OUR FRENCH FARMHOUSE KITCHEN REVEAL

OUR KITCHEN - JUNE 2016

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Today is the day!  I'm finally going to share with you the AFTER photos of our complete KITCHEN NIGHTMARE RENOVATION!  Now..before I begin I first want to tell you that the MAJORITY of the makeover was finished last summer.  It's taken my Mr. AGP Man and I nearly twelve months to get our heads back together and recoup from this enormous, do-it-your-selfer project.

THE BEGINNING

(January 2012)

As I go along I'm going to TRY and show the old pictures taken during the process and correlate them with where we are today!

KITCHEN ENTRY 2012

When my Mr. AGP Man opened up this wall and saw all the manifold of pipes I thought he was going to faint (they were in concrete!).  They had to be moved and barely fit in with our plans.  A pocket door was going to be installed to the right of the pipes and once the pipes were in place it ended up being a really tight fit!

KITCHEN ENTRY 2016

KITCHEN ENTRY RIGHT 2016

KITCHEN ENTRY RIGHT 2012

KITCHEN LEFT SIDE 2016

KITCHEN LEFT 2012

ENTRY TO DOWNSTAIRS BATH AND LAUNDRY ROOMS

(This is a painted Pocket Door)

LOVE THIS SINK

LOVE OUR ISLAND

One major change in our plans was NOT using the vintage counter for our island!  After we brought it home from Tennessee we realized that it just wasn't what we were looking for and opted for a change.  Found this amazing one at TJ MAXX for a few hundred dollars.  It's on wheels and can lock in place.  I may paint it one day...and then again...I may not.

I love the contrast! 

 GRANITE COUNTER TOPS and

FARMHOUSE PULLS 

 Choosing our counter tops was challenging.  We had a budget...wanted granite...maybe quartz.  Ended up choosing a granite I didn't feel I would grow tired of...I have to live with it for a long time.  

Found the pulls at Hobby Lobby!  Bought them one-half off and they ended up costing us about one-third of the pulls I first found online.  We bought several extra just in case one breaks...  They are an easy change out if I ever decide on a different look or decor.  

OUR STAINLESS FRIDGE

(Glad the White Monster in the Room is GONE!)

 THIS AREA WAS ONCE MY LAUNDRY ROOM CUBBY)

 POCKET DOORS LEAD TO OFFICE (L) AND PANTRY (R)

CUTTING OUT THE FIRST POCKET DOOR OF THREE (3) (The WORK was HUGE!)

The area my hubby is standing in was once our downstairs bathroom.  It was only a half-bath.  We opted to add a full size bath and a full laundry room once the kitchen was almost done!

STILL A LONG WAY TO GO - 2nd DOOR INSTALLED!

LOTS OF WIRING and RIP-OUTS!

 FACTORY CABINETS MY HUBBY CUSTOMIZED

 EARLY SHOT OF CABINETRY INSTALLED

(Still LOTS to Do!  Headers & Crown Molding Still to Go!)

   

RIP OUT!

When I see this early shot of my Mr. AGP Man working to the bone, it leaves me amazed and so proud of what he was able to do.  Had I truly understood the amount of back-breaking labor that was required, I don't think I would have ever entertained the idea of him doing all the work alone.

MY BELOVED...KILLING HIMSELF! :(

This may sound corny...but, I hope I'm a better wife today after seeing ALL the sacrifices he made to make our dreams of a beautiful new kitchen come true!

CHANGES ALWAYS ONGOING!

An early shot taken before the French pocket door was installed.  It was a HUGE job!

Yes...we lived like this for a long, long time!

MY MISS K and I in 2014

We really did live and work in the kitchen during the construction.  We just made do!

It was hard...but, we did it!

 HYDRANGEAS & A VINTAGE BUTTER MOLD, GRINDER & SCALE!

 THESE VINTAGE FINDS FROM MY MR. AGP MAN'S GRANDMOTHER!

 MY FAVORITE IN THIS BUNCH?

 THE NOODLE CUTTER!

 CANISTERS

I've had this canister set for a few years.  You can actually see them in other photos as the remodel was being done!

 OLD TRAY FROM A TEA CART

I still love white...lacy stuff, French, farmhouse and all things tattered and romantic.  I love the added black touches, even though sometimes I miss the pink rose decor I used (and loved) for years.

 

 OF COURSE I HAVE A TV IN MY KITCHEN!

I thought long and hard about adding a television to my kitchen.  In the end my guy wired for it ahead of time...just in case!  So glad he did.  I listen to music and sometimes watch cooking or taped shows when time permits!

A CRAIGSLIST FIND

Found this antique cabinet on Craigslist for $40 about 18 months ago.  It fits right in between the pantry door and kitchen entry opening.  I store tea-towels in the drawers and all sorts of other kitchen stuff!

 Just so you don't have to scroll up, here are the main pics again!

 I'm linking this post to all of the previous kitchen posts about our remodel if you want to check out the process...

 And so my friends...there you have it!  A beautiful renovation that took more blood, sweat and tears than it did money.  It took my Mr. AGP Man a long time to finish the renovation as he only worked on it all part-time.  When we started the demolition in 2012 he was just getting ready to go back to school to finish up a long-awaited degree in Computer Science...that meant only working on the kitchen on weekends.  In December of that same year he graduated with honors...and we were back on schedule with our big project!

Then...in July of 2013 he was laid-off after 17 years at his IT job at Xerox.

  

Things ground to a halt at that time.  Even with severance, we measured our money carefully.  As a result we lived with (and in!) a mess for quite a while.

