DIY

DIY Kitchen RemodelingBeen There - Done ThatHaving remodeled two kitchens in the last 5 years, here's some advice for Do-It-Yourself kitchen remodels. Don't.Seriously, unless you're an electrician, a plumber, a painter, and a carpenter, who can lay tile, and install cabinets, and granite countertops you're going to need help. In my case, I wasn't any of these. For my first kitchen remodel I hooked up with a designer. She saved me a lot of money with some great ideas and connected me with a general contractor. He took care of the trades while I took care of the materials with an assist or two from the designer.I later sold that house, and moved into a small older home that was perfect for us, but needed a complete update. In this case, I didn't use a designer. We did a complete gut job, but there was not much design work - just remove and replace. New floors, new paint, etc. In the kitchen we replaced everything, but kept the basic layout. If you choose to go this way, get ready for a very long process. In hindsight, I would have done everything the same, except I'd have hired a project manager to inspect the work in process and keep the job moving forward in a more timely fashion. If you decide to manage your own remodel, I'd recommend at a minimum that you stick with professionals for the work you can't handle yourself. I had a handyman scrape the popcorn ceilings,

Kitchen Remodel Before and After Photos by Ever and Anon Photography Here's a before and after kitchen that caught my eye. It was recently featured in Country Living Magazine. The home owner, Kaylor Little has a furniture repair/refinishing business Fisherman's Wife Furniture, and manufactures some pieces herself. Ms. Little conceived this new kitchen and did much of the work herself. I'd call the kitchen Basic Builder Standard -1990's. It's a simple, compact U-shaped kitchen with builder grade everything. It really caught my eye in the before/after photos that the owner appeared to have changed out everything, but left the layout untouched. However, the original cabinets were not changed out, but were painted white. The accent color, a robin egg blue, is carried from the kitchen's blue subway tile backsplash to the adjacent room. Very simple, very nice, and a very needed touch of color. Countertops were replaced from a standard builder laminate to DIY made butcher block. Photos by Ever and Anon Photography Light fixtures were updated to a retro diner look, and all appliances were upgraded from white to stainless steel. The range was upgraded to a double oven range, and the new refrigerator is a counter-depth French Door model with ice and water dispenser through the door. This DIY owner rightfully gives herself a big pat on the back for choosing a counter-depth refrigerator for more aisle space in the kitchen. She also enclosed the refrigerator to give it a built-in look, added some crown moulding, and replaced