Kitchen Renovation

This is the biggest project I've taken on: a full gut renovation of our kitchen, including custom wood countertops I built myself.

Before: where we started.

Demo came first. We stripped the room to the studs to get at the electrical and plumbing before anything else could happen.

Rebuilding meant getting cabinets, countertops, lighting and flooring done in the right order. Miss a step and you redo something later.

The countertops were the part I was most excited about: rubberwood slabs I built myself. Rubberwood is a sustainable hardwood that's often overlooked. It machines well and holds up, and at around $200 for the material it cost a fraction of stone or solid surface. The slabs are 2.1 inches thick, so I routed a recessed pocket into the underside to let the undermount sink sit flush. I saved every offcut and used the smaller pieces to fill in the sink's accessory rails.

The routed underside, cut to fit the undermount sink.

Cabinets in, ready for the countertops.

The finish mattered as much as the build. I used Real Milk Paint's Half & Half Tung Oil with a citrus blend. It's food-safe, it soaks deep into the grain, and the citrus solvent smells better than most wood finishes.

Every inch has a job.

The details took the longest: outlets in the right spots, drawers that don't rattle, a backsplash that lines up. They're what make it feel finished.

The backsplash, up close.

The finished kitchen.