Kitchen demolition

Wednesday Peter & our counter top man, Marvin, tore out the old counter tops.
I knocked out backsplash.

Only the backspash tile didn't all come off nice and clean.
Some of it was so glued on it took the drywall with it, especially along one wall.
There is something about peering down into the skeletal remains of your cabinets and realizing just how much of construction is just a facade that really pushes your panic button. In other words, are we really going to be able to put this back together?

It was about this point I really began to wonder just why I was doing this at all. The meltdown started that night right after Peter left for a two day seminar in Park City. As I studied the gaping holes in my wall I couldn't help thinking, there had really been nothing wrong with the kitchen before! What the heck was I doing? But as the counter people left and I was able to stand back and really see it I knew it was going to look great when we were done.

So here they are. That big section there was in two pieces and it was brutal just watching the five guys strain to manhandle them in. They are absolutely gorgeous.

Here is the sink before:

with special attention on the stained caulking:


I had only seen the new sink as a small picture in a catalog and was shocked at how big it was when they brought it in. I absolutely love it. It almost makes me excited to do the dishes.
OK, who am I kidding. You know it does.

And here is the sink now. Isn't my faucet pretty?

Here is my old tile, complete with sixteen year old grout:

And here is the new counters.
I can't believe how much color is in the quartz!
I think it looks beautiful against the white cabinets.

I spent the entire day yesterday and most of today remounting the cabinets and drawers with new hinges, rollers, and knobs for the cabinets. My friend Shawn, who is an angel from above, came to help me for a couple of hours yesterday, but I still ended up spending hours and hours more of agonizing and redrilling and scrutinizing.
For the record, I'm never doing that again.

We still have the backspash, the bead board around the island and the bar, and the drawer pulls but I think it already looks amazing. So much brighter and cleaner!
Maybe I'm shallow, but I really do get a lot of enjoyment out of these home improvements and the kitchen is where I spend so much of my time. I couldn't be more pleased. I think all my backbreaking work has been well worth it!
For a budget renovation I think we've really added value too.
But who cares? I never want to move now anyway.