Gorgeous kitchen renovation

http://www.designspongeonline.com/2009/07/before-after-a-tale-of-2-kitchens-a-bath.html#more-26386

Design*Sponge is one of my favorite ways to waste vast amounts of time.

"maria of vintage simple said it took about four months worth of weekends (and a whole week in december during the holidays) to get her kitchen where she wanted it. she ripped out “hideous” tile countertops and replaced them with ikea butcher block counters, took out the lower cabinets and put in place unfinished, off-the-rack oak cabinets from lowe’s (which they painted and distressed), put in a new farmhouse sink (ebay), faucet (ditto), and appliances (craigslist, friend’s cast-off, lowe’s). whew! for the upper cabinets, maria took out a couple of doors and added period details with moldings, brackets and trim, then covered some of the remaining glass doors with pretty fabric and painted the fronts of a couple of solid doors with chalkboard paint. then they added beadboard all around and put up vintage tin tile for the backsplash and as a detail on the vent hood over the stove. in the unused space next to the fridge wall, they made a built-in bench and hung a vintage chandelier (but painted it blue-gray) and an old beveled mirror, and bought a round table from ikea (”some day, I hope to be able to afford a Saarinen one, but for now, docksta will have to do…”). the result is really gorgeous and i’m so impressed with all of maria’s hard work. great job!!"

This kitchen is attainable and affordable. Smells like holy grail around here.