And The Cabinets Came Down

I am itching to get my kitchen remodel underway. ITCHING, I tell you. But in the true spirit of home remodeling, everything takes longer than anticipated and there are lots of things we have to do before we can start. We’re getting new flooring. We have to rewire some electrical stuff. It’s too cold to paint the cabinets. We have to… blah, blah, blah.

I did make one small change that has made a huge difference in the feel of the room. I removed the suspended cabinets that hung above our peninsula!

So here’s what the kitchen looked like before:

and here’s what it looks like now without the suspended cabinets:

Ahhhh! So much more open and spacious! Obviously I still need to paint the wall where the cabinets used to connect. And there’s a bit of patching to do on the ceiling. But seriously, it’s ridiculous how much better the kitchen feels with just that one small change. It’s so much more up-to-date! My kids can sit on the bar stools and I can actually stand up straight to talk to them. The light flows better. The room feels bigger. It was definitely the right choice. Thank you friends, for encouraging me to do it!

Was I worried about losing storage? Of course. But between the pantry we added just off the kitchen (it’s just out of the photo near the fridge) and the corner hutch that holds all my not-used-every-day dishes, I don’t miss the storage at all!

This corner hutch olds ALL of the stuff that used to be in the suspended cabinets:

I refinished it myself. You should see the before pictures. It was ugly. Now this empty corner of the dining room is functional and pretty, the dated suspended cabinets are gone, and the whole room is just begging me to get moving on the other remodeling projects!

Here’s another view of the kitchen and dining room from the living room. The hutch is in the left hand corner. In this pic, you can see the fan that’s not centered over where the table sits. And that obnoxious pillar has got to go!

I have all of my design choices nailed down and can’t wait to get going! Here’s my inspiration board:

All choices are dependent upon ye ole budget.

And here’s the long, long to-do list:

• remove the worst flooring known to man (it’s tongue and groove wood that was never meant to be a kitchen floor) and install real normal wood floors through entire kitchen, dining room and living room
• remove awkward pillar from center of room (includes rewiring electrical)
• new backsplash
• remove hack job tile countertops and try to salvage solid surface countertop underneath OR replace completely
• move upper cabinets a few inches higher to standard distance from counters
• fix, prep and paint cabinets
• add open shelves in awkward space where suspended cabinets used to be
• new light fixture and maybe recessed lighting
• crown moulding
• new door and window casing

Wish me luck! I think I’m going to need it.

Update: See the finished kitchen renovation here.