Kitchen Renovation Reveal

Let me help the BIG REVEAL by prepping you with a couple of "before" pictures so you get an idea of the kitchen we lived with for 2 or so years.



Patrick had taken off all the doors to the cabinets when a brief surge of DIY juice passed through him never to return.  And, by the way, the cool sink is still in our backyard if anyone is interested.



This served as extra cabinet space.  And as you can see, the floors were definitely tired.

We used Home Depot's Kitchen design services in Simpsonville to bring this kitchen into the 21st century.  Eli, God bless her and her patient soul, designed the kitchen. And with great gnashing of teeth walked through many design questions and changes that we had.



And our contractor, Kenny, along with two other fine Southern gentlemen, gnashed their teeth as well over the four months it took to bring it to where it is today. It is a relief to have a contractor that you can trust and know that he is committed to doing a job correctly.  I'm sure there were many curse words used when they were not in my presence but in front of me they were nothing but gentlemen.



The renovation happened in fits and starts. And there were fits thrown. But in the end we have a beautiful and functioning kitchen.



 Even the 1970's Jenn Air stove has gotten a new life.

 

And thanks to Eli's design we can easily get in and out the back door.
Oh, and we have a dishwasher for the first time in our adult life.


Love our open shelving.
And the wooden floors? Well, Kenny worked his fingers to the bone for these floors. Thank you, Kenny!!

And now for some details that make me happy.



The pendant light over the sink makes me happy...the blinding light bulb not so much.
Any suggestions?



Love the open shelving! There was much researching because we wanted something with some design appeal but also functional. This blogger showed off her Ikea shelving and I was sold.  I didn't show it to Patrick but just went right ahead and asked a friend who was passing through Charlotte to pick us up a couple.  He obliged AND gifted them to us...sweet guy, that Michael.  So if you want your own, head on over to Ikea.  Gotta love the Swedish sensibility.



Patrick and I are sparring over objects that get put on these shelves.  Some tchotchke have disappeared since these photographs.



But then...surprise...they show back up again...then disappear again.
The great tchotchke war on East Maple.



The inspiration that finally convinced me Patrick was right about the wall color.
 Yes...you read correctly. Patrick was right.
He was not only right about that but I have to concede one more thing.

The 1970's Jenn Air Stove that came with the house adds a retro cool vibe to the kitchen that I in absolutely NO WAY anticipated it would.


We did have some concern that the open cabinet that we originally desired was going to look odd and off balance in the kitchen. But I have to say I love it. Just wish I was taller to reach the shelves.



I knew I wanted something in the back of the cabinet to coordinate with the color in the kitchen. I was losing hope that I'd find something stylish and reasonably priced. But while trolling  Carolina Pottery in Columbia I came across this fabulous shelf liner. I snatched it up for half the price it is online (yeah for me!) and ran home to put it up...in a very ADD fashion.  Leave it to say if you look at it too long while visiting our home you'll notice where I got a little hurried in the process.

And then there is the functionality of the kitchen too.
For instance, the drawer below has a hidden compartment that stores more utensils.
Very useful in a small kitchen.



And a concealed trash bin is a good thing too.



Love this faucet and this deep single bowl sink... even though our dear contractor insists everyone wants a double bowl sink.


But have you noticed one thing missing? We have a backsplash dilemma. It is too late to add the small granite lip that traditionally goes with a counter top for reasons I won't bore you with. We had thought we'd do a white subway tile but then we just hit a wall and decided to wait. But in the mean time we worry about water hitting the walls around the sink and grease around the stove. Any design input would be gladly welcome...but may not be taken.  



Overall, we are very pleased with the end result of months of hard work from Kenny and his crew...therapy sessions with Eli...and many dishes washed in the bathroom sink.

50 Shades of Steel Gray

The kitchen is close to becoming a working kitchen again. 
I'm not sure if I remember what that is.
Between waiting on cabinets...and waiting on more cabinets we have been without a kitchen since December 10, 2012.
On February 18, 2013 our granite counter tops, sink and faucet were installed.  So, in theory, we should be able to wash dishes in our kitchen.  Here are the granite guys drilling the hole for the faucet.

