apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Congratulations on a job well done. Two years is a long haul; I admire your perseverance. Did you have any previous renovation experience, or did you just plunge in?

I especially like that you didn't gut it. The new old stove is terrific, and I like the mix of elements.

Very nicely done.

your hard work paid off. it's lovely!

This is great. Full of character and a really functional workspace. Love the stove!

Great work. I love the stove and the fact that you kept many of the elements of the original kitchen. I'm especially envious of your floor. Mine couldn't be salvaged once I pulled up ceramic tile, plywood and 40's or 50's era vinyl tile.

FYI - The submit your kitchen link above doesn't work.

Ah - kitchen submission link fixed. Thanks!

This kitchen sings to me!....it has a soul. Great job creating a warm, character-filled kitchen. It looks like a warm, creative, down-to-earth person lives here. One of the best I have seen on AT or The Kitchen. I am tired of expensive, sterile environments that I suspect are used only by caterers and/or to open, re-heat and store take-out.

Awesome work!! Your end result is lovely--understated with lots of charm and character. I love that you salvaged the original elements and kept with the original feel of the kitchen. Congratulations on a job well-done.

Um...

...WOW!!! :)

Honestly, one of my favorite renovations ever. It didn't hurt that you had so much great stuff to work with underneath it all. I'm so glad for you that previous owners didn't feel the need to "upgrade". Also glad that you didn't.

Love love love love. Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful kitchen and your renovation experience!

Great job. Your kitchen feels like someone has been cooking in it for 50 years, yet fresh. The stove is awesome.

Will you show us your bedroom renovations next?

absolutely gorgeous! nice job.
one somewhat related question...what type of french press is that?

Wow, what a fabulous job. As a fellow graduate student, I can't believe you had the time for this. I am beyond impressed. Congratulations!

Wow! As a historian, I love that you took the time to restore instead of just ripping out the cabinets. I also love all the vintage elements you have: the copper bread box, toaster oven, and of course, the stove! Such a steal!

You were crazy for undergoing the renovation process for that long, but it looks like it was worth it. Congratulations on a job VERY well done!

Thanks everyone for your nice comments! You can't imagine what a nightmare this was to live through, but I'm glad I did it.

I can't take credit for absolutely everything: I hired out the electricity, the floor sanding, and my ex did most of the replastering and provided other assistance.

To answer some questions...

My only previous renovation experience was renovating the bedroom -- that took about 6 months, and also involved tons of wood stripping (window frames, moulding, and doors instead of built-in cabinets). My ex had done a bit of construction in modern homes, and showed me how to use some tools, but a lot of it was learned on-the-fly. I didn't quite think about what an enormous endeavor this might be before I plunged in, especially considering my very demanding job. This seems to be my general style of decision making, but it usually turns out surprisingly well.

There's a flickr set of the bedroom renovation too, but much less extensive and no before photos, and many more pictures of excessive vintage kitchen items.

The french press is a Frieling. I bought it more for its unbreakable nature than its ability to retain heat, but it does both.

Next project will be the living room, followed by the bathroom and foyer. I will be an old lady by the time I'm finished stripping lead paint.

I really like that you kept the feeling of the original.Great job. I'm just a wee bit worried about the curtain being so near the stove.

I'm really pleased to see you didn't do a gut job, and you were very lucky to have those marvelous original cabinets. Did you strip or replace that hardware? If former, you did a beautiful job.

Major stove envy!!

But...the only thing that worries me...are you sure you were doing a good thing by stripping lead paint yourself?

I'm wondering, miss jolly, if you used the same paint stripper on the cabinet hardware? Or are the shiny-gold latches and hinges replacements for the formerly paint-covered ones? We have EXACTLY the same hardware in my apartment in Minneapolis... so you've got me wondering!

I'm excited to see it, but I can't get the "View Slideshow" link to work.

Wonderful job. I love that you brought back character of your kitchen. Reminds me of the kitchen in the apartment I grew up in in Brooklyn down to the tile below the stove.

Great job! It looks wonderful now. I love the stove. The vintage wall decor is a nice touch.

Fantastic job. And I'm weeping with envy at your gorgeous stove.

I have been in apartments in this area and lived in a similar one in Richmond Hill and even though that was long ago, I am still green with envy over the amount of cabinet space in this kitchen! The fact that you just plunge in is a blessing, because if you think about it too hard you start to get overwhelmed. Great job! I love the character of this kitchen and love what you did with the cabinets and space allocation. Kudos!

Many have said it before me, but fantastic job!
I am jealous that your kitchen had so much original character to it - and love that you chose to restore, rather than remodel.

It's nice to see an old kitchen spruced up rather than replaced. For an old kitchen, I prefer them unfitted, as yours is. You had some really lovely old cabinets to work with and it's wonderful that you brought out their beauty. Your sink and stove are not half bad, either, completely charming!

This reminds me of two apartments I once lived in and both dated from the 20's and in one, a studio I so wanted to paint a supergraphic in red, orange and yellow across the top third of most of the space and hang a drop fluorescent red tube fixture that shone light up and down for that 70's mod look but keep it original as both still had their original cabinets and light fixture and one still had its original tile counters so that would've been a fun project but since I rented both, I could not do much. :-(

That said, love the restoration of this kitchen. Nicely done and even though you had some unfitted pieces, I like how you integrated them into the space with the fitted pieces as they were and added other elements, some more modern to help lend an air of modern to a vintage space to help bring it into the 21rst century.

Great job. I have been playing with the idea of removing the paint off my cabinets and your hard work has inspired me!

BTW, how much was the electrician and how did you find a good one?

Thanks!

Wow your kitchen looks fantastic. I love restoration rather than just pulling everything out and replacing it with all new things. The cabinets look great, I wish I had the time and energy to do the same at home. I also have a obsession with retro kitchenware, i just cant get enough of the bright colours. Here's some pictures.
http://madeleineellis.com/retro-kitchenware/

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