So as I've mentioned, we are about to start a kitchen renovation! I thought I would share our current plans. We are hoping to get started really soon, wish us luck!
When we put in an offer on this house, I told KC that it was with the condition that we would do a kitchen renovation as soon as possible. Our last kitchen wasn't anything flashy and we survived just fine, but this one just wasn't functional. It's pretty big, with a big empty space in the middle. It didn't look as bad when the walls were there, but it was obvious as soon as we took them down. None of the drawers work perfectly and keep breaking, there is nowhere to put food, it's just odd odd odd.
We took the walls in between the living areas and the kitchen down:
We also replaced the carpet. You can see right where the kitchen and 'dining' (that we will never use as as a dining room) meet, the flooring stops - that's because the cabinets went all the way to the sub floor. So that's why you see rugs over that spot in the below photos, we didn't want the cats messing with it, and also things were falling through the gaps and on to the washing machine.
We also had to do something weird with the countertops/cabinets where we took the walls down, as they were all jagged and sharp and we didn't want the cats jumping up and hurting themselves, or worse, getting into one of the holes that led to the soffit that led to the attic. Hence the super classy garbage bags and tea towels.
Also, the blue tape is where the new cabinets and things will be, but not how far they will be out, I just needed to see where they were, like how wide my pantry (!!!!) will be, etc.
So here's what the kitchen looked like in the couple of months we lived in the house - you'll have to forgive the mess, you'd be amazed how hard it is too cook/clean/give a f*ck about a kitchen you strongly dislike:
Originally my plans were to move the 'kitchen' part of the kitchen to the back wall, kind of like a U shape with the peninsula facing the living areas. Unfortunately before we even bought the house I was told by one of my co-workers that this wouldn't work because the two windows on the back wall were far too low for counter tops to go underneath. We could remove the two windows and put fake shutters in their place outside, but no thank you. I would rather change my layout vs losing windows/natural light (it's like, the only room in the house KC doesn't complain about me having the blinds open all the time!).
So we had to stick with the current
layout, but we could put an island in the middle. It was set. Easy peasy. An
island wasn't my first choice but I grew to love the idea. Unfortunately when
we started measuring and putting tape on the floor to see how real life would
work in the kitchen, we realised that our 'huge' kitchen wasn't really that
huge. At least not big enough for the island I wanted. We could do a super
narrow but long island, but I hated the idea of that. I wanted it to be
functional. I also hated the idea of it being permanent, the back door is off
the kitchen and that is our main entrance/walk through. So we settled on a
little peninsula in front of the living areas - basically what was there before
without the walls.
But I still hated that big empty space in
the middle. That's when I remembered the kitchen island I'd seen at Ikea before
- perfect. Plenty of usable space, shelves for storage, room for stools and I
could move it if it was in the way/I hated it.
Here are some snaps from the Ikea Home
Planner - they aren't perfect since the planner is a little buggy, but you get
the idea, hopefully.
So that's where our 'design plans' are
right now, and really they can't exactly change because everything has been
ordered!
Here's my little idea board thing, or
whatever they're called:
 |
| countertops / cabinets / island / flooring / sink / pig rug / microwave / dishwasher / gas range / stools / clock |
Things I haven't decided about yet so aren't pictured: faucet,
backsplash or fridge. We likely won't replace the fridge for several months
actually. I also have no idea what to do with the wall above the kitchen table,
except maybe that clock.
Things I'm really excited about: dishwasher (the one that
came with is one of those portable ones and basically doesn't work, it's
actually already gone), the garbage disposal (don't have one right now, loved
the one in our old house) and the pantry! I am so excited for my pantry. Oh and
my pig rug. Love it. Oh and cooking with gas again!! Basically I'm excited for
everything.
Oh, and KC said he will build me a shelf above the kitchen sink window for my cookbooks, I'm pretty excited for that. They'll be pretty high up but I don't mind. Like this one from Sew Woodsy.
I would love to know if any of this is of any interest to anyone,
I am probably going to share anyway because it's my blog and I love to look
back on things, but I will happily share anything about the whole process - ordering (easy except for checkout), planning, putting together and installing, total cost of everything when we're done etc, if anyone thinks they'd be interested
in seeing that (I know I was when I was researching!).
Keep in mind, we aren't high end fancy people with buckets of money, so most of this kitchen renovation focuses on affordability and functionality. I'm sure we'll replace things through the years but right now I just need to be able to open my cutlery drawer without it falling inside the cabinet, you know?
Any ideas for above the kitchen table besides a clock?
