There have been a lot of small things in our kitchen that are broken, or have problems, the most major being carpet underneath the dining room table, the worst thing ever !!! I decided I was not paying to have it cleaned another time. Adding up all the things that we disliked or took issues with, it just made more sense to redo the kitchen altogether rather than try to do it piece-meal. So we started the process by fixing the doors. We had two doors next to each other. A sealed sliding glass door right next to this one. This is what it looked like before.
This is after. The door that is open is the new door and the door that was showing was to the left of it and is now filled in with brick. Steve learned masonry for this project and did a pretty good job, and we got lucky in finding brick that matched pretty closely.
This is what the door looked like only partly filled in from the outside and you can see what our kitchen looked like, very messy, still trying to box everything up.
This angle shows the new doors which have the blinds in between the glass panes so I don't ever have to dust them. I LOVE THEM. Next to them is where the old door was. We had it like that for about a week and a half before we started adding the rest of the chaos....
..Chaos such as the fridge in the living room. Ellie kept saying "this is so weird. I'm making my lunch in the living room... I have to go into the living room to get the milk...." We had the microwave in the toy room, or table downstairs, and the only working sink upstairs in the bathroom, and we washed dishes in the tub. Everything just took more time than I was used to...
The boys loved tearing out the carpet and helping to roll up the pad. It's always fun to work with dad and especially to not have him get upset for destroying something, actually have him help you do it....?
Ellie liked her project which involved learning to use daddy's drill, in reverse, to take out all the screws holding the doors on.
Seth and Ethan helping to cut apart the carpet pad and then roll it up.
Our next fun project was pulling out the hundreds of staples. They were both so excited to find one and be able to pull it out.
Seth had to work a little harder to get a staple out, but he was sure proud when he did
After Ellie got all the doors off, she helped carry them all outside.
Cheryl and Brian happened to come up to pick something up, and Brian decided to stay for the demolition, since that's the fun part of construction. Cheryl and I enjoy a nice visit while they ripped things out. Brian and Ethan pulled out more of the old flooring.
What it looks like just before tearing out all the cabinets.
Steve wanted to add it for posterity. Me sweeping and 7 months pregnant during this process
The demolition crew. Steve, Chris (our neighborhood expert that helped immensely !!! Thank You) and Brian who thinks it's fun to tear it all out and just couldn't resist.
Our electrician working his magic adding lots of wires... It's amazing to think how many wires are behind the walls. It's a good thing he knows what all of them are supposed to go to, because it certainly looks confusing to me.
The Drywall Man !!!!
Steve couldn't resist another of me sweeping.... they wouldn't let me do a whole lot, but you can see all the drywall now patched and ready for sanding and then painting.... !!
Isn't sanding fun.... Steve had a mask over his mouth, but the plaster dust went everywhere else, and I couldn't resist a picture
Ethan and Seth were thrilled to be able to help paint in the new kitchen, so they donned their paint shirts and were thrilled to help prime the walls.
YEA !!!! The cabinets arrive.
The beginning of the installation process.
Yea Steve added the flooring and we have countertops !!!!! I still have to wait another 4 days to have water in the kitchen, but next comes... appliances.
The finished product !!! ( The camera made the lights look really yellow, they aren't though)
The other side, which my huge pantry and a small cabinet and countertop with the phone above it, and my brand new island !!!!!
I LOVE IT !!!! Thank you Steve for all your hard work and many others who made it possible !!!!!
