When we bought our home ten years ago, it was a mansion to us. We were a small family then with one little toddler and a brand new baby. Our previous rentals had never been larger than 900 square feet. This house had a garage, three bedrooms, three baths, a basement playroom, and room for a home office. Our dream house.
But as the years past and our family grew and grew, things started to get a little tight. The office/ workout room was converted to the big girls bedroom, shelving went up in the garage, multiple sets of bunk beds were purchased, and our little kitchen kept feeling smaller and smaller and more and more used and abused.
It took Adam and I years to formulate a plan on how to improve this space. We kept going back and forth on trying to do a "mini" makeover with replacing counter tops and painting cabinets verses the whole project, but there were way too many things that I needed changed. I am so grateful that we were able to do this project. I am so grateful that my husband saw that this was important to me. He convinced me that my workspace was worth being nice. New kitchens cost so much money. It is kinda sickening, but it is so beautiful now.
Here are our Before pics.
The new kitchen follows this setup, but with a new gas cook top and fan in place of the electric stove/oven combo and microwave.
With such little space in the kitchen this little bumpout was about the only available space for prep, but the cabinet underneath it was a complete waste of space. It was a dead corner. We nixed it in hopes of having more efficient cabinet space.
My fridge was positioned so awkwardly against that wall and the tiny counter space couldn't hold much. Here is where I kept my mixer, but to use it, I always had a job of clearing everything else off the counter to get to it. My new kitchen has this entire space dedicated to baking.
The biggest secret to finally coming up with a solution for the kitchen was to come to terms with the big job of moving the washer and dryer downstairs. I had to give up a storage closet downstairs, but I gained so much room in my kitchen from removing them, and our mudroom where the we moved the washer and dryer turned out stupendous.
In the living room two bookshelf units will flank the bay window- always looking to add more storage.
I pleaded with Adam to put in new wide white trim to replace the beaten up stuff through out the house. It was a big big job. Way more work than I imagined, because once you pull off the trim to a room, it's a perfect time to clear out the room, repair the walls, paint ceilings and paint walls. We ended up painting every room in the entire upper floor.
We also replaced all the worn out yellowed outlets and light switches with new white ones and replaced all of the baseboard heaters. Another project I convinced my husband to do was to dress up our doors with a border of trim and new paint. He and his new paint sprayer set up shop in both my garage and his warehouse. He doesn't have a pair of pants left now that isn't spattered with white paint.
We continued the hardwood from the living room into the dinning room and kitchen and I don't have to have my big pretty table pushed up against the wall anymore because it was too big for the space.
In Progress:
Thanksgiving weekend is when we started this massive hullaballoo with the mudroom and a new storage closet in the basement. After a month of late nights, never-ending trips to Lowes, me getting not enough sleep and getting sick twice, all on top of Christmas season and prep we finished right before Santa Clause came.
Out with the old closet and in with the washer dryer water and electric hookups.
Then I got a little design-ie and wanted the walls planked. I follow my friend's ultra talented wife Niki Grandy on
Grand Design Co. and this is the sort of stuff she makes look awesome all the time.
Washer, dryer, planked walls, counter top, and shelving, and new beefy white trim.
Meanwhile on the other side of the mudroom...
I found a set of lockers on craigslist and the Coverstar guys Wayne, Wayne, and Justine took some time out of their day helped me get them ready to paint and we took them to an auto body shop and they turned them this awesome color.
Can I tell you how much I love, love these lockers. There are ten of them. Each kid gets two. One for their school stuff and one for their seasonal gear. Right now they are full of snow boots, pants, coats and gloves. In the spring, ball mitts and helmets. In the summer flip flops and goggles. Ohh I love them.
And here is the new storage closet built to replace the one given up for the washer and dryer space. It was like a giant puzzle moving things around in the house. Only moving walls and closets isn't a bit easy.
Ohh, did you notice the door makeover?
The tutorials are all over pinterest.
And we rested.
Until the second week of January.
Then we tore out the kitchen.
Here all the prep is almost done. Bulkheads removed, new lighting, new wiring for under cabinet lighting, new gas line, new water line, and patched ceiling. Gosh, I'm glad for the help from Wayne, Justin, Kurmith, and Bob. Things went so much faster with their help.
New paint and new floors.
It was like a giant bowling alley in there. We had a bunch of sock dance parties while we waited for the cabinets to come. Our friend Allen Phafflin and his partner Mark from A&M Construction(a local business) did a great job putting up the cabinets and all the crown molding and living room trim. They were so meticulous.
Room for a microwave/oven combo and a refrigerator where the washer/dryer used to be.
So much mess, so many helpers.
Add counters, back splash tile(a bigger job then it should be), under cabinet lighting, and the kitchen is done. It feels so big and bright in there now, nothing like before. We are so blessed.
A reminder: Old Kitchen
New Kitchen:
(On the to do list is to have the cabinet builder fill in the gap above the fridge with a filler panel. That will clean it up nicely.)
The counter on the far right is now my baking station and it is ready to roll. All my ingredients are at hands grasp and the Kitchen Aid is ready to mix at all times.
New bright doors and hallway.
Still working on the other side of the living room:)