That December my Father-in-Love passed away.

In January of 2014 my guy started a wonderful new job and we were so grateful to finally be back on track (again) with our makeover plans.

Then, in February 2014 my own dearly loved Father passed away.

By the time January 2015 was over, we were well on our way to having our dream kitchen completed.

I haven't shared much about the cost...but if our records are even close to being accurate, we believe the final price-tag came in around $10K.  That amount doesn't include the new fridge, microwave or the new dishwasher...but, it does include everything else.  

Customized Cabinets

Wiring and Plumbing

Flooring (Hand Scraped Wood)

Sheet Rock

Paint

Window

Trim (Baseboards, Crown, Molding)

Hardware

Lighting

Sink

Faucet

Granite Counter Tops

and

Incidentals

Would we do it over?  Well, probably.  Monday-morning quarterbacking is easy to do when you're on the other side of victory (or loss!).  

What I know today is that we increased our property value by at least $75K - $85K and that was before adding in the new bathroom and laundry room.  Monetarily is was wonderful.  Physically it was grueling.  

We are glad it's over.

Some things, no, many things didn't go as planned.

I opted to NOT get the expensive stove I dreamed about having.  In the end it wasn't important to me as we just wanted everything done and CLEAN again.  I may still get it later as the stove/oven I have isn't all that great.

I was disappointed about not being able to use the vintage counter as our island.  But, even that little disruption wasn't really upsetting.

  That said...I LOVE LOVE LOVE my new Kitchen and I'm so thankful, grateful and over-the-moon-HAPPY that it's completed.  This summer my hubby and I are going to California for a much deserved vacation.  We haven't really had one since the renovation began. 

On a side note...it's good to be back...taking ownership once again of the life God has blessed me with!

Just so you know...I've missed you all.

Love to you~

Rebecca   

  

 

BEGINNING AGAIN...

MY BOOTH AT SERENDIPITY MARKET, EDMOND, OK

To my Blogger friends...however many of you might still be out there~  I'm sitting here thinking...Oh my gosh...not sure I even remember how to do this!!!  Yeah...it's been a while now...

Honestly, I don't know where to begin...sitting here typing upon my old familiar keyboard feels a bit awkward.  I've been away from it for so very long - too long.   I'm struggling to begin...  I had to go back and look at my last blog post to even know where I had left off.  Life sometimes gets in the way of life if you're not careful.

 

Yeah...it's been a while now...

 

Oh...I think I already said that~

The past couple of years have been such a learning experience for me.  Lots of ups and downs with so much change...allota stuff to muddle through.  I've discovered I'm not all that good with change.

 

Still, the world offers up it's challenges sometimes, right?  

I am pressing on.

MORE FROM MY BOOTH AT SERENDIPITY

I've been really busy working outside my home now that our kitchen remodel is finished and I can't begin to tell you how happy my Mr. AGP Man and I are that it's over.  It was such a big job...no...an enormous job!  I've heard it's best to never say "never again"...but, I'm sayin' it.

 

Especially so when, right in the middle of a MAJOR project, the main source of your income comes to an end.

 

Never Again.  And I mean it.  My guy and I survived the beginning and ending of this massive makeover aka: overhaul.  It left us exhausted.

And we are still trying to recover.  

Do-It-Yourself shows make it look so easy...and fast.

It's not!

I've haven't posted the final reveal pictures of what is now a beautiful Farmhouse Style Kitchen.  But, I will.

This week.

I promise.

A SWEET OLD CHEST

 

I still have my Booth at Serendipity Market, in Edmond, Oklahoma, and it continues to take up a great deal of my time.  I finally re-opened my website and it's feels good to dip my toes back into the online business side of my life.  Kind of weird as I've been away from it as well~  But, strangely normal, too.

MY PORCH WREATH

 

What is it that tugs us away from the things we claim to love?  I haven't figured that out yet...but I'm going to. 

 

To all of you, my longtime personal, business and online friends, thank you so much for the notes and emails over the past several months (that ended up stretching into more than a year)...  Bless you for helping me...praying for me... and carrying some of burdens.

 

You know who you are.  And you are loved.

I will begin again. 

Love to you~

REBECCA

 

  

 

 

~A SWEET VINTAGE WHITE BED~

Good morning all...

I've been a busy lady of late and so glad I've gotten off the merry-go-round of life for a bit.  Returned from a whirlwind trip to Tennessee a week ago where my Mr. AGP Man and I helped my big sister with an estate sale.  She sold off tons and tons of her personal property (downsizing to a small home) and also the remaining merchandise left over from her vintage home decor and apparel business.  I've never seen so much stuff in my life and my guy and I are beyond happy the trip (and the work) are over.

Came home with some wonderful things to sell in my booth, some fabulous old finds, vintage lace pieces, lamps, furniture and also that fabulous antique counter my hubby will be transforming into our new kitchen island.  It's going to take some work to refurbish so I won't be sharing it for a while.  But...hopefully before Christmas...

The bed in the photo above (my local booth) is one I hauled home from the estate sale.  Originally my sis had it painted black.  I actually liked it black, but...I'm still loving vintage whites and all things tattered and worn and those things still sell well for me here.  So...white with a bit of glaze won out!  I snapped the picture late last night, but I'm sure missing the natural light that usually comes through the windows...

Hope this finds you well...  Maybe one day I'll get back to blogging more regularly.  Right now I'm excited about starting Christmas Stockings for 2015.  Tattered vintage and antique laces and lots of linen and trims.  Yum!

Love to you~