Continuing the Process

We finally finished our Kitchen project and I love it!

Our kitchen has been a work in progress since we first moved into the our house in 2013.  In the beginning it had dark almost orange cabinets from the 1960's, a linoleum patterned floor with an eat in kitchen with a desk area and 2 closet areas with bifold doors.  One was a catch all area we used for household cleaning items and oversized kitchen appliances and the other was a basic closet style pantry.  

Original Kitchen

Slowly and as money and time permitted, we upgraded the area.  Before we moved in we laid wood laminate down.  In 2019, we refinished the cabinets.  They were built by hand by the original owner and we solid.  Just very outdated.  We discussed replacing them with an updated style, but could not find the same quality.  We decided to strip and paint them.  Money was tight so instead of replacing the countertop, we also refinished that as well.  We took out the large bifold doors and brought our washer and  dryer up from the basement.  We placed a laminate countertop over the top and covered the front with barn style doors. In the fall of 2022, was our next big change.  We removed the desk area which included 2 wall cabinets and a desk top connected to the wall and replaced it with an Amish made lighted hutch that was built to fill the area, but not affixed to the space.  At the same time, we dismantled the pantry closet and had a pantry unit built for the space with pull out drawers.  In January of 2023 our washing machine died and we opted to purchased a new washer and dryer, our first ever.  Various hand me downs served us well for over 30 years.  Our new washer and dryer had a deeper profile and we could no longer use the barn doors we had used to hide them from view.  It didn't last long until I was tired of seeing my washer and dryer as I ate dinner.  By the fall of 2024, I was deep into another redesign of the never ending kitchen upgrade.  

Phase 1 - New Flooring

 

Phase 2 - Paint Cabinets and Add Handles

Phase 3 & 4- Move Laundry Unit Upstairs/Update Countertops

 

 

Phase 4 - Update Desk Area & Pantry

 

After discussing many, many options for the space, I finally decided on a vision.  Good or bad, my husband encourages me to do it the way I want.  That is not great for a frugal person. I want higher quality, but not the higher price tag.  I had a set budget in my mind, but I also had a vision to make the kitchen and dining area cohesive.  In the end my budget and my vision, did not agree and the vision won out.  Instead of making a countertop and doors to cover the washer and dryer to match the hutch and pantry, we went back to the source and had them built by the same Amish team that did our hutch and pantry.  It was not a cost or wait time that I desired, but the end results were worth it.  Finally, they were ready to install the fist week of July. My husband built a frame with for the doors that allowed the doors to slide into the cabinets with hidden hinges.  The custom made counter slab sits on top of the frame.  We hung the old mirror I had received as a donation and had redesigned to look like a window above the counter top.  We added a few floating shelves on the side wall to hold my mason jar mixes.  The shelves sit high enough I can reach them, but still allow us access to the water and electric if needed.  I was going to build a false wall to his the exposed water and electric area, but instead found our end table fit perfectly in the space and is a great place to hold our smore basket for late night fires.

Phase 6 - Update Laundry Area

 

I am thrilled with the way it has turned out. Am I done with my kitchen?  Not likely, I still would like to replace the 1980's track lighting with some canned lights.  But oh how I hate the mess and stress of redoing a ceiling.  Ok lets be honest.  My husband would be doing 95% of the work.  I am just the visionary, hand him the proper tools when he asks and clean up the drywall mess afterward.

Reflection:  Sometime I have to stop squeezing the penny so hard that I squeeze my eyes shut tight as well and allow myself to make my visions a little larger.