New backsplash = new kitchen!!

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and a fantastic New Year!!! Was your holidays as busy as mine??

Well, it's (almost) finally done!!! The backsplash is installed!! I'm so proud of my husband and all the hardwork he's done on our house. It looks AMAZING!!! One thing I do have to say though is tiling is NOT as simple as it may look....and all I did was wash off the grout!!! (it's HARD work!!!)  My hubby spent a few days before Christmas installing our new glass "bamboo" backsplash (that HE picked out too!!), and on the 23rd, I helped him grout it....well...sort of (he grouted, I followed and washed it off -- it's tougher than it sounds 'cuz you're constantly scrubbing and washing your spunge, getting clean water, etc etc....). Anyways, we have a few final touches left to the kitchen (replacing the white plugs with BLACK plugs and steel plates, and re-installing the hoodfan above the stove) and then we're basically done!! (we still have a lot more to do on the house in general, but overall, it's looking AMAZING!!!).  What do you think? Here's the work in progress (some of the pics were taken with my phone, so they're not the greatest quality)....

 BEFORE -- note the hideous lino, BLUE countertops, and post under the peninsula (we had ONE drawer in the kitchen.....) -- the little black dog, Jack, is ours, the others are our friends.

 This is before the counters were done, but after the flooring was replaced with laminate (from Costco -- walnut, $1.74/sq ft -- can't beat that price!!)  See the ONE drawer by the pantry door...we had so little storage, we hung our cooking utensils with hardward from Ikea

 After the granite was installed and a wine rack (built by my dad) and bank of drawers were added and stained to match existing cabinetry  (we decided painting our entire kitchen cabinetry was beyond our renovation budget at this point....) I'm not a fan of our oak cabinets, but they're less noticeable now....

 The wine rack (open from both sides) that will hold hanging wine glasses on the top (designed by me, built by my dad) and the new bank of drawers (just waiting on drawer fronts, also made by my dad, to match existing cabinetry style)

 The new sill-granite sink in Cafe Brown

 New glass tile backsplash!!!

 The plugs will soon be replaced from the standard white, to black plugs with steel plates (nickel finish - to match our faucet)

{images via Krystal}

I am BEYOND happy with the final product! The backsplash is TO DIE FOR and just finishes the kitchen off.  And, to be honest, my husband actually picked it out.  Yup, that's right. HE did.  When he first showed it to me at the store, my first reaction was, "Ugh....hideous." But I took a sample home to appease him and I had to eat my words because it grew on me, and I had to admit that his choice blew mine away and looks fantastic.  My mom is now trying to recruit him to install her backsplash, since my dad is busy fixing our hoodfan and making our cabinet drawers!! haha...