Kitchen Evolution

So you probably saw my Scary Kitchen post before. It was super crowded, had a lovely view of a toilet when you walked in the door, and it was covered in three layers of wallpaper.





I don't know about you, but I think all refrigerators should jut into the doorway. It adds character, don't you think? Okay, to be fair, when this house was built (1928), they probably had an old school ice box that was significantly smaller than modern refrigerators, if they had one at all. But still...

First was this gorgeous bit of artistry. I especially like the bows on the necks of the geese. It reminds me of some carved wooden decorations my mother had in our kitchen in the '80s.


Beneath that bit of fun was this retro paper. I have to admit that I like it in a granny sort of way. The colors are cheerful and something about it reminds me of Strawberry Shortcake - the show, not the food.










And we can't forget the lovely porcelain tile on the floor - hiding not one, but two layers of linoleum,  a sparkly yellow one and a deep red with black scroll-work. Textured, filthy, and impossible to keep clean, not to mention the slickest thing you've ever stepped on. I lost track of how many times someone slipped and fell on this floor.




You can see here yet another layer of wallpaper, a brown gingham, beneath the Strawberry Shortcake paper. The slatted wood is called lath. It is what the plaster is affixed to and is extremely sturdy, lasts forever, and is excellent insulation. It is also a massive paint in the butt to remove.












Alas, it all had to go. We gutted the kitchen completely. And I mean completely. All the way down to studs. Even the wall you see here came down. We even removed the toilet that faced the kitchen door. Sad, but necessary.

This is the same angle as the picture above. The near right corner is the dining room doorway, the far left corner has the basement and outside doors. The header (large beam on the ceiling) adds support to where the wall used to be.

This is the opposite corner. The doorway on the left (half covered by a sheet of plywood) is the dining room doorway. The door on the right leads to the laundry room and then outside.

Then came drywall and cabinets. I wanted beams on the ceiling so we left the header exposed and put in long 2x6s a few feet over to make another. The first one helps with support, but the second is just decorative. They got clad in cedar a few days later.



I got a big honking island complete with extra large drawers, two of which are super deep. Deep enough to hold several mixing bowls and ALL my storage containers, aka glass tupperware.

A pantry where the squished refrigerator used to be...

Some paint...

 A chandelier...

(You can measure time by how big this baby has gotten. I refer back to the first kitchen post...)

And finally, she was DONE!!!

The outer cabinets are painted Linen White from Benjamin Moore, the island is Black Jack, light blue walls are Cumulus Cotton. I never choose a paint that I don't like the name of. It's bad juju. 

You can see the finished beams here - the cedar planks look amazing and you can't tell they aren't solid cedar - excellent trick to save money.

Stone backsplash and an iron sink bought secondhand. That thing weighs a TON!!! Because I saved on the sink ($40 at ReStore), I splurged on the hardware and got a swanky Moen faucet that looks sculptural and gorgeous against my stone backsplash. I could look at it all day. *sigh*

Brand new windows that open from the top and bottom with no cross bars to mess with my clean lines, solid butcher block top on that island, beadboard around the island and on the ends of the cabinets.

I AGONIZED over the floor plan of this kitchen. Knocking out the wall gave us 4 extra feet, but it still wasn't huge. I am a firm believer in design over space, so I got graph paper and did scale drawings for HOURS until I hit on something I thought couldn't be improved on. 

In my family, one person is usually doing the food preparing or cleaning with the occasional "helper", while everyone else is hanging out talking to the preparer (usually me), or  people drift in to get a snack while someone else is cooking. So this is what I did: The sink, double oven, stovetop, and dishwasher are all within a few feet of each other. And most importantly, they are insulated from the rest of the room. The pantry cupboard is in the back left corner and the fridge in the back right in this photo. So someone can come in, from any of the 4 doors into this room, and pass through or get a drink or a snack without disturbing the person doing the cooking.

There is also seating at the island - 3 adults or 4 kids. It's a medium sized bordering on big kitchen, but it has a lot of counter space, great work flow, and designated paths that keep everything moving and working like it should. I LOVE IT.

I made this little shelf with my own two hands. It isn't perfect, but I was really proud of myself. I got a plank at Lowe's and they cut it to size for me, as well as the little bit of trim I got for the front. I wanted to do trim all the way around but I don't know how to do 45 angles and so it's weird like this. I got the brackets and the wine glass holders at Lowe's, too. I painted all the wooden pieces the same color as the cabinets and screwed the brackets to the board and the wine glass holders into the bottom of the shelf. I glued the trim piece on with wood glue. If you look closely, you can see where it went a little crooked on the end, but no one has ever said anything about it, so...

I did cheat and get my husband to put the wall brackets in for me, so this will technically hold 50 pounds or something like that, but I did the majority of it myself.

In case you're wondering, those giant glass jars came from Wal-Mart and they are FABULOUS. Easily the most fabulous things I've ever bought there.

The chandelier was second hand - I seriously love it. Enough that I am considering swapping it out for a different one and taking it with me when I sell this place...

View from the corner by the basement and outside doors. The floor is laminate because I have 3 children and it's easy to clean. The ceiling has pot/can/recessed lights on 3 different switches: The main switch turns on 5 lights, there is another for the light over the sink, and another for the one by the door, directly over the camera in this shot. The chandelier is on its own switch as well. What can I say? I like lighting options.

So there you have it. Dungeon kitchen turned bright and cheery. Thank God!!!