I know i'm supposed to do the "befores" first, but i'm having issues with blogger, so i'm rebelling and going with the "afters". it's hard to take photos of the whole kitchen, because it's tiny. i was sitting on the opposite counter to get this shot. you can see my new metal backsplash, "granitish" countertops, new sink and faucet, cute curtain, and built-in retro-style shelf. designed to look as though it has always been a part of the kitchen...it may be my favorite feature!
another view of the same area. look, everyone...no raw sheetrock edges and real cabinet doors above my microwave! another view of the cute shelf. alan rocked it completely! and i wouldn't be enjoying my lovely new space if it weren't for my dad, woodworking ninja! seriously people. when it became apparent that a table saw was a necessity for this project, my dad thought about it for 5 minutes and then said, "i think we can make a table saw." and you know what? he did! cool, right? more props to my daddy also for shedding blood over this kitchen with a wicked chisel cut to the finger. we bandaged it up, but for awhile, every time he hit the end of the chisel with the mallet (to trim the edges of the laminate) blood literally spurted out of the bandage. we had a lovely fan-shaped blood spatter pattern in one corner. we cleaned it up before CSI could see it. 
view of my other work surface. i may have purchased some new canisters from target to complete the look. :) and a refresher....the old kitchen....
lovely yellow laminate, oh my! and check out the linoleum! this photo is AFTER we painted the cabinets, which were a yellow-wash oak. it was a bit "death by yellow". i think the new kitchen is an improvement...how about you?
