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.
