(no subject)

When I contracted to buy the condo, the kitchen was in disgusting condition - this was a short sale, and the people living here had not done any maintenance, nor much cleaning, in quite a while, as is typical of such things. So, the day I moved in, I had contractors pull out most of the kitchen, except for the refrigerator and stove which were in adequate working condition and apparently *had* been cleaned within the past couple of years. The counters had been cracked laminate, covered in a couple of layers of Contac paper, and the cabinets had been permanently sticky among other flaws. And this is what I put in:

( New cabinets and counters )

( I've started getting my mug collection up )

Edited to add "before" pictures, which are from the listing, pictures taken while the previous owners still lived there.
( Edited to add "before" pictures )

In the "before" pics, the microwave oven is 3" lower, far too close to the gas stove for safety - the home inspector dinged that one instantly. So when I ripped everything out, I replaced the 15" high "bridge" cabinet with a 12" high one, and thus was able to move the microwave up by three inches, which the inspector says is safe enough though he hates the whole idea of over-the-stove microwaves. Truly, I'd prefer an under-counter one myself, but those are expensive and this kitchen just flat-out doesn't have the counter space to do it.