The 2004 Kitchen Remodel

We bought our townhouse in 1995 & immediately started  updating & remodeling as we could afford it.  We did mostly cosmetic things in the first few years until we started to see some rise in property values in our area.  We had been talking about remodeling the kitchen for quite some time & The Man kept drawing plans & trying to plan what would be the most cost effective and value-added things to do.  I really had started to resign myself to just living with this pretty disgusting (but not horrible) kitchen with its shabby chic cabinets (they were originally dark & we painted them a cream color), gold formica counter tops, & harvest gold appliances (do you remember that color?).  Oh, lest I forget, it also had the dropped ceiling with fluorescent lights.  Finally in 2004, The Man was ready to bite the bullet & get things rolling on a major remodel.  We had come up with a great plan which entailed reconfiguring the layout of the kitchen, so we really had to gut the entire space.  I only have 2 photos of what it was like when we first started the tear out process.  Sorry, these are digitals of existing snapshots, so not great quality.  And yes, I was still preparing meals in this chaos!

It took about 2+ months to get it all finished & there is not one thing that we would have changed.  Even now, almost 6 years later, I walk into this lovely room & can hardly believe its mine.  I will start the tour in the spot where the refrigerator is in the above top photo & kind of work around clockwise as much as possible.  My lovely pantry replaced the refrigerator & is what you will see first.  I love it so much, I'll even open the doors so you can see inside.  The shelves all roll out -- love that!

I just love this little vignette.

I kind of had to do a little arm-twisting to get The Man okay with the white cabinets, Corian counters (called Maui), stainless appliances, & oak flooring(light honey color).  But guess what, he absolutely loves it.  We decided on the Terra Cotta paint color because we have it in the living room & it's just so striking.  We plan to eventually do some kind of tile or tin backsplash.  Everything in good time, right?

I love the solid surface sink with one side extra large & deep.  The tree just outside the garden window is  a tangelo.

By reconfiguring the space, we were able to accommodate this very large refrigerator, finally have a pantry & increase the overall area of the kitchen by several feet.  The Man is so smart!

  We did seeded glass in these cupboards & this is where I have my collection of Fiestaware, which are our every day dishes.  The small drawers below do open & hold all kinds of little odds & ends.  Love the little T.V. which swivels, so it can be seen from anywhere in the kitchen.  We put tons of lights in this kitchen because the old kitchen had so few.  The Man put rope lights inside the glass-front cabinets, lights above the cabinets in my display area, lights under the upper cabinets, pot lights in all the major zones, the fan-light & the pendant.  There are switches for everything & you can create such wonderful ambiance.

This is looking from the dining room into the kitchen.

We actually added the island a few months after the kitchen was finished.  We wanted to make sure there was enough room & there was.  We found this one at Crate 'N Barrel & it looks like it was made for our kitchen.  I love the fact that I can move it around (added pads to the bun feet).  My fav is the angle it is sitting right now.  There is a large cabinet & drawers on the other side (forgot to take a pic).

This is a floor to ceiling cupboard right next to the glass front cabinets.  The bottom is where I store a large selection of cookbooks, & yes, I use them and love to cook.  The upper area is where we keep medicines, vitamins & things the small grandchildren shouldn't get into. 

This is looking from the kitchen into the dining room & the sunroom beyond.  That's why there is such a glare.

Thank you so much for allowing me to show you around my kitchen.  It's not grand by most standards, but it has been a labor of love.  I strive very hard to have all areas of our home be as warm & inviting as possible.  Our kitchen is no exception.  I love having friends and family sit at the bar or the table sipping a glass of wine or a cup of coffee, while I whip up something yummy to eat.  My pantry is usually ready for the unexpected, so stop for a visit some time.