More Glimmers

So when I last left you, it was with a huge delivery of what was supposed to be kitchen cabinets.  I know it was a bit of a mish-mash, but stick with me.

I also know that i get long winded, but I digress and thus make this post longer, sorry!!

I spent hours days weeks months researching cabinets.  I knew I wanted wood and would prefer custom, but could never ever afford them.  Ikea cabinets did catch my interest for a while, but was worried about how the cabinets would wear over the years. 

If you recall, my motto was to do this kitchen once and NEVER EVER again!

I headed to my favorite go-to store for just about everything remodel, Home Depot.  I spent hours wandering through the cabinet displays, opening, closing and dreaming.  I had my basic floor plan for cabinets, but nothing beyond the cabinet doors.  Have you seen all of the cool things that you can have behind those cabinet doors?  But alas, those things cost money.  Lots and lots of money.  So, I put my dreams aside and sat down with a very patient lady to build the kitchen of my budget, if not my dreams.  

We spent a couple of hours using stock cabinets to "build" my kitchen on her computer.  Using their pre-chosen sizes, I chose basic cabinet boxes to make up my kitchen.  From there came the sticker shock.  And a shock it was.  Over twenty thousand dollars!!

Are you kidding me?

Basic cabinets, no bells and whistles??

I came very, very close to tearing up in the middle of home depot.  Not a new thing for me to do, granted, but I was trying to save face.  I've worked hard to make my friends at HD and didn't want them to get embarassed again.  Yeah, issues, I'll add them to my list!  :)

So, back I went to my hot plate and continued to mourn the loss of my kitchen. 

Since I was already spending thousands and thousands beyond my budget, I figured I might as well look into custom cabinets, had nothing to lose right?  Back in the day, the local ag teacher did custom cabinetry on the side.  When he retired, he went to making cabinets full-time.  On a whim I gave him a call. 

On a side note, I love small towns.  Mike, the cabinet guru, doesn't advertise, so you have to know someone who knows someone who has his number.  Love it!!

I called Mike and over a series of very patient meetings, we hammered out a list of cabinets complete with my bells and whistles.  Then came the really fun part, the bill.  Would you believe thousands and thousands less than HD's price for stock??

After working with Mike, we made a special visit to his workshop to see the progress.

Aren't they gorgeous!?!?  Is anyone else as excited as me??  Yeah, I'm guessing no, but that's okay.

The best part of my cabinet install?  Yet another kitchen arrangement?

The odd thing?  That pot of mac and cheese was probably the best tasting pot I'd ever made!  Somehow knowing a real kitchen was coming soon made it all the better.

A short time later - magic!!

So, the upshot was/is I now have custom cabinets in my kitchen!!  Real wood with all the bells and whistles I dreamed of!

more about those later!