Kitchen Evolution

Well it's been a while since I last posted and we have been busy.  Between everyday activities, I have been planning and prepping for a kitchen remodel.  It has been a huge undertaking, just like everyone says but totally worth it.  I'm glad we decided to do it before I go back to work in January, I don't think I could have made all the decisions needed while working full time (I tend to be indecisive and more so when exhausted).  We aren't complete but put in about 5 work days; thought you might enjoy to see how far we have come.

 

The only picture I have of the kitchen as it looked when we bought it.  The first thing we did before we moved in was take down the drapes to expose the view of the mountain (it's small, about 1300 feet above sea level) and remove the wallpaper.  I put down some temporary peel and stick flooring, had dishwasher installed where the previous owner hung a curtain.  Then energy efficient windows went in, almost a must with those large south facing kitchen and dining room windows.  Makes a huge difference in our house temp without having drapes covering the windows.

The kitchen as we lived with it for 3 years (above and below).

My parents came flew in prepared to work.  I had hoped the whole trip would not be a working one but it was.  As expected we ran into a few problems just not the problems I was expecting and the problems I was anticipating were not problems after all.  The fridge had been leaking, unknown to us, and the water had trickled under the floor creating a lot of wetness of the sub floor.  Lucky for us the sub floor was not rotted only the base for the old pantry and peninsula--it was a stinky mess!

Demo complete!

 We continued the floor that runs in the dining area, living room and hallways.  We had just enough to finish off the kitchen.  Whew!

 Floors complete!

 

First cabinet hung!

We purchased ready to assemble cabinets and I assembled them.  Assembly wasn't complicated just time consuming with a toddler running around.  And bulky to have the assembled cabinets sitting around the house.

 First shot of the semi-completed kitchen remodel.  Notice more space between the stove and the peninsula?  Love it!  Now we can both move around the kitchen at the same time, wahoo!  Actually we had four adults in there with room to spare.  It is a much better space for our family.

 We removed the pantry that used to be to the right of the fridge and faced out into the dining room.  I really needed more counter space.  So now I have nearly 3 feet to work with on the left of the fridge--it's a whole new work area.  And the storage above is new too which helps offset loosing the pantry.  Don't mind the missing door--had a blemish and need to get a new one.  Right next to the fridge is open shelving for my cook books and what ever else I feel like looking at :)

 A better view of the extra space we created by moving the dishwasher next to the sink and pushing the peninsula into the dining area.  The peninsula area will be drawers for pots and pans; I need to assemble them.  The open cabinet to the right of the dishwasher will be the sink (yet to purchase).

Can you see all the space between the fridge and the peninsula?  Two people can now pass through the space, or you can have the fridge open and someone can still enter/exit the kitchen.  Fabulous!  The old set up was just enough room for one person to pass through or have the fridge open, not both.  Actually, I almost didn't put that peninsula back in, keeping a "U" shaped kitchen was so open looking but I really needed a place for pots and pans, another prep station (now we have 3) and it makes a great place to serve dinner when we have a large crowd over.

Despite a couple small hiccups, I'd say the months of research I did paid off.  I'm very pleased with the results so far.  We have finish work to do and need to get the counter top in plus a few things you can't see but will bug me in the long run.  

Random notes to read if you'd like to know more: I began my research for an eco-friendly kitchen remodel, well as eco-friendly you can get for a remodel on a small kitchen budget.  The FSC certified (forest stewardship council--ensures forests are managed for future use aka no clear cutting) cabinets were way out of reach of our budget.  I looked at the big box stores and an independent cabinet shop but the quotes and cabinet manufacturing process astonished me.  We settled on cabinets from IKEA for several reasons.  First they have minimal chemical off gassing (low odor) which was a must since chemicals trigger my nasty migraines.  IKEA has been making strides in environmental and social responsibility, big positive there.  Of course the cabinets were affordable and the ones I picked were not made in China.  I'm not so much against China but supporting work in other countries.  It turns out our cabinet boxes were made here in the US, the hardware was made in Austria and the doors and drawer fronts in Hungary-just fun to know where it all comes from.   Despite the stigma associated with IKEA, these cabinets are nice and the hardware is awesome.  I have all drawers on the bottom, excluding the sink cabinet, full extension drawers.  All the drawers and doors have dampers so no more slamming cabinet doors, such a nice noise to my ears or rather lack of.  I'm officially spoiled!

To finish off the kitchen, we will have a countertop made with recycled glass.  Stay tuned, I'll updated again on the kitchen once we have the counter in.