I'm in L-O-V-E

Well, the big kitchen remodel is just about complete. It's been quite an adventure and I must say I'm pretty well spent. We began construction with the wood floors in June, then followed that straight into a new kitchen. My house has been a complete mess for 3 solid months and I must say, seeing the final product...it's been TOTALLY worth it because I'm in L-O-V-E love, love, love! People have mentioned that they've been looking for pictures of the stages of the project, but suffice it to say, I was just trying to stay above water without going crazy with the mess and disorganization, so the end product is all you get to see!

This is an up close picture of the backsplash with a sneak peak look at some under cabinet track lighting which gives off a beautiful glow at night. I LOVE my backsplash...I got to pick it out. It was a real bugger to install, and my dad was NOT happy with me, and I just kept saying, "But it will look so good!!!" Not much consolation to him when it took one whole day just to install it, and another whole day just to grout it and then he used his electric toothbrush to get excess grout out of the holes in the travertine tile (I bought him new heads for his toothbrush to try to suck up). But it looks SO good!!!!!

We must have been crazy to think we could re-use our old granite countertops. We had to have them re-cut since the lay-out was slightly different, so when the countertop guys came to take measurements they told me it would only be a little bit more in cost to get new countertops that would match my cabinets, appliances, and floor better than my old stuff. All I had to do was drive up to Nashville to look at the stone they had in stock. I found this Medina Brown stone and fell in love all over again. So, my backsplash is my first favorite thing about my new kitchen, but my countertops are a very close 2nd!

This is a good photo of the hanging pot rack and LCD flat screen tv with a dvd player on the side of it. Both things are things Daniel made executive decisions on without me (since I was out of town). He decided to ask forgiveness rather than permission since he knew I'd just use my veto power. I thought I'd humor him for a little while, then make him return the TV...I figured the pot rack would grow on me. But when we got back from my cousins wedding in NC, he already had the thing mounted on the wall. I felt like I couldn't do anything about it at that point. I will say that I love both features now, so he was right! He knows me better than I know myself! 

This is a good view of all my new stainless steel appliances. They are very nice, but I've become obsessive about keeping the fingerprints off of them. You can also see my new stainless steel DeLongi mixer in the corner (also something Daniel picked out, which I love). I love the spice drawers beside the oven and microwave. A nice feature that Daniel picked out for me. What a guy!

The tall cabinets along the left wall here are a semi-new feature. We used to have a desk along that wall as well as the tall cabinets, but it was just a major dumping zone, so we converted it into a whole wall of tall cabinets. The upper cabinet closest to the edge of the picture is my "phone booth." I didn't want to drill holes into the side of my brand new hickory cabinets to hang the phone, so I asked my dad to make me a phone booth. I think he thought I was nuts, but so far, I've really liked it...it keeps all the junk hidden. We also put one of these tall cabinets in the breakfast room for the cereal and cereal bowls, etc.

So I told Daniel we are finished with home improvement projects for a little while. Don't worry, he's still got a whole list of things he wants to do...finish the room over the garage and build a dormer and put in skylights in it, build a new deck, replace the siding on the back of the house, la la la. I told him we need to take a break, and maybe pick another project to do in the spring. Besides, I'm totally over the extremely large trash bin in our driveway and I'm tired of repressing my Type A personality!!!! I have to say, that even though I was totally against doing the kitchen so soon after the floors, Daniel really came through for me. He picked out some amazing things and he really did try to keep my best interest in mind. But, I need to gain back control of my house!!!!! But don't you just LOVE the new kitchen???? Totally worth it! Thanks Bubs...i love you.