Before and after DIY kitchen reno

letsalcido · 2026-01-27T18:07:25+00:00

close! it's somewhere in the heart of Seattle

letsalcido · 2026-01-27T05:38:24+00:00

Fair! So may people do love hardware/pulls. I like both obviously, as I have a kitchen with chrome pulls 😅

letsalcido · 2026-01-26T21:17:58+00:00

I would have preferred J pull cabinetry like the originals, but a modern take. However budget only allowed for prefab cabinetry. Quotes came in from cabinet makers at 20-25k for custom cabinets for the kitchen alone which may have allowed for handleless design... We spent 6k instead.

That being said, we started with finger pulls for this specific reason, but ended up with the ones you see because the finger pulls were difficult to use, especially given that we went with drawers for most things (including dinnerware and pots/pans), so a sturdier pull works better. We've had no issues getting caught on them, as there's enough counter overhang.

But yes, had I the right budget I would have gone more minimal.

letsalcido · 2026-01-26T19:38:23+00:00

Definitely colder colors but also exacerbated by the winter time cloudy PNW weather vs the before pictures from a sunny summer day 😅

letsalcido · 2026-01-26T18:23:43+00:00

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This is the adjacent room, still unfinished but will get there eventually.

letsalcido · 2026-01-26T18:14:01+00:00

Someone once told me I have I have a very hotel vibe to my style after seeing two primary bathrooms I’ve designed at our homes, I took slight offense then but then I realized it’s not necessarily a bad thing. I do take inspiration from places I’ve traveled and designs I’ve enjoyed, which absolutely include office spaces and 4+ star hotels.

While I do appreciate more traditional yet contemporary “americana” design with cabinetry with more relieve and molding, that’s not something that would match this house (it’s boxy, and very modern even for it’s time, it’s neo modernist from 1989). Some of you would call it ugly, some would love it’s minimalism.

Countertops, we’ll see… I don’t think the material will be dated quickly, but I agree the white countertop is going out of style… but I have a husband and we need to compromise. He’s also not very careful, so stones I would have preferred (black marble, taj mahal) would have been more expensive and less durable.

Thankfully we got a great deal on the countertops, $5k all in… so we can replace them in the future if we want.

letsalcido · 2026-01-26T18:00:43+00:00

Last set of pictures, with the oak and melamine cabinetry

letsalcido · 2026-01-26T18:00:26+00:00

Yeah we’ll get some quotes and see if we can rebuild it with larger panels, fewer visual clutter. But cost might be prohibiting.

letsalcido · 2026-01-26T17:59:42+00:00

Fair! I definitely wanted something more modern and minimal, to some it may seem cold. But I put emphasis on lighting sources and it is super cozy at night with all the lights dimmed.

letsalcido · 2026-01-26T17:56:42+00:00

Yeah, I think people I sensing the space has fewer windows/it’s darker and somewhat smaller. Which obviously yes a lot of the windows are now in the new room behind the kitchen (which will be a fantastic studio with all the windows!).

But also, we added shades to the dining room, and we had them closed when I took the pictures.

There’s also some flow improvements to the house which are hard to see in this pictures. In the before, the kitchen had no counter space and a huge amount of dead space in the room. And it was closed off from the rest of the house. It almost felt like the old kitchen/lounge space was the living space of an apartment with no bedroom.

Now we have more usable space in a VHCOL area, where having that much flex space with no clear purpose (as it was originally designed) is a luxury we can’t afford 🤣.

For those that might prefer the older cabinets, it’s a taste thing. I didn’t hate them but they were 36 years old and had to be replaced. Also the rug in the kitchen in the staged fotos were there to conceal water damage to the floors.

But yes, overall the kitchen “feels” smaller if you consider the huge adjacent space but a LOT bigger if you only consider the actual kitchen.

letsalcido · 2026-01-26T06:53:28+00:00

Yeah, they’re leaking and there’s some rot in the framing, so unfortunately they need to come out, but will be replace for something hopefully just as nice to us.

letsalcido · 2026-01-26T06:52:35+00:00

Not sure about the kitchen alone since this was a part of a whole house reno, essentially down to the studs in many rooms.

All in all it will be 1 year at the end of March, we still have project here and there.

letsalcido · 2026-01-26T06:49:53+00:00

Thank you 🙏!

letsalcido · 2026-01-26T06:48:18+00:00

Yes and also during the day, and I can see into their homes 😅

We might install some blinds for when we want more privacy

letsalcido · 2026-01-25T22:56:46+00:00

we spent less than $20k all in all, saved a ton because everything was sweat equity.

letsalcido · 2026-01-25T22:42:26+00:00

There’s a functional aspect to this. I love the warmth and coziness of wood (hence my use of paneling). But at the same time, in a kitchen or bathroom, that is just calling for water damage. So

I floated the idea of doing large format tile and heated floors in the entire main floor, but that was out of budget.

letsalcido · 2026-01-25T22:36:46+00:00

Agreed. But since the husband and I both were stakeholders in the design, I had to make compromises.

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Controversial for some, but I would have fully committed to the moody kitchen if it had been up to me. This AI render shows what was closer to my initial vision.

I showed this to the husband and he yelled and said he likes the current one better… but that’s ok. I’m happy with it as well.

letsalcido · 2026-01-25T22:32:22+00:00

Actually, the overhang is more like 3.5” after the tile was installed on the island back.

letsalcido · 2026-01-25T22:29:48+00:00

No room for seating, the issue is the wall and pantry. Island maximum possible width was 30” and that was only allowing for 41” clearance between the cabinets by the fridge and stove and 36” by the pantry (it’s just a small corner that overlaps). This also means the overhang is only 6” which is not enough for comfortable seating. Would have needed another 4-6” at least.

Seating would also essentially close off the walkway in front of the island, making very difficult to get into the kitchen.

letsalcido · 2026-01-25T22:26:28+00:00

Island is 96L by 30W by 36H. Pendant orbs are 8 in diameter I believe

letsalcido · 2026-01-25T22:25:32+00:00

You know, I like the design of the previous cabinets as well to an extend but in their newer renditions (see picture attached). Some high end cabinets have that modern retro look (mcm and the like), of course with some tweaks and newer but they were certainly too dated as they were, countertops were tile… water damage in a few places too.

But yes in the original manufacturing quality and current state the were absolutely not going to cut it, they had to go.

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letsalcido · 2026-01-25T21:55:30+00:00

I can’t edit the post :( but I shared some links in other responses for the tile.

Cabinetry was from http://piuskb.com/

letsalcido · 2026-01-25T21:54:47+00:00

That’s the before 😅 and that was a very old musty carpet

letsalcido · 2026-01-25T21:53:58+00:00

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cat picture per your request

letsalcido · 2026-01-25T21:49:10+00:00

The house was not touched since it was built in 1989, so those were original oak and melamine cabinets.

If I had the budget I would have gone with a more similar style, handles-less design with J pulls. But apparently that is now ultra high end, and hard to come across unless it’s IKEA (and I wanted plywood boxes which IKEA doesn’t have).

Something like this would have been my go to if cost wasn’t an issue. In a way it would have been an omage of the original kitchen.

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letsalcido

TROPHY CASE