New Kitchen!!

Hello all:
We have now "finished" our kitchen (there it is!!). Meaning we still have a bit of trim work to do, but our kitchen has been fully functional for a few months now. It's so comforting to hear the productive hum of the dishwasher taking on a really unpopular chore. All in all, it was a learning experience. I learned a lot about plumbing, electrical, building, smashing, planning, tile laying, and drywall hanging. And probably some other stuff. Good news in other ares: our kitchen is now gorgeous (in my opinion), we spent only about $7000 (less than our big government check for buying a house during a recession), and we can wash dishes while we watch TV. Best thing ever.

I like to read blogs about people who fix up their houses and gardens, and this is when you post pictures and list where you got the stuff. So here are some pictures of our new kitchen, and a list of where we got the stuff (if you want to know):
Cabinets: Ikea
Backsplash: The Tile Shop
Counters: Poured, dyed concrete by Eric the concrete guy
Floors: Cork from Lowe's
Sink and faucet: Ikea
Dishwasher: Ikea
Cabinet pulls: Amerock Swedish Iron from the internet
Light over the sink: Home Depot
Windows: Andersen at Home Depot

Kitchen project, post 1

So, when we decided to buy our house, we were sure we were going to change out pretty much everything. Sitting in our living room right now, I am looking at floors that need refinishing and feeling the December chill through 70 year old windows. Ew.
While we were becomings owners of the house we'd been renting, we debated what our first project would be: bathroom or kitchen? Both are dramatic "befores." Kitchen: gross and falling apart. Bathroom: gross and moldy. When water started dripping under the kitchen sink and then pooling on the floor of the basement (I did say it was gross) we picked the kitchen.
So, when I told my dad we were redoing the kitchen, he said it would take 1 year and cost us 70,000. Because that's what it takes.
I like arguing, and I thought he was crazy, so I looked it up. People really spend like a year on their kitchens. And they really spend like $50,000. Which is insane. So we spent less money and less time and got exactly what we want and had some fun.
So this starts is the story of how the Jensons spent a couple of months and less than $7,000 and got a totally awesome kitchen while learning how to do plumbing and stuff.