Yes, I'm blogging on a Saturday night because my life is really that exciting. Kids are asleep, hubs is working, and the Cubs are playing Game 4 of the World Series and it is too stressful to watch with my full attention. So the logical solution is to recap the kitchen remodel from 8 months ago, that I took "after" pictures of 4 months ago, right??
For a room that's supposed to be the heart of the home, a gathering place, a memory maker, etc., it sure caused a lot of marital spats. Now that it's done we are both very happy with it and with each other.
The problems really began back in November of last year. The kitchen that we inherited with the house was in satisfactory working condition. The cabinetry was sparse, the oven and cooktop range were very old, the floor wasn't great, and the space was cramped. But it passed initial inspections and would have been fine for a few years. Renovating the kitchen was not in the original budget approved by the bank, and we weren't supposed to use our own funds to address anything outside of the bank budget. So, we planned to wait until we were through with the bank and tackle it at a later time. We started other remodeling work in October of 2015 and by mid-November, it was clear that the kitchen was going to be an issue. It was smack in the middle of the main floor and the access point for the new attached garage. It was directly beneath the original attic space that was to be torn apart and turned into a bonus room, connecting the original 2nd story to the new addition. As soon as work on these two initiatives began, we changed our approach from "we'll do the kitchen next year" to "we will have to fix the residual damage to the kitchen caused by the other renovations" to Ben saying, "hey Car, we are gutting the kitchen. The bank will just have to deal with it." He'd had some conversations with Greg behind my back and I was basically left with no choice. We were doing the kitchen. I did end up calling the bank and explained the situation. We just had to write up a little "out of scope" letter, commit to paying for the kitchen on our own, have Greg sign it, and send it to the bank to keep on file. I do have to say, they made a LOT of exceptions for us due to the large scale of the project. Good people over there.
I digress. By the end of December the kitchen was completely gutted. To our surprise, we discovered original maple wood floors under the carpet and multiple layers of vinyl. These sanded down well and Ben was able to restore them. He also patched in new maple where original was unsalvageable, and to cover up the old stairs to the basement. He (and Repcolite) matched some stain so well that you can't really tell what's old and new. So floors were set. We met with Greg and a designer to decide on a new layout, because once everything was out of the kitchen we were left with a huge open space with many possibilities. We decided on a new layout that eliminated a sliding patio door out to the East and shifted the main working area from the North wall to the Southeast corner. The entire space beneath the kitchen is open Michigan style basement, and with all of the other plumbing and electrical being redone, it wasn't an issue to move lines or pipes around. We picked out cabinetry, granite countertops, fixtures, and appliances. Everything came together and voila, we now have a great kitchen that won't disrupt the house at a later time. It is so much better this way...we've been through a kitchen renovation before while living in the house and it was awful...and this was before kids. I truly am glad we were able to get this set before we moved in. We still need to do a backsplash and a little bit of trim work, but from our standards this project is essentially in the books.
Before:
 |
| the brick seems nice, but was actually faux panels. We didn't realize that right away, but it was kind of a relief when we did so we didn't have to feel guilty for getting rid of it. |
 |
| yup, the dryer was in a closet on the backside of the dishwasher/oven. |
 |
| Door to the back entrance and basement. |
 |
Can you spot the washer hanging out on the stairs? Hilarious.
|
After:
 |
| Facing North. The door was squared off so you no longer walk in on an angle. This was a much bigger deal when there was still a wall there that you would walk into. |
 |
| Island from the Huizenga house. There are plans for a bigger island down the road, but for now this is a gem, a Ben Reuschel original creation. The opening in the corner starts the addition; this goes into the mudroom which attaches to the garage. |
 |
| Covering up the original stairs to the basement allowed for a much larger kitchen. The house used to sit up quite high, requiring you to go up four or five stairs to get in. This was all built up so that the garage and main floor of the house were at the same level. The plan had been to keep the basement access the same, but we were able to move it to what used to be a closet in the front end of the house. |
 |
| Facing South. The top/larger door way leads to the "fireplace room", an addition that the previous owners put on about 25 or 30 years ago. It's a nice sized family room with a not currently functioning fireplace. For another day. The other door way leads to another large living/dining space, which also needs some aesthetic attention and is still pretty much used for storage and fighting. Literally...it's where to boys go to fight/wrestle. And they refer to it as the fighting room. For another day after the fireplace day. |
And because I assume that only family and friends read this blog, I will show you my messy pantry. It's actually in much better shape currently, as I organized (nested?) for about 2 hours the other night. I don't have a better picture because my phone is full and I don't have the energy to get a picture with the Canon and then upload it to the computer. Millennial fail. I digress, this pantry is HUGE and I feel spoiled to have it. I think it's my reward for surviving the greater renovation.
Closing thoughts: A) if you are contemplating a fixer-upper, DO THE KITCHEN before you move in if you can. I'm already dreading the backsplash project and that should really only be two days this winter. B) be flexible with your plans and don't get mad at your spouse for things that don't matter. C) White cabinetry is not as scary as it seems; we've lived here for over 6 months now and it is still clean and scuff free. I haven't even had to use a Magic Eraser yet. Probably jinxing myself, but I've been pleasantly surprised by this. D) GO CUBS GO...
