We undertook another major house project beginning in the middle of December 2009. It involved our living room, stairway, kitchen, main bath, back entry, and making a laundry room in the basement. Unfortunately, I can't report the project as completed yet.
Someday.
But the kitchen was the biggest aspect, and it is about 95% complete. I can cook and bake, so I'm not complaining.
For about 5 months this was my "kitchen:"
Our back family room was about the only functioning room on our main floor (the office was functional, but it became a store-all and was sealed off part of the time). We ate there, I "cooked" there, we lived there, and it was impossible to keep clean. I lugged the dish pan through the house, up the stairs, and washed dishes in our upstairs tub every night.
I got through it with a decent attitude by reminding myself that within a year I would barely remember those days (and yes, I knew from experience).
This is the "before" and I quick snapped this picture as I was in the process of packing up. You can see the dining room table, and on the other side of the far wall was a "formal" dining room. It sat empty except for a stray desk and bookshelf and looked out of place behind the living room.
This shows the layout a little better - the cabinet space was decent, but there was almost no counter space between the sink, cooktop, and microwave.
Post demolition - at least most of it. The bathroom was next, so that wall on the left side was soon open. No more formal dining room = a lot more space!
A view from the other direction - close to the same view as the before picture.
A clean slate - the part I love! It means the end is (sort-of) in sight, and adding color and making it feel like a home again is a great feeling.
Unloading the cabinets - this is only part. There's more you can't see around the steps, some in the dining room, and some to the left of me. We started wondering if they were all going to fit!
Cabinets going in - this is probably where I got really excited and anxious for the finish. Unfortunately we still had countertops, appliances, plumbing, and flooring to go.
We bumped out the cabinet for the kitchen sink to add some detail to a long run of cabinets, and I love the "feet" Doug put on it - it looks more like furniture than a cabinet!
My new kitchen taken from almost the exact same spot as the before picture - quite a big difference!
That is my baking corner. There will eventually be a bench under the window to cover that storage. My mixer is on a pop up shelf, and I have another little sink over there. I love it! The three-tier countertop was a compromise - Doug wanted the raised bar look, and I didn't want to be constantly lifting kids up and down onto bar stools, so we have a table-height counter that wraps around the corner.
Someday the details will be finished, I'll have carpet in the living room, and the other projects will be finished. Someday.
2 comments:
That looks AMAZING! You guys did a great job! You're right, you can look back and be thankful for the good attitude and patience because it looks like it was worth it. Beautiful!
Thanks Jess! It was worth it and within a few weeks of real cooking I did forget the not-so-fun attempts at making a good supper in a makeshift kitchen.
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