• Remodel

    And So It Begins…

    Somebody pinch me!!! We just started ripping the kitchen wall apart, a messy job for sure. With our initial design in hand, we knew how we wanted the kitchen to look visually, but we needed to answer some questions first before we could put our plan into action.  In order to open up the wall permanently, we need to determine if the studs were weight bearing or not, so Dan decided to make an exploratory hole in the wall to locate the studs. Once it was determined they were weight bearing, we had two options: leave the studs where they were or move them to the outer edges to be…

  • Remodel

    Planning Stage: Addressing the Problem Areas

    Anytime you invest in a remodel it is vital that you address the problem areas and come up with workable solutions. This was where we spent the bulk of our time in the first 6 months prior to demolition. We spent a long time up front developing a plan that addressed these issues and solved our problems.  Okay, so I just need to get this out there before I go any further. I feel conflicted about what I’m about to say. On one hand, this is a perfectly great kitchen, it has a nice long counter, adequate storage and serves my family well. I should be perfectly happy, right?…but then…

  • Kitchen,  Remodel

    The Design Process

    Our Kitchen Plans The design process is easily where we spent the most time…nine months to be exact. It was a long process and what I discovered in that nine months is that Dan and I are extremely indecisive and at the same time very detail oriented. This combination is hilarious. We frequently suffered from information overload. Having too many options can be a good thing for sure, but when you are type-A like Dan and I, our need to evaluate everything can often lead to analysis paralysis. The reality is, we’ve never tackled a project of this magnitude with so many moving parts and there were a lot of…

  • Remodel

    Kitchen Remodel Phase 1

    The image on the left is how the kitchen looked when we first moved in. There were upper cabinets and a microwave that hung directly over the stove. I’m sure in the 80’s when this house was built, this was considered very chic and efficient, however it drove me nuts!  I purposely didn’t put anything in these above cabinets when we unpacked because I knew I wanted them taken down as soon as possible.  Well, finally 1 year and a half later, I finally got those darn cabinets out of my way. Good riddens cabinets… No more cabinet door hanging right in my face when I’m trying to cook, no ducking…