Kitchen Reno

As I said before, I want to start posting pictures of our remodel, but nothing is 100% completed. So here are some photos of things so far.

Here is what the kitchen looked like when we purchased it:

That little note card sticking out of the microwave was to let us know that it didn't work...along with most of the other appliances. 

So we got to work...demolition day was really fun and therapeutic. We had amazing friends come help us all along the way.

 Removing the old cabinetry

 I was SO happy when the old box of fluorescent lighting came down

 We repositioned the island, and planned to repurpose it, but ended up building a new one in the end.

 Old light fixtures. Brandon and his cousin Jared installed can lights throughout the house. Not an easy task when they got to spend hours in the attic on 106 degree days, especially when the attic was more around 130!

Bye bye dishwasher 

 Brandon removing the microwave. We were able to salvage a few of the cabinets and installed them in the garage for storage.

Brandon and Ken, our cabinet maker and friend, disassembling the old island 

Installing the drawer pulls (with Charlie's help) 

And...here's where we're at  now. There are still lots of finishing touches to complete, but we're close.

The biggest thing you'll notice is that we don't have a countertop on the island yet. I just got a call this afternoon that it's been fabricated and is ready for pickup! Hooray!!! I have been cleaning that vinyl tablecloth for 3 months. 

Oh, and I removed the big sticker covering our range hood after taking this picture. We will have room for three stools on one side of the island, and a 4th stool on the right side. I was happy to replace the breakfast nook with this option.  

I love our new fridge. It's so pretty. We repositioned the fridge to be in the center flanked by the cabinets. We still need a piece of moulding on the right edge of the cabinets. 

For the cabinetry, we went with all-wood cabinets and shaker cabinet doors in a foil finish. I didn't want to have to constantly be touching up painted wood cabinets. These doors are so durable.

The kitchen gets so much light. So different from the kitchen in our last place. 

New pendant lights. The lighting in here at night is kind of spectacular.

This desk area will eventually be a built in desk + drawers to match the kitchen cabinets. I can't wait for the filing drawers to get my life organized. We'll even have a drawer for our printer. 

Our sink. I was originally adamant about having an undermount sink, but when I realized even those have issues, and when Brandon showed me this sink that is almost flush with the countertop, I gladly conceded. 

I love having one big, deep sink. I can put so many dishes in here (and they certainly pile up quickly around here). I like the stainless steel, although it does take a little extra work to keep clean. 

Notice the white caulking above the subway tile that I still need to paint over

 I love my big fork. Brandon doesn't really get it. :)

I wish I was one of those people who could get away with having one or two things on their counter. I guess I just like having everything conveniently within reach without having to get it out.

See, I took off the sticker. We are still figuring out how to cover the vent. The cover that came with the hood doesn't fit, so a friend is going to try to re-mold the metal. Thank goodness for talented friends! Brandon also wants to continue the subway tile above the hood to the ceiling.

We went with engineered quartz for our countertops. I love it so much. I would have loved to get real marble, but it would have been a disaster with the kids and the spills and staining. I didn't think quartz would be in our budget, but I stumbled upon some prefabricated quartz at a local granite outlet and was BEYOND ecstatic. I totally lucked out.

It was so fun to design the little details in this kitchen. The pull-out drawers are so convenient. 

Cookie sheet/cutting board cabinet with dividers and a little drawer at top for oven mitts 

Easy access to under-sink collection

Pull-out drawer for garbage and recycling

You probably didn't notice, but we decided to forgo installing a microwave. I have been slowly phasing the microwave out of my cooking routine for a few years. When we began planning the kitchen while living in our old house, I tried to see if I could go without using it. I found that the changes I had been making (i.e. melting butter on the stovetop, reheating food in the toaster oven, popping popcorn in our WhirleyPop) made it easy to go without. We are doing this primarily due to the way microwaves alter food in a detrimental way. I'm sure I seem crazy to most, but we're happy with our decision.

I originally wanted a built-in double wall oven, but the floorplan and budget prohibited that. I really love the oven we chose. Having two ovens is so useful.

  We will be installing some open shelves in the corner, I'm just trying to decide on what I want to go with...Floating shelves? Brackets? Stainless steel? Painted wood?

That is where we're at, folks! I am so so happy with everything we've done. It's all I ever wanted. I'll continue to post pictures as we add the finishing touches.