Introducing……..
My New Kitchen!!!!!!!!!
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Before
Although my old kitchen was generally messy due to extreme disorganization and very poor storage space, this particular mess was born in the middle of emptying out the cabinets.
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Yes, this was actually how I had to store larger sized items. The buckets contained flour, sugar, and rice; three of the most commonly used items in my kitchen. The bottles of oil, vinegar, and syrup were too large to fit in my small ‘pantry’.
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The shelves in my cabinets were so thin and so poorly supported that they sagged under the weight of the dishes. I left a few dishes on the upper most shelf to show you how the shelves sagged.
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The box light of the early 90′s was a huge improvement over previous standard kitchen lighting, but it was seriously outdated.
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When we moved into this house, the cabinets over the refrigerator had to be removed because the refrigerator was too tall. It was a never ending eye sore.
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The day we moved into the house, 14 years ago, I cried over the kitchen. This broken drawer front was one of the reasons why. For 14 years we would carefully open and close the drawer so that the front would stay in place.
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This is one of the doors beneath the kitchen sink. The door was made of some sort of pressed ‘stuff’ that warped when it got wet. You can also see that the finish was flaking off of the inside of the door. The outside of the door looked pretty much the same…no, actually it was much worse.
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This drawer front was a facade (no room for an actual drawer because of the angle). When we moved into the house we discovered that it had been ripped off by the previous owners and was being held in place with velcro. We removed the velcro and at least glued the faux drawer front in place with wood glue.
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The kitchen just before we started ripping things out. One truth: Even an old ratty kitchen looks better when it is clean. 
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Pre-rip out from another angle.
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I walked in from work to this scene following tear-out.
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Shocking to find what was behind the cabinets.
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The woman who lived in this house before us had a thing for wallpaper. I could spend a lot of space writing about how much wallpaper I stripped out of the house the first few years that we lived here. This is a small remnant that was beneath the upper cabinets. I don’t know how that woman managed to get the paper up underneath the cabinets. Oh, how I hated that ugly stuff.
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Apparently the previous owners had a fridge leak at some point. There were thick gooey stains beneath where the pantry had been and the floor was peeling up.
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I was revolted to see the stains on the walls behind the cabinets. We also found that the contractors who built the house had swept their garbage to this side of the kitchen and had then put the cabinets on top of the garbage. As you can see, the people who laid the original flooring did not take it to the walls.
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One more shot of my poor little kitchen.
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We put all of the things from the kitchen cabinets out in the dining room. What a happy mess. We still needed to have access to various kitchen items and food, despite the fact that the only usable item in the kitchen was the stove. If you’re wondering where I did dishes, think two buckets in the bathtub. Yea…good times.
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The old floor. We scrubbed it clean prior to the new floor installation. Because there was only one layer of old flooring, the workmen could lay the new flooring on top of the existing flooring.
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The new floor going in.
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Cut-outs for the canned lights.
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The flooring guys, the plumbers, and the electrician were all there at the same time.
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New floor, almost completely installed.
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Here is a tip for you. Prior to making a final decision on the flooring, I took a sample home with me and abused it in every way that I could think of. One of the toughest tests was throwing a heavy can of enchilada sauce at the floor. I wanted to see how the floor would stand up to me accidentally dropping a can on it (I’m a klutz). As you can see, the can got some serious dents, but the floor didn’t show a single mark. As a matter of fact, the only thing that marred the floor at all was when I stabbed it with a knife.
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Happy, happy, joy, joy. The new cabinets waiting in the garage. For the days between delivery and install, I kept going out to the garage to admire the cabinets. I would open and close the doors and drawers, dreaming of the moment when I would be able to start using them for real.
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It made me sick to my stomach to see the difference on the ceiling between where the cabinets had been, and the the area above the stove. I just never really though that much about how cooking effects the ceiling.
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This may look pretty bad, but actually it is a happy site. The wiring is for the stove and other things.
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Getting down to the painting. We had to do some serious wall prep before I could start painting.
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Look at this! The cabinets are going in.
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I was ecstatic to see things moving forward in such a positive way.
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The finished product.
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We got rid of our kitchen table and chose, instead, to use the space for a large kitchen island. We put cabinets under one side of the island and drawers on the other side of the island.
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I store things in the cabinets which are used less often. As for the chairs that you see here, they will end up with black seat cushions…just as soon as IKEA reopens fully here in Salt Lake. The IKEA store has been undergoing remodeling and the seat cushions have not been available. 
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This is the opposite side of the island. I keep plates, glasses, plastic storage containers, silverware, and various other things in these drawers. They are directly across from the kitchen sink and dishwasher, which makes it so handy to move clean dishes straight into the drawers.
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I chose to have a standard double kitchen sink. I like the depth, uniformity, and functionality of having this type of sink. It is what works best for me.
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I’m loving all of the drawers.
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A pull-out for the garbage cans. LOVE IT.
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Storage for pots and pans is directly across from the stove.
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One of my spice drawers. I put smaller bottle of spices here.
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Directly below the drawer with the smaller bottles of spices is this deeper drawer where I store bulk-sized spice items and packaged mixes and marinades.
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That bank of windows is nice, however it seriously cuts down on storage space.
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Refrigerator, pantry, wall oven, and other storage cabinets.
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At last, somewhere to put my baking pans. Remember those dinner trays that were stashed under ‘the desk’? They have a home here, too.
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I wasn’t sure if I would like the drawers in my pantry, but they are great! They help me so much with organization and I can see what I have. In my old pantry, things were constantly getting lost and so much of the stuff was inaccessible.
