Kitchen Finale

Ok. I think we're done… with the tiling and grouting of the backsplash, I think we can call the kitchen a "completed" project…

Again, thanks to Eric at Heath for the great edging suggestion. You can see the aluminum cap in some of the photos below. With the mix of light (Halogen, Shade/Daylight, Florescent), the tiles themselves look a bit pink (and the cabinets a bit green) in the photos, but in person, it's a nice scheme. Eventually, I'll pull out the real camera for some centerfold shots… (the previous kitchen post has more even lighting).

(More pictures after the jump)

One of the things I'm most proud of with the kitchen is that we did it ourselves (with the help of a few friends). This is a special point to highlight as the attention to detail in the assembly and installation was significant. We approached it as it were fine built-in cabinetry, not knock-down assembly and the effort really paid off. You can click through the assembly posts to see the details, but we did quite a few things that a typical installer might not. For instance, instead of using the thinner filler strips to cover the space where the cabinets meet the adjacent walls, I used doors ripped down to the necessary width. This means that the plane of cabinet faces is quite smooth/even (and the edges match). It was also a bit more expensive as each door only yielded two strips (one from each side).

We didn't move anything, so there was very little foundational work to be done. All in all, I'd guess the cost — just for the kitchen — was under $20K. Granted, there was a lot (lot) of sweat equity put in and it was the longest part of the renovation, but the raw costs were not huge:

• Cabinetry: Ikea Nexus Yellow Brown / $4.5K (counting the gas back/forth to Ikea — quite a few trips)
• Appliances: Bosch / dishwasher, oven, microwave, fridge and cooktop / $8K
• Countertop: Silestone (through Home Depot) / $2.5K
• Sink and Faucet: Blanco and HansGrohe / $500
• Flooring: Armstrong VCT (run through the whole house) / $500 for this area
• Backsplash: Heath / $300 (modern basics)
• Electrical + Drywall/prep: All Bright Electrical (and us) / $1K
• Plumbing (me) / $300 (disposal, etc.)
• New window: Milgard / $500
• New pre-hung fire-door: Home Depot / $250
• Paint, caulk, tools… hard to judge, but not a budget buster…

To make this the "definitive" kitchen post, here's a few quick links to past updates:

• The "proof of concept" (as our friend Wesley calls it)
• The initial planning
• Some up-close install pictures
• After the major install
• Some trimming ideas
• After the countertops
• Backsplash install