Owning two homes has never been part of our plan…but then again, buying a house wasn’t in the cards until six weeks ago! And now here we are, owners of a gorgeous home a few miles away, while still living in the house we’ve adored for the past 10 years. It’s going to be hard walking away, but the more progress we make on the new house, the more excited I become for the change.
Since we can’t move until after the shoot, we decided to take advantage of the extra time, and do some of the messy, intrusive renovations while the house is still empty….starting with the lower-level floors, and the Kitchen.
This house is such a gem, and we feel so lucky to call it ours. She’s really well-built, with high-quality materials and no short-cuts, and an amazing floor plan. It also needs cosmetic updates from top to bottom!! #woot She’s got a bit of a 90’s perm, but nothing a good brush and paint can’t fix!
Nothing in the house is cringe-worthy…we could move in today and be the happiest people on Earth. But there’s just no personality…no ‘us.’ Yet. 😉
Can you even believe the size of the Kitchen? When I first saw all that space…followed by the butlers pantry and a screened-in porch…I knew we’d be signing papers and forking over all our moolah soon. I never even knew I wanted a butlers pantry, but now I couldn’t be more excited about it!
Now that the initial shock and excitement of an unexpected house purchase has simmered down, we’re noticing all the sweet indicators of the Ally McBeal and Full House era. DJ Tanner called…she wants her fruit basket tiles back.
And while my rockstar-contractor insists all this molding and detail was very expensive (20 years ago), it’s just too fussy for us.
So now let’s talk about what we’re doing to the Kitchen. Since the house didn’t come with a money tree, most of the updates will be cosmetic…no cabinet refacing, ripping out countertops, or relocating appliances and plumbing.
We’ll start with the stovetop…with the stand-alone cabinet, and windows flanking, it’s the automatic focal point of the room. Except it’s got nothing special to say. Kind of like when your kid calls your name excitedly, only to say, ‘Can you come wipe my bottom?’ (Both of my kids would like the record to state they no longer ask for help in that department.)
So we’re going to help her shine by removing that upper cabinet, and building a vent box that extends to the ceiling. Then we’ll ditch the fruit basket tile, and convert the lower cabinets to drawers. The reason for that is twofold…drawers are a more efficient use of space, and it will break up the row, upon row, of cabinets in this kitchen. #doorpalooza
While I don’t love the shape of the cabinet fronts, they are well-built, solid ash, with hidden hinges…so they stay. But they will lose their foofy moldings and bad dye-job hue. Seriously, that’s the color of my hair when I try to color it myself.
This area has coffee station written all over it, but first the wallpaper goes bye-bye-bye. Joey Fatone called…he wants his muted, floral motif back.
Oh yay, the wallpaper extends through the Breakfast Room. We’ll clean that up with fresh paint, and add some pendants over the bar to better define the space.
So that pretty much sums it up…just a few things to tackle before we move in early February! Along with replacing all the lower level tile and carpet with wood floors. #zoinks Vanilla Ice called….he needs his money back.
But you know my rockstar-contractor…he’s moving faster than I can make decisions! He just got started, and already the tile floor is gone, along with the foofy cabinet moldings. For some reason, there’s also a toilet in the garage.
Exciting things are happening, and I’ll keep you updated along the way! Tomorrow I’ll share the design inspiration for the room, and give you an idea of where we’re going with it. Have you ever remodeled a Kitchen? I’d love any tips and tricks you learned, or things you wish you’d done differently. What would you change or add to your Kitchen if given the opportunity? You can check out our last Kitchen Reno here.
Ahhh, super exciting!! I'm sure all of these updates will make a BIG difference and optimize the space for your needs. I know whatever you all do, it will be fabulous!
I can't wait to see which light fixtures you choose! I want to update the look of my kitchen by adding pendant lights above the island and getting a new fixture above my kitchen table. I don't even know where to start so I am excited to see what you do!!!!!!
