Kitchen Remodel - Part 2: Finished at Last

 

If I were designing this remodel for anybody else, it would take about three weeks.  Maybe a month. Homeowner do-it-yourself projects always take longer. Projects that architects do for themselves run on geological time.  When I mentioned to a colleague that we had been eight months without a stove, he said his own kitchen remodel had taken four years. I probably should have asked why it took so long but I was struck dumb by the idea of four years without a kitchen.

The highlights of the kitchen remodel were when we hired professionals to install the floor and counters. The rest of the time progress inched along as we grabbed an hour before or after work. Weekends we spent wearing our oldest clothes and covered in construction dust. The biggest job was prep for painting as we mudded, filled, caulked, and sanded the walls and trim. Now we know why the professionals just tear everything out and put up new.

I’ll let the photographs tell the story. On the left is the kitchen the way it was the day we bought the house. On the right is the remodeled kitchen. Same cabinets with new paint, reconfigured to accommodate new refrigerator and added dishwasher. The cabinet color was inspired by the color of the paper towel holder in the old kitchen. We call it 1950’s Cadillac blue, complete with chrome fittings and white upholstery – I mean counters. The Marmoleum floor tiles give a nod to the 50's black and white tile kitchen floors.

It is difficult to say what made the biggest difference. I think it was repairing and taking the board off the window and letting in the sunlight.

We are still getting used to where we’ve put things in the new kitchen. And loving the new dishwasher!