Kitchen Update Pt.2

This post is long overdue! Our kitchen got a bit of a facelift a couple of days before Noah was born. 

The ugly, never clean no matter how much I scrubbed it, green countertop had been something I'd been dying to change since we moved in 3 years ago. So much so that when our dishwasher kicked the can just after Christmas, the thought of having to spend money on a new dishwasher and not a countertop almost sent my pregnant and hormonal self over the edge. In the end, we were able to score some really great deals and got both. 

I did some shopping around online for the dishwasher and found the best deal at Sears. The dishwasher was on sale for $299 from its regular price of $399. There was one model that would've been cheaper by $50 but we opted for the slightly above basic model based on customer reviews and the features we wanted like start time delay. R went with a friend in his truck to pick up the dishwasher since we got rid of our larger vehicles. Bonus: his friend stayed and helped with the installation of both the dishwasher and counter.  

For the counter, Lowes was having a storewide No Tax event so we also saved big. Delivery of the counter was included in the cost and R did the installation which saved us nearly 40% (crazy, eh?!). Installation just involved removal of the old counter, screwing down the new one, sealing the joints with silicone, and making the cut for the sink. We also realized once the counters arrived that we needed risers to raise it up higher so the doors and cupboards didn't catch on the overhang. Luckily our old countertop had these so we were able to reuse them. 

After taxes for both updates, we came in $75 under budget at $1025.

So happy we were able to cross these big items off our kitchen makeover to-do list:

- Replace countertop with a new laminate countertop (Budget $800/Actual $675)

- Replace dishwasher (Budget $300/Actual $350)

- Replace kick plates at the base of the cupboards ($50) - Also caulk and re-paint trim

- Do spot repairs/replace broken and damaged tiles ($50)

- Update two light fixtures ($275)

- Use Grout Renew to freshen up backsplash tile ($25) 

Before

After new countertop and dishwasher installation