After the kitchen renovation, we moved back in, and it was just like moving into a new house - you put things away, and then you move them, and then you think about it and then move them again... trying to figure out how you're going to live in this new space. We're finally (mostly) through, so I am posting pictures of the project! One of the great things about our new kitchen is that so much of it is mobile and can be rearranged, which suits Mr. Brown and I well, because we like to rearrange the furniture.
First some pictures of what it was like before. It was made up of three separate areas: dining room, kitchen, and bonus eating area that we used as a pantry.
The dining room has what we called a "bump" into the interior of the house that we wanted to push back out, make the wall flat, and put in a sliding door.
This wall here between kitchen and dining room (with the aprons hanging on it) was also a demolition target. Everything after that was pretty much gravy.
We found a designer, who found a contractor, we settled on a design and signed a contract, and then we moved out of the kitchen. We also took the cabinets off the walls, just to see what we thought of not having cabinets.
And we moved the kitchen into the living room, which made the living room very crowded. The couch went upstairs, and the dining room table plus the fridge, a movable steel prep table and a set of shelves came in. Also the trash and recycling.
Because we were doing this during quarantine, the contractor didn't have any other jobs, so we got his full attention. As a result, it was all done in three weeks, instead of the six weeks we were originally quoted. It was really, really hard to be out of the kitchen for so long. I'm glad it didn't take six weeks.
Demolition starts:
And continues on day 2:
As soon as we walked into the kitchen with the "bump" gone and the wall between the kitchen/dining room removed, we knew we'd made a good decision.
Next came installation of the sliding door - we had a hole in the wall of the house overnight. Fortunately it was good weather.
Then drywall repair, electrical work and prep for painting. The electrical work was really, really loud. I was teleworking and had to keep making excuses on the phone for how loud it was in the background.
Painting is complete. They didn't paint where the appliances were going to go.
The contractor took the time to make a really nice frame for the sliding door on the outside. The sliding door really improved the porch as well, which was unexpected.
New floors, all smooth with no ridges between the pieces to collect dirt and food and stuff.
(also at this point the contractor said we could move back into the dining room, which was a relief)
Next was the cabinet maker's turn. We ended up with custom cabinets because we wanted shelves. So the only cabinets are two sets of drawers, and the cabinets under the sink.
and then the shelves went up on the second day!
After the cabinet maker was done, the contractor hooked up the sink and dishwasher. I missed the sink almost more than I missed the stove. Doing dishes in the bathtub was not my idea of a good time.
Next was tiling the backsplash. This is the first time in our married life that we've had a backsplash.
Finally, the installation of the hood over the stove. We had some issues with measurements between the vent pipe for the hood and the cabinets and it was pretty stressful getting it all sorted out. In the end the stove and hood are still not perfectly lined up, but they're close enough.
Fridge is still at the wrong end of the kitchen here.
And finally, two weeks later, all settled in:
Mr. Brown made dinner in the new kitchen, and said, "I had fun cooking tonight." And that makes it all worth it. We are really satisfied with the new kitchen!
