The Final Cost

My new kitchen is complete and the grand total for the entire renovation is $14,631.97. I kept track of every single purchase that went towards the kitchen and this includes every screw, nut and bolt.

I'm going to need some time to recover from months of hard work but I think it was worth it because I saved lots of money by doing it myself.  The only job I didn't attempt was the drywall installation and finishing.

Here's how the money was spent:

Wall Tile, Floor Tile and materials including saw rental -            $2,133.09

Extra Deep Stainless Steel Sink -                                                          $369.95

Kohler Faucet and Instant Hot -                                                           $478.08

Kitchen Lights -                                                                                        $251.00

Plumbing Supplies (pipe, pex clamp rental, fittings, valves, etc.) -  $204.36

Electrical Supplies (romex, outlets, breakers, switchplates, etc.) -  $390.26

Lumber (including Appleply for custom bookshelf ) -                       $1,017.29

Venting for Range Hood -                                                                        $62.31

Cabinet Hardware -                                                                               $288.00

Drywall, Paint and Labor -                                                                     $2,411.01

Ikea Cabinets and Caesarstone Quartz Countertops -                         $6,564.64

Misc. purchases (plumb bob, twine, plastic sheeting, saw blades,

              construction adhesive, respirator, caulk, etc.) -      $461.98
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Grand Total -                                                                                            $14,631.97                                                                            

Kickplates And Baseboards

The kickplates match the color and finish of the cabinets.

I finished installing the baseboards and cabinet kickplates today. Now there's just a bit of touch up painting to do and my kitchen will be officially done.

Good thing too since I promised my daughter Eleanor that I would be done before school starts and I'm barely going to make it  - school starts on September 4.

To protect the finish, the Ikea kickplates came wrapped in blue plastic. Installing them really wasn't too hard. Just careful measuring and cutting and then snapping them onto the cabinet legs using provided plastic clips.

I used 8-inch hemlock boards painted with high gloss white for the baseboards.  This is the finished base of my pantry cabinet.

Everything Works

The tiny plastic piece that does so much. Without it, the spray hose doesn't stay connected to the supply hose.

The tiny plastic piece missing from my new Kohler faucet was delivered yesterday and within minutes I had the spray hose and supply hose securely connected and a finally a working faucet.

Mission accomplished!

It was a great moment for me because it meant that everything in my new kitchen was working. Now it's a rush to the finish line with baseboards, cabinet kick plates and touch up painting.

The big reveal is just around the corner and I'll share the final cost of my remodel.

A Working Dishwasher!

After a long day of work, I got to load and run my dishwasher!

My dishwasher is installed and back in working order. It's so exciting for me because I'm anxious to clean clean clean and start putting things away.

On the downside, my kitchen faucet is yet to be hooked up due to a missing tiny plastic tab that keeps the sprayhead hose connected to the supply hose. I called Kohler and they are mailing the part. In the meantime, I'm using my instant hot faucet with the heating tank unplugged to get water into the sink.

Another setback was that I wasn't able to attach the drain basket that came with my sink because it extended a good 3-inches below the sink that's already 10-inches deep. I should have moved my drain pipe lower when I had my walls opened. It would have been so easy to do, but at that time, I hadn't ordered my sink and didn't know I was going to be lured by one of the deepest sinks on the market.

I found my hidden talent -  I can fit into a cabinet and use a hacksaw to cut a pipe.

My friend Bill was once again super helpful and supportive. When things don't go as planned I've learned that that's okay, there's always another way to get things done.

Our solution was to go to A-Boy and purchase another basket that matches the finish of the sink. We found one that extends only an inch below the sink and just barely fits.

In hindsight, I now know it's best to choose your sink before you drywall and install a cabinet over your plumbing. Also, a deep sink is great but you've got to have the space for it.

Filling The Drawers

Today I'm filling my new kitchen drawers with the help from my daughter Eleanor. This morning we made a trip to Ikea together for organization supplies.

At Ikea we found shallow plastic trays for 1.49 each and two fit perfectly side by side in my 15-inch drawers. We also found deeper clear plastic containers for the same price and we are using them as separators in the larger 36-inch drawers.

An efficiently organized drawer. Food colorings, sprinkles and extracts could spill and make a mess so it's good to have them contained in a plastic container.

Inside each of the deep containers are sugars and sprinkles, food colorings, extracts and pastry bags. The former are items that could potentially spill and make a mess so I like having them contained to help keep the new drawers clean. I also like that the containers are easy to lift out of the drawers.

I like that these deep clear plastic containers are easy to pull out of my drawers. I also like that they only cost 1. 49.

At Ikea we also purchased a cool shallow spice holder for 3.99 that I like a lot. It will be so much easier to find what I need since I used to have my spices in a cabinet that was deep and inefficient. Now I won't have to practically pull every spice out to find the one I want.

