Kitchen Replacement

We are getting at least half of new kitchen cabinets and a sink. Today it is being torn up.

This is what I hope it will look like when it is put back together. I will not have the handles and knobs, though, as these things tend to catch on my clothing and rip out my pockets when I'm working. The new doors and drawers have grooves that make it possible to pull them open without handles.

The deterioration of this kitchen must have begun a number of years ago when a small leak behind the wall of the lower cabinets began. In recent years I smelled stale water and suspected the wood was becoming damp, but there was no visible leak. My son in law opened the wall behind it all and discovered that there had been a small drip due to some kind of loose bolt in the plumbing. It had dripped for years and soaked up the wood in the cabinets, until one day years later, puddles of water began appearing on the floor. I would get up in the morning and remove the old towels I had laid out the night before. It always dripped in the night, and never in the daytime. This has gone on for quite awhile and finally the cabinets were totally rotted and smelled terrible, so it is being dismantled today.
This is what it looked like recently, with trash bags taped over the open areas where there were no doors. The top is some kind of linoleum from the 1960's which I kept painting year after year and covering with with a clear waterproof sealer. The upper cabinets will not be replaced yet, but I have seen that it is some kind of "trend" to make the upper and lower cabinets unmatched. Somehow, that makes me feel better.