About our remodel --with "before" pictures

Our poor little kitchen was in desperate need of a remodel. We bought our bicentennial aged house (built in 1976) in 2004. The only new thing in the kitchen was hideous white linoleum. Our first steps taken toward the remodel took place in November 2007 when tore down a weird "wall" between the kitchen and living area (you can see how the "wall" looked on the day we moved in) . We took that down when we put wood floors in our living room. The wall held power, water (baseboard heating) and a phone line. I was able to barter the electrical and plumbing work from existing clients, so that really did not cost out of pocket (my brother moved the phone line for free. Thanks Mike :)

The real remodel began in earnest a few weeks ago when I found an entire set of knotty pine cabinets on craigslist for under $500. We couldn't afford not to remodel with that kind of bargain. Interestingly enough my mom knows the lady (Janet) who has the cabinets. Janet is remodeling her own kitchen and informed us that her new cabinets would arrive in 6 weeks (for that bargain price we have to remove and haul the cabinets from her house). Excellent! We now have a deadline for our remodel. Sometimes you need a deadline to motivate you-- especially when it involves grunt work. Speaking of grunt work, our 19 year old son, Chase, is around. Perfect timing! The challenge? Remodel our entire kitchen for $5,000. I think it can be done.