Back In Black

This past Wednesday and Thursday, I had some work done in my kitchen - a total makeover! The makeover included new black granite tile countertops, a new double sink, a cool new faucet, and a brand new black dishwasher! Whew!

I was worried that all of it wouldn't happen in the right order, with the right parts, and the right experts.......and I was especially worried that I would have to bust out floor tile to get my new dishwasher in its space. The legs of the old dishwasher had to be hacksawed off in order to get it out, but I knew that the new dishwasher was going to have legs on it, so I was pretty worried....but Kevin from Lowe's (well, a contracted plumber that Lowe's hired) worked his magic and got it in there!

To do all of the work, it took me hiring 3 different people (the tile guy, the Lowe's contractor to deliver/install the dishwasher, and another plumber to hook up my new faucet and reconnect the garbage disposal in my new sink. It happened over 2 days and I absolutely love the end result!

If any of you are thinking of re-doing your countertops, but don't want to spend a ton on granite slab, this is a very affordable option - it cost me $1,300 for the materials, labor, plumber's labor & sink (I bought the faucet and dishwasher on my own separately).

OK, here are the "BEFORE" pictures:

Here is a picture of 'the process' - in the middle of the job:

And here are the "AFTER" pics!!

I finally have a dishwasher again - it's been about 2 months with a broken one. I keep starting to wash dishes by hand and catching myself - remembering that I have a working dishwasher now and I can just throw them in there!

The color of the granite is "black galaxy" - black with specks of silver/gold. I love it!

I love my new faucet and deeper sink....when I got the faucet home from Lowe's, I started to worry that the cabinet doors wouldn't 'clear' it - it's so tall! But they do.....by like an inch!

I am super happy with my new kitchen! Now I'm DONE with home projects for a while - except for a little bit more painting......

And after the two days of excitement and contractors.......this is where I found my Maggie....under Grandma Larsen's cedar chest in my office upstairs. She was so curious and wanted to be present for the whole kitchen transformation, but at the end, she was exhausted. All that commotion disrupted her beauty sleep!