Kitchen Final Reveal!!! Picture Perfect

It has been a hard and long 2 months! Wow, I can't believe it took us 2 months to get this thing finished. It is FINALLY DONE!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited to show all of you I had to post this before my big date tonight :)

BEFORE

AFTER

I can't tell you how pleased I am with the final result. Our projects ALWAYS come out BETTER than we had planned.

Remember how I originally had picked, and purchased, Tumbled Travertine as my backsplash? Well, my gut told me it was wrong, so I returned it and traded it for Porcelain, dark and contemporary tiles. LOVE IT!!! That was the best choice I made. And I am SOOOO lucky that Oregon Tile & Marble made the exchange, THANK YOU!

The Granite goes perfectly with our whole contemporary feel. Click HERE for my post on our DIY Granite Mini Slabs

My $10 Valances above my corner sink fit right in.

I am in love with my elegant Faucet that reminds me of Swan Lake. I can't believe I actually wanted to return it. I have fallen in love with it more everyday. I got it at Lowes for $200!!

I had so much fun Accesorizing my new kitchen:

Got 'em at Target

No, this knife set isn't new. I just spray painted the wood Oil Rubbed Bronze. A quick fix for it to look sleek and new.

See the "old" knife set to the right?

I wanted to add some accessories on the top of my cabinets. Just because I can't accesorize within 2 year old reach I had fun with this one! I still feel like I need to tweek it a little bit but I have time for that.

I added this plate for a POP of orange and to add some "Hawaii" to my life

I had to get that green in. Love that green.

I am just loving the look of my Kitchen Island Redo. It makes such a statement! Don't get distracted my the kids playing on the floor.... hehe

Lets have some fun with before and afters:

BEFORE

AFTER

More:

BEFORE

AFTER

And 1 more:

BEFORE

AFTER

Kitchen Facts:

• We DIY 100%. From the painting to installing the plumbing. Nothing was hired out (only my husband's hard labor...)
• The Kitchen Renovation was UNDER $3000 for the whole thing. I know, amazing.
• The Cabinet Paint color was a color match of Behr's Powdered Snow in Sherwin Williams Oil Based.
• Wall Color: Sherwin Williams Quiver Tan
  
• Click HERE on the tutorial for my "No Fear" way to paint your kitchen cabinets
• Granite Mini Slabs were Gialla Santa Cecilia
• Crowley's Tile and Edging bullnosed our mini slabs and cut the undermount sink
• Pam and Brian with Interiors Plus Flooring were the heroes in making this happen, THANK YOU!
• And a BIG THANK YOU to my sweet husband for pulling through. It was worth it!

Linking to:

Accessorizing around Your Kitchen Sink

First off- Happy Mother's Day! I have so much stuff to post but I never have time, so I had to wait until today to get one in (while hubby dresses the kids for church).

My corner kitchen sink and faucet are looking so beautiful after our remodel I had to redo all my accessories. I never was in love with my accessories before. A vase, a frame and some bottles of pasta was just something that could fill the space. Plus, I have quickly realized that when I hate the space I don't have much motivation to beautify it. But now I have more than motivation, I have inspiration!!!

I had been toying with some ideas for the blank space:

Some Candle Holders. These are from Pottery Barn.
I love this idea but wanted to use the candle holders for my family room on my buffet later.

I love these lanters. I was going to have 1 large lantern, a chunky candle and maybe a framed picture behind my sink. But for some reason I just didn't think this was the way to go (I want to use the lantern somewhere else! haha). PB again.

Adding a POP of color through these cheery flowers seems so fun. Especually by the sink while you do the most mundain job- dishes.

After all the ideas running through my head I headed to Michael's and in 15 minutes put together a perfect combination that works with my style, my budget, and my new kitchen.

I got 3 glass vases, all different sizes (the cheapest ones of course), and took them around the store with me and started filling them with things I loved (and things I could afford):

Green Apples. I LOVE green and I LOVE apples! Apples make me think of the kitchen and cooking and the bright green fills me with energy.

Willows and Marbles:

I had to sneak a pic of my cute daughter on Mother's Day :)

I took a $2 piece of Pussy Willow that my daughter is holding, and cut it up and placed them in the vase with Glass marbles on the bottom. The marbles remind me of water and the willows just, well, look cool and clean!

I had to add some dark rocks in there too. Rocks always remind me of a relaxing river. They are so Zen! Perfect next to the kitchen sink. Plus, I love the contrast of the dark rocks next to my green apples.

I love how it all turned out!
Ps. ignore the tile spacers in the background. The backsplash just needs to be grouted and we are DONE! YIPEEE!!!

The $10, 30 minute, Valance

 Because I am in love with the latest rage- Damask- I thought the perfect place to put the fabric print was over my kitchen sink.
I purchased the fabric from Warehouse Fabrics Inc. and went with Traditions Chocolate/Natural.  I purchased 2 yards (with free shipping) which came to just a tad over $10.

I followed Censational Girl's Valance Tutorial
 Great tutorial!  Easy and cheap as can be :) (again, no sewing needed. Just Stitch Witchery and a Staple Gun)

 I was making 2 valances in a corner window, it was a little more trickier.  I found that I needed to match my pattern or it would look wierd.  I layed my first cut valance right on top of the fabric to make my second cut so it would be exactly identical.

Before stapling my fabric to the wood pieces I layed them side by side to make sure they were perfectly matching.

Hubby hung them... he HATED this part.  He couldn't step on our new granite counters so he had to balance on the window sill.  Ya, he said he will never do that again (I hear that alot lately :) )

Here they are all hung and pretty. I love how they turned out!  You can't beat $10!!

Here is a sneak peak at the new backsplash that is going up!  I am so excited.  I opted against the tumbled travertine (I actually had bought it and had to return it the day before my husband was going to install it) and decided to go with this dark Porcelain tile, subway style.  It is really going to make a statement and add that contemporary flair to my kitchen.  Hopefully next week I can FINALLY show you all my finished kitchen!!! Crossed fingers!!!!!!!!!!!