No more struggling to find spices with this cool spice rack that lays flat. I also have space for all my cupcake papers. I stored them upside down so I can see the designs and sizes better and quickly find what I want.

Toiling, er, Tiling

I've been working pretty much nonstop this last week, finishing the large tile wall in my kitchen. Cutting the tiles to fit around my two windows went slower than expected. I had to cut some very tiny pieces of tile for small gaps that needed to be filled.

Just one of many small pieces of tile I had to cut.

The tile all set and ready for grout.

Wednesday evening, I added the grout. I chose a color called quartz that is a pretty close match to my countertops.

Grouting.

What I didn't expect though was how long it has taken me to clean the excess grout off of the tiles. After two solid days of work and help from my friend Bill, my nephew Sam and my daughter Una and her boyfriend Jordan, the tile is looking good but my hands are a mess.

Una and Jordan cleaning tiles.

After nonstop tile work, my friend Bill lifted my spirits today by helping me move my oven into place and hook up the water line to my refrigerator.  I'm feeling much better now that I have two appliances in place and cold water and ice at my beck and call.

The dishwasher is next.

New Countertops

The day I've been waiting for - new countertops.

My new Caesarstone quartz countertops were installed today and I'm so pleased - the color (eggshell) compliments the cream color of my Ikea Abstrakt cabinets and the look is clean and modern.

The installers were exceptionally nice and didn't seem to mind that my friend Bill and I were hovering and asking lots of questions. Watching professionals work is a great way to learn.

Things are taking shape.

A Dozen Drawers

Eight of my dozen drawers.

I spent Monday of this week assembling and installing my Ikea kitchen drawers. The process got easier after the first few but it still took me nearly a whole day to finish twelve drawers.

I think the hardest part was attaching the rails for the drawers in my 18-inch cabinet since there wasn't much room and I practically had to crawl inside.

Another frustration for me was the poor quality of the screws Ikea provides. The heads strip so easily. At first I thought I could use a screw bit in a power drill but the metal just wanted to shred. I couldn't risk stripping a head so much that I couldn't get it out that in the end I decided I'd just have to suffer through and tighten all the screws by hand.

Now that the drawers are in, I'm happy that the experience is over and excited about the next step - installation of my quartz countertops.

Ikea madness.

It was a bit of a struggle attaching the rails in the small 18-inch cabinet.

Two in, two more to go.

Looking good.

Room For More Cookbooks

My cookbooks are on my new bookshelf and I can't believe it but I actually have room for more.

Before, I didn't have adequate storage to keep my collection all in one place. It's so nice to have them together, organized and at hand. Yeah! Things are coming together.

My baking and chocolate cookbooks are the ones I use the most so I put them on the lower shelves so they're easy to reach.

Finished Bookshelf

My cookbook shelf— I did discover I was short four shelf standard clips so that's why there's one shelf sitting upright in the right section.

Being smart means knowing when to ask for help.

I discovered that when I tried to rip 8-foot by 14-inch pieces of heavy 3/4 applyply on my table saw. I managed to get one piece onto the saw but smartly didn't even attempt the cut which would have surely been uneven because of the unruly size of the board. Heck, while I was supporting the wood I couldn't even manage to turn the saw on.

So I put the board down and made a desperate call for help to my friend Bill.

With his help, the boards were cut down to the correct width (11-inches) in no time and ready to be cut again crosswise into shelving. After a final sanding and oiling, the new bookshelf is complete and ready to house my cookbook collection.

The sideview of the bookshelf. The quartz countertop will be flush with the back

I am so pleased with how it looks and love that it's the first thing you see when you enter the new kitchen. The grain of the maple appleply is beautiful and the tone of the wood is warm and compliments the cool blue tiles that will be the last thing I install.

The wood and tile look great together.

Plugging Away

There is still much work to be done before my kitchen remodel is finished.

Some of the tasks are small (touch up painting on the windows and sealing grout) and some are large (installing the hood over the range and building a soffit to hide the venting).

Nevertheless, I'm keeping very busy plugging away and scratching items off my to do list.

Prepare for undermount sink installation - check.

Assemble and install wall cabinets - check. (Note: The blue is just the color of the protective plastic over the cream finish.)

Assemble and install pantry cabinet - check.

Today I'm putting the cover panels on my cabinets and deep cleaning the hood for my range so that it is ready for install. One of the ways I'm keeping the cost of my remodel down is by reusing my appliances and the hood is one of them. It just needs a thorough cleaning.

Next Monday I'm scheduled to have a template made for my quartz countertops. The installers are running behind schedule so unless there's a cancellation, they won't be installed until July 30. After that I will just need to install the cabinet doors, drawers and hardware and add my pretty blue mosaic tiles to the back wall.

Doing the work myself definitely adds time and effort to the project but it saves a lot of money and is satisfying.

