Kitchen

Before:
(Click on any photo to enlarge it)

I will not miss that floor one iota. It was a real pain to mop and keep clean. Nor will I miss the garbage can in that one spot, which was the only place we could put it. It was the first thing you would see when you walked into the kitchen.

The fridge used to be in that far corner. We could never open up the freezer door to its full width because it would hit the wall next to it. That made freezing pizza and Thanksgiving turkeys a little tricky.

The old oven remained in the center of the room until the day that Rick's grandmother came to visit for a few weeks, and it bit the dust.  She finished making her apple pie on the barbecue.  The next day, she made scalloped potatoes on the grill too.  She's a trooper!

Inspector Buddy.

Are you tired of the memory trip? Me too. Let's see what the kitchen looks like now. By the way, can you figure out what that lopsided looking cabinet is for?  It will show up in the pictures below. ;)

COUNTER SPACE!!! Hallelujah!!!  Rick built a temporary counter top until it's time to order the new one.
Now, in the photos below, keep in mind that we don't have the cabinet doors or drawer-fronts yet.
I'll post those when the entire kitchen is done.

When Rick began taking measurements for the lower cabinets, he asked me how many shelves I wanted inside each cabinet, or...did I want drawers instead?  Shelves????  Are you crazy?

Thus, every one of the cabinets below the counter top contain drawers. I highly recommend this if you do a kitchen renovation. The amount of space you'll gain in the process is amazing.  Be specific if you hire someone. He thought I wanted drawers alone, instead of the drawers that are hidden behind cabinet doors.  I like this version because we can adjust the height and depth of the drawers, as we have done here to accommodate large stew pots and roasting pans.

Remember the odd shaped cabinet from the photo above? It's now our garbage can holder, shown here.   Keep in mind, there will be a door front to cover it eventually.  I like the available space behind the basket to hold the boxes of garbage bags, and the drawer above it, which will hold scissors, can openers and hopefully NOT junk. LOL.  Rick came up with this idea and I think it was awesome.

That's the pull out pantry. We were pressed for space in here. Rick adapted this idea from a kitchen catalog.   Although it can't be accessed from the refridgerator side, it still has plenty of room for storage, especially for cans.

  As an added bonus, the bottom cabinet has a little space up top for all the bottles of vitamins and motrin. Those are temporary drawer pulls and the doors are still not up.

Here's the elevation of the corner of the kitchen.  Toward the top of the photo is the frame that goes around the perimeter of the ceiling. That will eventually hold accent lighting and it will be covered with a decorative ledge.  The long fluorescent tubes will come down and canister lights will go up in their place.  I also have a plan for that ceiling, but I'm saving some surprises for later. ;)

And last, but not least... can you guess what these holes are for? I'll answer in the comments later. I was surprised how much a difference they made in the construction of one of our cabinets. Here's a hint, it's not for screws or electrical wires! LOL.  Hope you all enjoyed our little tour! Dinner is at 6.  (KIDDING!)

(man, this post took two hours to upload  photos, edit, crop, resize and then mess with typepads wonderful blog template to get it to work! I need a nap! LOL!)

Comments

[Nils]

WOW. Just ... WOW .... that must feel so great to look at and to know how hard you worked at it to get it there ...

Way to go ... now, what's for dinner ...chicken ...? (g)

[Terri]

I'm impressed! You have a designer kitchen and it's just gorgeous. What a difference! And that garbage can drawer.....you really need to patent that idea! Awesome!
It all looks just super and I can only imagine how much you're enjoying it. I'm bringing the wine to go with that dinner....red or white?

[Terri]

PS....All your hard work getting this here for us to share is appreciated. Now go take another nap.

[Pablo]

Nice to see the bananas in a prominent place. Priorities are important.

My guess about those holes is that some kind of joiner or peg goes in them so that the cabinets are pulled snugly together and so that they align evenly in the front. (Do I get points for trying?)

[poopie]

Laura it's beautiful!! Congratulations to you and Rick for doing such great work.

[Leanne]

Phewwwie! You have gotta be SO glad to be nearing the end - and it's beautiful! You'll be showing everyone your drawers (haha) for years to come! ;)

xo

[Addison]

Actually, the upper cabinets look wonderful without doors. If you had some dowels to put in vertically to align plates on their edges and display them when not in use, that would rock. Just a thought.

[Sue]

WOW!! amazing transformation. Good for you!!! Well worth the wait and the work I'd say :)

[Laura]

Thanks everyone!

Nils.. dinner is a can of Bud.. tastes great, less filling! ;)

Terri, either Red OR White... bring your hub and pets and we'll toast to good times! LOL

and by the way, I sat down to watch the news after dinner last night, and *poof* slept till 8 p.m! boy, that felt great. Unfortunately, I was still so tired that I went to bed at 9:30. Felt a LOT better this morning!

Pablo, excellent guess, although the holes have to do with air... ;)
and the bananas are gone, would you believe it? Monkeys run rampant around these parts.

Poopie.. thanks ;) You... of all people, know the value of this type of work for sure.
(Folks, Poopie has been remodeling her kitchen and bathrooms by herself and the transformation is amazing. I have really enjoyed reading about it. She has tackled these major projects on her own and has done an awesome job.)

Leanne, I just might start up a whole other naked drawer blog...LOL.

Addison, actually, that is also a great idea for some of the cabinets that I'd like to have installed in the family room, just opposite the kitchen counter, where the bar is. I've been going over that idea repeatedly and I think you just sparked another plan for that wall. Thanks.

Sue, Thanks....verrrry much!

[InterstellarLass]

WOW! WOW, WOW, WOW! This looks so friggen fantastic! I love it! The drawer/cabinet idea is fantastic! No bending over to peer into the back of that dark bottom cabinet! I'm going to file some of these ideas away for my kitchen!

[kenju]

Oh, boy, am I impressed (and envious). You are so lucky to have a man who can do that kind of work. It looks great and I know you will now be turning out some seriously gormet meals (won't you???).