The Kitchen Project

Ryan (and I) decided before our 'mini cooper' came into the world that we should complete a 'semi-major' remodel of our kitchen. We really like out house and location, however the kitchen was too small, had terrible pastel blue (great quality) Kohler sink, and some not so great laminate (bluish + tan) countertop. So we decided to knock down the kitchen wall, make an island, replace the countertops, replace the floor, and get some new lights / switches etc. Our 'quick little remodel' turned into a fairly quick, larger than expected endeavor. However, we love the outcome - well worth the 4.5 weeks of mess!! Here are some before and after photos !!

So this is out kitchen before we started working (this photo is a bit old) but you get the overall picture!

This is a photo of our blue Kohler stove (there is nothing wrong with blue, but it is just not 'us') and our blue backsplash. We actually sold the sink on Craigslist for some cash!

So this is the tear down time, down goes the wall, the new stove is already in, and our old stove is already sold (yeah)! Since the wall was load bearing, we had to support with a new beam - which meant a big hole in the attic (filled with insulation). It rained insulation in our house. Oh yes, we decided that we needed to get rid of a flue (exhaust for water heater and furnace) that was going thru the kitchen, which was 'scope creep' - but certainly thr right thing to do. That just meant we needed a new water heater and furnace ! (scope creep!)

So, there was about 4.5 weeks of coming home to insulation / dust filled house, vacuuming a walkway thru the debris only to grill / microwave (creative) dinners for a bit of time. Again, it was well worth it. And I do have to say out contractor were exceptional - especially our general contractor who stuck very well to the schedule. ( I suppose it helps to be a pregnant woman indicating there is a schedule to work too!)

Wow !! What a difference!

We were very thankful we were able to do this work on the schedule we did and the results we obtained. Thank you to everyone that made this happen!!!