According to a recent Washington Post article, the National Kitchen & Bath Association says the average cost of a 2013 kitchen remodel is $47,308. And according to Remodeling Magazine (2010-11 report), the average cost in the Pacific Northwest is $65,686.

The end is of my kitchen remodel is near and I'm still well under $14,000. When everything is done, I'll share the breakdown of my budget.

It Takes Two

My husband and I will not let this project be our undoing. We are just one week away from celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary and are determined to get through this with our love intact.

My husband Joe and I are conquering the Ikea kitchen cabinets together and in our bid to stay positive we have dubbed the project "Operation Adult Legos."

The cabinet building process is definitely a two person job and I'm thankful to have his help.

Before we even began the assembly we had to devote a few hours just to itemizing our materials because once a kitchen cabinet purchase is made, Ikea gives the customer a mere 48 hours to report missing pieces.

It's a motivating policy but it's also kind of overwhelming since there are so many parts.

Let the itemizing begin!

New Lights

Still no cabinets but I installed the kitchen lights today and they work. The photo above shows just three of them. There are two more of the polished chrome based fixtures in the entryway.

I ordered the schoolhouse style light from LightingDirect.com and am very pleased even though one of the shades was delivered broken. Customer service at the company has been great though and a replacement shade in on its way.

Cool White

The kitchen wall paint has been purchased and "Cool White" it is - there just was no denying that with its blue undertones it was the one that best compliments my mosaic wall tiles.


I am anxious to finish the painting this weekend. I even think a trip to Ikea for the cabinets is in the very near future.

Which White?

Since purchasing my blue mosaic wall tiles, I've known that I want the walls of my new kitchen to be white so that the bold color of the tiles stands front and center.

Now the only question is which white? There are so many whites to choose from and what's even more confusing is how they change in different light.

While pondering my white paint chart inside I decided to take it outside into natural light. Whoa! Suddenly all the colors changed. Inside I preferred "soft white" but outside it looked too peachy and I leaned more toward the slight grey-toned "light fog."
  
I've got a few more hours to think before I need to head to the paint store and make a final choice. 

Almost Ready For Paint

The arched entryway and Eleanor before heading off to her last day of school.

Today is my daughter Eleanor's last day of school before summer break and I promised her that the kitchen will be done before she starts eighth grade.

The new walls are almost ready for primer and paint. I am especially pleased with how the new arched entryway is looking.

In the meantime, we are still using our dining room as a makeshift kitchen. I am so looking forward to not having a refrigerator in the middle of the room.

Kitchen remodeling definitely requires patience, flexibility and a sense of humor. At this point I wish I could just snap my fingers and be done but it doesn't work that way.

Window Trim

While removing the old plaster walls from my kitchen, it was necessary to remove some sections of the window trim. And, as careful as I was, I wasn't able to salvage every piece.

So after a bit of measuring, a trip to the hardware store and $43 spent on lumber, I cut and attached new trim pieces to blend in with the old on my four kitchen windows.  It was an easy two hour job and I saved hundreds by doing it myself.

Now the trim just needs and bit of sanding and a few coats of fresh glossy white paint. 

Kitchen Wall Tile

I'm still without drywall on my kitchen walls. I'm a few days behind schedule despite working hard every day.

The work is exhausting but what keeps me going is the thought of these pretty blue mosiac tiles covering an entire wall. I purchased the ceramic tiles on overstock.com and am so pleased with them. I was hesitant to buy something not seen in person but decided to just take a chance and go for it and it paid off.

The bright blue color will be a nice complement to my cream cabinets and white walls. I also love that the blue color varies slightly from tile to tile. I think the color variation adds a lot of interest.

The tiles cost just over $13 a square foot and the shipping was free. I can't wait to have the drywall up so I can get these on the wall.

More Discoveries

The walls, ceiling and floor are gone from my kitchen and the rebuilding is about to begin.

Gutting the kitchen filled a 20 yard dumpster with 6380 pounds of wood and plaster. Next up is electrical work, insulating the exterior walls and drywall.

While removing the plaster from the ceiling I made a few more discoveries. 

A Scholastic Composition Book From 1934:

Because the book was buried in the ceiling and not exposed to light, it's in pretty great condition.

Beautiful penmanship.

A One Pound Van Duyn's Confection Box:

I couldn't find a date on the box but VanDuyn is a Portland Company that was started in 1927 and is still in business today. When I mentioned to my friend Anne what I had found she said she's had Van Duyn chocolate and it is very good.

All the papers from the candy were still in the box.

A vintage crumb.

Clothes Hanger From Allyn's:

A hanger from Allyn's. I couldn't find any history of the business online but I know it's old because of the phone number - EAST 0123.

Bowerman Meat Company Business Card:

Once again I couldn't find anything about this business online. I'm going to have to ask around.