Chapter 4: The Heart of Every Home

You may have seen some of the photos of our kitchen, but we are going to repost some of them to bring everyone current.
Sadly enough, the "nicest" room in the entire house was definitely the kitchen. The previous owner did a bit of remodeling by painting the dark brown cabinets white, replacing the appliances, and installing a tile countertop. Of course, they also took the opportunity to put up some wall paper. It was simply too small and the wall separating the dining room and kitchen needed to go so that the kitchen could be expanded. We've posted the before pictures in previous posts, but seeing them juxtaposed to the afters is just startling.

Here's an example of the non-functionality of this kitchen. We made spaghetti in this kitchen. While I was cooking the noodles, the water vapor from the boiling water would condense on the microwave and drip back down into the pot of boiling water. Also, I couldn't stir large pots on the stove because the microwave was too close to the stove top.
Right next to the stove is a single-drawer dishwasher. You read it right...a SINGLE-drawer dishwasher. Underneath the dishwasher is a cabinet to store pots and pans.

Tile countertops are never a good idea. It is too difficult to clean the grout, and impossible to roll out smooth cookies and pie crusts.

Before the kitchen came out, Nicolette made a LOT of meals that we could store in the freezer and warm in the microwave in our makeshift kitchen.

Makeshift Kitchen

Dirty dishes from making meals to prepare for the kitchen removal

With meals in the freezer, it was time for the demolition.The wall dividing the dining room and the kitchen needed to be removed first, but the previous owner used liquid nails to stick faux bricks to the dining room side of the wall. You may remember when Nicolette moved her head into the ceiling fan while she was removing the bricks. Ouch! Say goodbye to the wall...

Always so happy!

A couple from our ward wanted the cabinets for their daughter so they came and helped us remove them.

Phil is SO tall! He was very helpful when ripping out the 4 inch star screws. 

We're just about done with the demo, but now we have to deal with the 2 ducts in front of Nicolette and the 4" black drain pipe next to the fridge. What a mess we made! No turning back now.

Paul was able to move the plumbing, heating ducts and the electrical since I don't know much about that stuff. With all of that stuff completed, it was time to start rebuilding. I started by putting in the backerboard for the tile floor. Also, I have eczema and the drywall dust is terrible for me, so I just hired that out too.

With the wall gone, the drywall up and the walls painted, it was time put in the tile and start adding the cabinets. It already felt so much more open. At this point we were really tired of eating our frozen dinners.

Putting in the floor took quite a while but the finished product is so worth it! 

We were able to get the countertops installed. They are laminate, but they resemble granite (but WAY cheaper). They have a unique texture that is that reflects the light like granite countertops.

Sorry this post is so long.

And for the AFTERS... We finished the major projects right before our company came for Thanksgiving!  

The coloring of these after photographs aren't quite right, but you get the idea. The backdrop was not in the original plan because of cost, but I found this stone cheaper than a 3" laminate piece sitting on top of the countertop.

It's so much more open now and functional.

We only ended up adding 2 feet to the length of the kitchen, but it made a world of difference. It was certainly a lot of work, but it is well worth it. With IKEA's help and You tube videos, it was extremely easy to build and install the cabinets, sink/faucet, and appliances. It so nice to look over and see the kitchen now instead of the seeing that brick wall leaving me to wonder what Nicolette was making me :)

PS STAY TUNED...FRIDAY WE FIND OUT IF BABY BRODERICK IS A GIRL OR BOY.