We were told that it would be no problem to install the faucet in the center of the sink.  Sure there would be room to operate the faucet and install the back splash! Plumbing it should be no problem.
Famous. Last. Words.
So what do you do when the installers drill a hole in your beautiful granite counter top that isn't going to give you a functional faucet?  You add a soap dispenser and have them drill a new hole for the faucet off to the side of the sink.  Crisis adverted.
The granite type is "Steel Gray".  I am in love with it.  It is a great entry level granite that looks great with the cabinets and color on the walls.

But the saga continues...

Castle of Cabinets

The cabinets arrived under the cover of darkness. I was so excited.  It was really happening now.  We're getting a new kitchen! The delivery guys decided to drive their big rig into our front yard to bring the cabinets into the house.  Most of you know how our front [cough, cough] yard looks.  Well 18 wheels later it is much prettier (please note the snarky remark).

Where does one put a kitchen full of cabinets before they are installed in your actual kitchen, you may ask? Well, in our house they were put in our living room.



Big prize for anyone who can guess what show Anna is watching.

Well, Kenny and John arrived on December 30th ready to install all those pretty cabinets.  And all seemed fine.





Until it was discovered that one cabinet was going to be too big for the way the plumbing and install was planned on the contractor's end.  Our Kitchen Designer worked with us to return that cabinet and order a new smaller sized cabinet to replace it.  Almost everything else would have to wait until that cabinet arrived.  We were told it would be expedited and to expect it in two weeks. 

That was a month ago...grrrr.

But in the mean time we've had a new window installed.



I've also painted a ton of trim.  And during a visit from my parents my dad and I scraped, sanded, and primed old trim that had peeling latex on top of enamel paint.



And we had a paint color dilemma.
Most of the time if you were to pick up a multiple color swatch at a paint store and asked the Professor and I which color we preferred, he would chose the lightest color and I would go to the darkest color.  Trying to avoid crazy indecision we met in the middle and chose this color:



"Desert Hotsprings".
I demand to know who gets paid to sit around naming paint colors!  I want that job.
Well, it turns out that "Desert Hotsprings" looked a little too country for our tastes with the new stain on the kitchen floor.  Then the Professor surprised me.  He suggested this color...

 This my dear friends is Sherwin Williams "Frolic"(again with the names...Frolic...really?).  Frolic is on the dark end...the bright end...the sunglasses are required end and yet, he picked it.  And I, believe it or not, argued with him.  Okay.  That part is believable.   I didn't run to the paint store immediately like I had fantasized I would if he ever went there.  But eventually I did and when they mixed that color I had to admit I was nervous.

Once it got on the walls though, I was hooked.  I wanted to frolic in the kitchen.  I can't wait to frolic in the kitchen...soon.

Temporary Digs...

Here's a glimpse of our temporary kitchen...


All the banging has set the pictures off kilter just a smidge.
So the dining room has become our eat in kitchen.  We packed up the entire contents of the kitchen. Some shelving was moved into the dining room for a temporary pantry and to store basic cooking utensils and plates etc.  Our trusty Ikea table from the butler's pantry is now our prep station.  Thanks to the kindness of family and friends we have a griddle and a hot plate that has seen a lot of action.  Along with our microwave, slow cooker and grill we're managing to cook meals just fine.

What is the most annoying thing about the temporary kitchen? 
Anything involving water. 
Washing dishes...cooking and draining pasta...making coffee all are more complicated now.  But let's take a moment of gratitude here.  It is merely an annoyance.  We are renovating our kitchen NOT living in a developing country.  I think we'll manage just fine.

Baby, baby, baby ohhhh!

We have walls.
And Justin Bieber as our general contractor.

Real lighting in the ceilings was installed and the walls mudded.



Oh, and under this...



was this...



Hardwood floors!
We all breathed a collective sigh of relief that we didn't have to install linoleum.

That is until Kenny, our super hero of a contractor, began the sanding process.  Then I'm sure he was breathing a few choice words under his polite Southern breath.



But they are on their way to beautiful...



A little stain and they'll be transformed.

Next installment soon...

The Great Kitchen Renovation: Step One...Demoliton.

Well the day actually arrived.
After what seemed like a decade of fretting, arguing, and compromising over a kitchen design, I am pleased as punch to say our kitchen now looks like this...



It used to look like this...



And this...

 

But there is joy in seeing this...

 

Because it represents so much more than just the beginning of a kitchen renovation.

Next installment soon!