This is the kitchen right after Christmas. We went away boxing day but the next day we had the tree down and the kitchen demo started. I have to say that pulling up peel and stick tile, over top of linoleum tile, was horrific. Terribly time consuming and the most labour intensive thing we've done so far. The cabinets came down easily, thanks to our friend the sledge hammer. We were careful not to damage walls or ourselves though.
This is our delivery from Ikea. Our kitchen in 115+ flat packed boxes. Assembly required. Lots of assembly required. There are three separate stacks of cabinets and another pile of very long pieces off to the side. We were only short 3 boxes when we went through the inventory. All front panels for drawers. Went to Ikea the next day and picked them up.
Here is the new laminate floor in a medium oak. Tundra is the name, also from Ikea. It was the first time we laid down this kind of floor. Or any type of floor for that matter and I hated it. I loathe laminate flooring. Other than the hall, I think I will be hiring out for this process in the future. I actually preferred ripping out the tiles to this, while Rob - who also discover he hates laying laminate floor - preferred this over the hot-gun and trowel experience. It looks good and our neighbours think we did a good job of it. As long as it doesn't pop up in the next few years, I am happy.
The appliances came last week too. I could have held off longer, due to space issues, but it forced us to finish the floor "on schedule" and I like having the dishwasher and microwave here to build in as we do the cabinets.
Building the cabinets is not hard at all. It is actually kind of fun, seeing the pieces you've planned for and designed your kitchen around come to life. We have started on the fridge and stove side of the kitchen which wasn't quite as quick and easy as we would have liked. We had to close up a vent for the old fan over the stove. We could have vented the microwave that with the old vent but it comes with the ability to recycle the air around it, so we opted for that to get more cabinet space. We moved the wiring up on the wall and added a receptacle. Built in microwaves use plugs so we were forced to learn how to do some basic electrical work.
So that is what we've accomplished so far. We work mainly in the evening after Rob gets home from work. We've been without a sink for about a week now. We *hope* to have the base cabinets in on that side and plumbed by the end of next weekend. It should be done in another week and a bit. At least functional again. I can't even begin to think about painting, trim and baseboards yet. All in due time.
I have to say that I am really impressed with the whole Ikea kitchen experience. It is a lot of work but very straightforward. I'll post again when there is more kitchen to show off!
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