We remodeled our kitchen after pulling it off the market with the intention to put it back on the following spring so I went mid range with appliances…big mistake since 6 years later I'm still here! If I could remodel I would definitely add double ovens, under counter lighting and outlets in my walk in pantry
so exciting! I would knock the wall down between the kitchen and living room. but that would make me have to reconfigure everything since its the wall for the pantry, frig and HALF my cabinets (which isn't a lot to begin with) so we probably wont be doing that ever, lol!
Holy kitchen cabinet space! That's a big kitchen!!! And a butler's pantry?! I would kill for a butler's pantry! I can already tell this is going to be awesome Cassie. Woot!!!!
ahh im so excited to see the big transformation! that kitchen is huge!! 🙂 xo jillian – cornflake dreams
We've done 2-1/2 kitchen renovations. In our primary home we redid an OLD kitchen when we moved in – removed the formica WALLS with the metal trim, removed the mini wall of 9" deep cabinets (?!?!?), removed the original Kitchen Aid dishwasher (it was PINK and white!), gutted it to the walls and gained about 4"-6" in both length and width, opened up a teeny eat in area to an exterior door and added a deck outside.
We bought a lake house/vacation home a few years later and removed OLD cabinets and replaced them with homemade mission-style cabinets (we didn't have the money after buying the new house to do a new kitchen), quadrupled the size of the original island (it was 12" deep and 10' long! – we kept the length but made it 4' deep and put separate mini freezer and fridge underneath). Then two years ago we tore it all out and put in new off-white cabinets, a real oven and refrigerator and built-in microwave, new teak floors and beautiful granite countertops.
My biggest tip: always know that when you're done, you'll figure out something you missed or something you could have done better, and you need to let it go – don't stress over it. You can't possibly think of everything.
CASE IN POINT: We renovated the vacation home, turned it from ranch with a basement to a colonial, and I don't have a coat closet on the first floor OR a linen closet on the second floor. And we worked with an architect. Go figure.
Oh, how exciting! The biggest tip I picked up from you when we built our new house was to move the plugs in the kitchen to counter height. I've not having cords draped half way up the back splash! I was going to remind you, but this house already has them low! It's like it knew you were coming down the road. 🙂 Man, I wish I would have added drawers. We only have them at the top of the lower cabinets, but a few stacks would have been nice. I can't wait to see the design plan!
What a huge bonus to be able to do the major stuff before you move in! One thing that we did that I love the most is that we added an outlet inside our island where I have 2 tall drawers behind a cabinet door, so that's where I keep my toaster oven and toaster. So nice to have those out of site! Maybe a suggestion for those drawers under the stove. Even if you don't use it for a toaster, it might be nice to have a hidden outlet somewhere.
I love it Cassie! This place looks amazing!! I am so excited to see the final home tour!! The kitchen is huge…and you will loooovee a butler's pantry, They have so much storage and it's amazing everything you can fit in there.
How exciting! I know it's not ideal owning two homes, but at least you don't have to deal with the mess and having contractors in your house all day. We did a kitchen facelift about five years ago. One thing I did to break up the huge banks of cabinets is add glass to four of the cabinet door fronts. A local glass place did it and it was so cheap at $40 a door. It made a world of difference.
How exciting! I can't wait to see the updated kitchen! We have very little cabinet space in ours. We use a two door white cabinet for a pantry and I hate it. We also have this half wall separating the kitchen from the living room. I would love to smash that wall to the ground and put in an island. Instead of making changes to this house, we decided to move instead.
DJ Tanner and Joey Fatone. Sometimes I long for the simpler time that was the 90s. UNCLE JESSIE FOREVER.
What is the counter top material?
This is going to be amazing!!!!
Wow, awesome kitchen space! I can't wait to see how it's going to end up! Seeing your house(s) makes me long for the large homes and kitchens of Texas, everything is so teeny tiny up in Philly (I grew up in Richardson). I am desperate to re-do my kitchen, the space is OK but the cabinets are crap and the counters and backsplash are UGLY. Sadly, not in the budget right now.
So so exciting!! Can't wait to see what you do with it all!
