Aside from one or two minor details, our kitchen redo is finished. It seemed like it took forever, but it really was under three weeks. However, it’s hard to have all of your cabinets emptied and in boxes all around the house. I’m glad it’s finished both because I really like it and done!

Here’s a picture from before…

And here’s a picture from the present. I was able to save my backsplash with the countertop replacement. It’s still a country kitchen, but it’s so much lighter.

Here’s a photograph of the base cabinets up close. Jon Larson of Refined Finishes in Mendota spray painted my doors and drawer fronts. I brush painted the rest. The paint was Benjamin Moore’s Advance paint, and the green is a Valspar color mix called Leafy Rise. I reused my hardware.

On the opposite side of the room, I left that row of cabinets natural cherry but interrupted them with the new shiplap range hood that Mike made. It’s painted with Benjamin Moore Advance paint in a Sherwin Williams color mix called Vanillin. We haven’t added the crown molding to the range hood yet. I may paint a few of these cabinets but right now, I’m tired of painting and do not want to think about it.

Tom Harmon is a custom cabinet maker in the Tri-Cities area, and I could not have done all of this without Tom. He added the crown molding and modified the cabinets so that they were exactly what I wanted without buying all new cabinets.

Here’s an example. This is the before. The fretwork was dated and this little shelf area was a dust catcher. You can also see the old countertops and the cast iron sink. I’m reusing that sink in the guest house.

Tom just ripped those spindles and shelves off. I realized that each cabinet is really just a box — not so mysterious. Now that area is enclosed.

The front side now has this bar and hooks. I can change things out seasonally or as I want to.

The other big change was removing this…

And adding the open shelves. It gave the whole room a lift. That is my mother’s gravy bowl which is the only thing of hers that I have. Each time I see it, I think of her and am grateful for having the good fortune to have her as my mother.

Aside from a few minor touch ups and some additional painting such as the pantry door, the kitchen is done.