Today I am going to share with you a lovely kitchen make-over. It was completed by my dear friend, Mary. (She just started blogging. Stop by and say “hi”. She has one of the cutest kids I have ever seen. I am not biased She also has a cute dog named Guinea Pig…Ike’s buddy.) We’ve been friends since the beginning of time. Seriously. We go way back…but not as far back as her original kitchen….

Check out that striped wall paper. It’s actually contact paper. Genius, I tell you! The cabinets had seen better days. As had the floor. And the bead board backsplash is the reason that I am hesitant to install one in my kitchen. Bead board and grease are not a good pair.

See that random jut-out next to the stove. That’s a pipe. A pipe that caused some remodeling woes…

Mary and her husband wanted to maximize their small kitchen space while still keeping true to the craftsman style of their home. (Their dining room has some amazing original woodwork.)…

To save space, they moved their sink to the corner to add some extra counter space.

They did bring in some professionals to tackle some of the more challenging projects. They hired a plumber to move that pipe to a better location. They also hired someone to install the drywall. Contact paper does not do good things to walls. They also needed an electrician to add more plug-ins and move the stove farther from the fridge. And they installed 2 new windows.

Even with all of the professionals involved, this kitchen make-over came in around $7000. Not too shabby!

Who’s headed to Mary’s house for supper tonight?

Do you have a before and after that you’d like to share? E-mail me! Don’t be shy!