Oh my…I'm sooo excited for you! Whatever you do it will be beautiful! We did a kitchen remodel 3 years ago and there are things now that I would do differently but I tell myself, it's so much better than the before. I wanted it to go with the rest of the house and now I wish I had planned the kitchen on it's own and then remodeled the house to go with the new kitchen. I just couldn't think far ahead. I was just so thankful I was getting a new kitchen that I wasn't going to push the idea of a whole house reno with the hubby. Hindsight….I should have looked further down the road. It's still beautiful though. After seeing your new house I think I may have to look at moving with a different eye. I want it all done for me and maybe what I need to do is think about finding a house with good bones and making it my own. And….I think it's about time you do a post on that rockstar contractor of yours. I think he may deserve a post of his own. ha!!
I'm dying for a whole house tour! and some more details, how many bedrooms? what's the square footage, tell us everything!
What an incredible space! And way to get moving, exciting to have so much done before you move in. I can't wait to follow along!
We did a full kitchen reconfigure/remodel about 10 years ago in our current home. Our previous kitchen had THREE FEET (TOTAL) of counter space, split on either side of the sink. Ugh. We took part of the garage, which was too narrow to park in anyway, and made a true chef's kitchen. I built it exactly the way I would ant it, even though we knew this wasn't our "forever" home. We did mostly drawers, and even the lower cabinets we did install have pull out shelves. I love it, but I'm already planning the new kitchen in our next house (we're buying from a family member, so even though we aren't there yet, we can plan based on the floorplans we already have!)
So so fun! This is what I do in my day job so I am all over it! You've got great bones to start with! Cannot wait to see the progress!
So exciting to get a peek inside! Really great layout in that kitchen but I agree with you, that molding is a bit too much for my taste as well.
Good luck!
Such a great open space and I can't wait to see the transformation! It's going to look AMAZING!
Umm, I think I need your "Rockstar Contractor". I've ALWAYS had to wait on ones I've used, never the other way around.
Are you sure you don't want to keep that fruit bowl wall tile? I hear it's trending in 2015. Early 90's fabulous. (Winkwink:) Can't wait to see your updates.
I don't know about you, but I'm so happy you are keeping your current cabinets! It always bums me out when I see perfectly good cabinets thrown out, I guess it's the reuse side of me that cringes. Your kitchen screams potential, and I can tell that you see that as well. If you don't mind me asking, what area of dallas are you guys in? We currently live in frisco, and i have yet to see a stunner of a house like yours around this area. Good luck with the renovation.
It really is a fabulous space. I am sure it will be amazing when you are done with it.
This is so exciting! I've got a few years until I can renovate my kitchen, so I will love living vicariously as you play with your new home.
Sooo exciting! It looks so light and bright in there! Butlers pantry, screened in porch..gahh!!
I'd DIE for a built-in trash can cabinet!!!!! Best decision of the whole remodel! It's going to be beautiful, I can't wait to see the 'after' pictures! P.S. You are so funny, "Vanilla Ice called and wants his money back!" LOLOLOL! 😂
Oh how fun! I can't wait to see how you transform this! xoxo
Oh that kitchen! It is absolutely incredible! I can't wait to see how you guys tweak it to make it your own!
yay can't wait to follow along…especially excited about that vent hood / going to the ceiling situation! xo
What great potential! I will be purchasing my first home this year and can't wait ! Can't wait to see your progress
We remodeled our 90s kitchen 3 years ago, but to save money did not change anything about the layout. I wish I would have spent a little more to change up the fridge and desk area–we have two small desk spaces next to the fridge, with a corner pantry right next to the fridge. I would have nixed one desk (they are seriously just my catch-all spaces), moved the fridge away from the pantry by a foot or two (the pantry door won't swing all the way open because it hits the fridge), and added a tall cabinet to store my mop and broom. Maybe next time. 🙂
DJ Tanner called….oh my–laughing so hard! Tell her she can have mine, too. We have the same tiles in our kitchen. Hopefully not for too much longer. I can't wait to see what you replace yours with.
We had a kitchen overseas that had very long and deep drawers (I could put two stacks of dinner plates, two stacks of bowls and a stack of salad plates in one drawer) instead of lower cabinets. I would absolutely do away with lower cabinets with doors if I could!