The counters are finished!!!

We've been dying to replace our ugly scratched-up formica counters since we moved in 3 years ago. Ideally, we had wanted to put in granite, but the budget didn't allow it. Plus, it seems silly to put nice granite counters on cheap cabinets and we were not about to shell out to replace all the cabinets. So in keeping with our general budget of cheaper than cheap, we found this butcher block counter at Ikea. We stained it dark to contrast with the floors and matched the stain on the oak backsplash. With new counters came a new sink and faucet too, as it was easier not to have to save the old as we pulled it out of the original counter. I love the new sink with its large drain board off to the side for drying dishes. It really comes in handy with wet things so we can protect the wood. The new faucet is turning out to be handier than I thought too. I originally was against the sprayer-in-faucet design, but was forced into it in order to get this sink (no room for an extra sprayer mount on the sink). But it turns out it's really easy to use, and maybe even an improvement from the old faucet.