oven and rangehood - great deal $3000. Stove top is gas, oven is bi-energy so we can use gas or electricity.

Light fittings - $42 each x 3 = $126

Benchtops - $1700

Cupboard paint - I used door and trim paint that we had bought in a huge tin to do all the doors and trim in the house.

Panel Board - can really remember but no more than $50

Sink - on clearance at Bunnings $50

Tap - $249 from Ikea

Additional plumbing items for under sink - $60

Cupboard hardware - $90

Adhesives and fillers etc - $150

Labour - Nil, my WH has proved to be very handy, he had no probs with the plumbing and FIL was an electrician so with his guidance WH was able to wire all of our new lights and powerpoints himself. How lucky am I?

I think that is about it, of course if you don't have all of the tools you need to invest in these and I must say that we have spent a small fortune on buying all the right gear but we figure that we will be doing it all over again one day so why not?

Total cost (roughly) $5,475

I hope you like our kitchen makeover, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Have a great week!

xx