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The island is large enough to put two chairs at one end and four more chairs down the side. Although there are only five chairs at present, a sixth one will be picked up from good ole IKEA very soon.
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The central box light was replaced by 7 canned lights, two pendants, and an island light.
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My most favorite part of the kitchen. So much happens in this area. I have all of my baking items here.
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Mixing, measuring, and weighing items in this drawer.
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A place for everything. I need a second set of measuring cups. In my purging efforts I threw away the mismatched, partly missing sets that I used to have. These stainless steel measuring cups became my favorites a few years ago. Oh, and you see those red and stainless steel measuring spoons? Those are my very, very favorite measuring spoons. The shape is perfect for getting into narrow bottles.
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Can a person ever have too many spatulas and whisks when baking and cooking?
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Here’s a tip–Storing tongs can be challenging. To help streamline their storage, I use ponytail holders to keep the tongs closed. No more tong tangles!
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More than anything else, I worried about the counter-tops. Our kitchen designer recommended that we go with a quartz counter-top. I was skeptical, but we were saving so much on the kitchen in other areas, we decided to take his advice. They are very pretty and for right now, different than most people’s counter tops.
Quartz counter tops are a composite of crushed quartz and man-made materials. The upkeep is very minimal. It does not have to be sealed and it is not porous. It can take hot pans, too.
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Since quartz is a natural stone, it comes with interesting imperfections like this little white spot. At first, I had decided to have the spot taken out and replaced with a more harmonious piece, but at the last minute I changed my mind. I sat and stared at that spot one day and saw beauty in it. The little flecks of stone in the white piece are lavender in color. They are unique. I like them.
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Close-up.
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One of my very favorite places on the counter top. When the sun hits at a certain angle, this little piece of crystal quartz on the edge sparkles. I couldn’t get my camera to capture the full beauty of the sparkle.
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Welcome home.
Remember that today is the last day to sign up for the OXO give away.
The give away closes at midnight tonight, Mountain Standard Time.
About Terri @ that's some good cookin'
Congratulations! You’ve waited a long time and it turned out beautiful! I just love the white cabinets. Have fun in your new kitchen.
Okay… my heart is beating a mile a minute… I WANT YOUR KITCHEN!!! WOW!!!! You did a beautiful job with what you picked for the renovations. I love your counter-tops. I want new counters, but I don’t want granite because it stains. I cook with a lot of spices like turmeric and I’m clumsy and spill it all the time. On my old laminate counters, I just make a bleach solution and it comes right out. Is quartz as forgiving? I love the color of your cabinets and the counters. Your organization is out of this world… fantastic. I wish I had all those drawers.. they are so much better than the old standard cupboards that seem like dark little holes to throw your stuff in. Drawers pull out so you can see everything. I have to go back and look at your pictures again and DROOL! I am showing this post to my hubby…. and hint, hint, hint!! Enjoy cooking in your new kitchen. It’s downright BEAUTIFUL!! I also love your big window… I bet you can get some great photos there.
Have a great weekend! ~ Ramona
Ramona, thank you! I’m still putting the quartz counter top through its paces, so to speak. Quartz is not porous, so it would be difficult to stain. I have had blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries on it and if they left stains I can’t see them. I should dump some curry powder on it to see if that will stain it. As for cleaning, bleach should not be used on it. I’m like you, I used to use a bleach solution on my laminate counter top all the time. Quartz counter tops can be cleaned with mild detergent and a soft cloth…in other words, just wipe down the counter top during you are doing the dishes. I did some research on-line today and some people who have the lighter color counter tops say that they have had stains from wine if the wine sat on the counter top for a while, but that they clean up very easily. As for durability, the kitchen designer told us that this is supposed to be the most durable counter top material on the market. He said that it was the perfect blend of solid surface (like Corian) and granite. Still, use a trivet under hot pots and pans and use a cutting a board when cutting things. Then again, the quartz would damage a knife blade probably more than a knife blade would damage the quartz!
PS… your island is fantastic. I want to get a huge island too… I love the space it gives you to cook and not be crowded. Plus you can have more people in the kitchen during the holidays. Great idea getting rid of your kitchen table and making the island so big!!!
Oh how pretty! I love all the space you got with the cabinets and drawers. I just love the floor!
Congratulations! I love the choices you made. My dream kitchen would have white cabinets, too. May you enjoy many happy years of cooking in your beautiful new space!
Absolutely beautiful fabulous kitchen!!! I’m so happy for you. It really is classy. And functional. From the floors to the light fixtures. Nice job!!
Thank you, everyone, for your sweet comments. We had a house that we built in 1994 and it was to be our last house…the one in which we would spend the rest of our lives. I had a great kitchen in that house, one that held all of my kitchen needs. Then our lives changed and we moved to another state. Then our lives changed again and we found ourselves back in Utah in our current house. Life sometimes takes us on some strange journeys and we end up in circumstances that we could never have foreseen. I have mourned, really and truly, the loss of my favorite kitchen, but God has blessed me with a new one that I love even more. I am grateful.
Oh I love your new kitchen!!! That is basically my dream kitchen – I have always wanted a wall of windows instead of upper cabinets, and white cabinets are my favorite.
So glad you have such a pretty, welcoming space to cook for your family and friends.
This kitchen is stunning! I love everything about it , especially all of the storage and how you have it organized. I’m showing my hubby this as reference on how I want our kitchen to look like.
Fantastic! So beautiful. I’m so, so jealous.