BEFORE and AFTER - Transformation of the kitchen

The first photo is how the kitchen looked in July 2005 the second time we looked at the house.  {NOTE:  This is not my stuff and not my taste in decorating!}  Once we bought it, I spent many, many days cleaning up the nasty kitchen so we could at least function in there for a few months until we could start the remodel process.  In addition to the whole thing being filthy, the previous owners had done a really bad remodel at some point.  They took out the original metal cabinets and spray painted them what I lovingly refer to as "taxi cab yellow", put down a cheap peel-and-stick black and white checkerboard floor, and tiled the countertops with an ugly cheap black tile with white flecks.  The photo doesn't show just how horrible it really was.

And this photo is how it looks now.  We did the bulk of the remodel in early 2006, but my plan still includes doing a glass tile backsplash if we end up deciding to stay in this house.  The kitchen is much larger now because we closed off the old doorway into the former dining room {approximately where the refrigerator is in the "after" photo} and pushed that wall back two feet.  The former dining room is now a private office with french doors that open into the family room.