No to Kitchen Cabinets!

This is what my kitchen used to look. We put a new quartz countertop. But I did not want to invest money into updating old or buying new wall cabinets.

So... I removed the wall cabinets. All gone! And you know what? It felt great! My kitchen was full of air and light!

I lived with no cabinets for 2-3 weeks deciding what to do next. And I really liked having no cabinets hanging over my head.

I bought several sheets of plywood and attached them to the wall - had to find the studs and make a cut out for an electric outlet.

Even though I did not want to have wall cabinets, but I did need a new range hood. I bought the Cosmo one on Amazon - the installation was pretty easy.

But it would be too boring just to have plywood on the wall. So for several nights I was sitting on my countertop and drawing different scenes using glass paint, enamel paint, and even nail polish.

I also thought the range hood looks like a roof of a house, so I mixed some thin-set mortar and put white ceramic tiles under the range. And I added tile trim around the plywood sheets.

And I found 2 Chinese medicine cabinets on Craigslist. I was going to use them for my tea and spices.

See the piece on top of the range hood? My range hood is ductless, but without any chimney the look would be unfinished. the chimney that came with the range hood was made of very good quality metal - I decided to save it for something else.

I was walking in Menards and happened to be in the aisle with furnace and duct supplies: bought a piece aluminum duct that was wider on one end and changed it into a chimney. But when I turned the range hood on, the air flow from the blower blew that piece away.

I had to go back to Menards and buy a sheet of perforated aluminum, make it into a top cover and attach to the wall.

Here is the side view of my kitchen. The shelf was a top part of an old hutch, but I added height and turned it into a shelf for my plates and cups.

Now every time I come to my kitchen, to grab a cup of tea or cook a meal, I stand there and look at different scenes. It is so relaxing and pleasant to look at.

My biggest expense was the Cosmo range hood for $260, the Chinese medicine cabinets for $60 and the shelf from the hutch for my plates for $50. Plywood, aluminum duct part, tile leftovers and glass paint/nail polish were under $100 altogether.

Update 1:

I am getting comments about my kitchen being small and cluttered. So I thought I would mention that I was taking the pictures in the process, painting, cooking meals, sanding, washing dishes, tiling, etc. Nothing was staged. To be honest, this project has been completed a while ago, my kitchen is still kind of unorganized - guilty! I am really good changing things and implementing ideas, but I am not the best with organization. But at least when I look up - I see my drawings, not all the pots, and pans, and dishes. This is another reason why my mural is so relaxing for me.

And yes, I understand that my mural is beautiful, but not good for re-sale. After we bought this townhouse, we did a big remodeling project. And every contractor we worked with would say, do this - it is trendy, and that is popular, always think about resale. Resale is important. But when is my time to enjoy my townhouse? Why should I spend money so that another person buys my townhouse and enjoys it, and I live as if I am a tenant? I decided once in a while I will do what I want to do, and when/if it is time to sell, I will think of something. (The old cabinets are stored in the garage, but they are original builder cabinets, not the best quality. I am pretty sure in case somebody buys my townhouse they would want to put new cabinets anyway).

Update 2:

Below are a few closeup shots requested in some comments.

Thank you for checking out my project!:))