Kitchen Post-Wall: The Open Look

One day, I really was going to go back and detail the full process of how we turned our cramped 1970s kitchen into our favorite spot in the house. But, as I come up on a year since the project started, it's time to admit that it ain't gonna happen. Besides, all people really want are pictures of the good stuff right? So here goes, starting with when we had a wall between the living room and kitchen, and when we didn't...

The "nook" in the foyer (below) is the old entrance to the kitchen, which is now moved down to the other side of the breakfast bar. It solved a flooring problem, namely that tile had been run past the end of the foyer...now we've incorporated that section into of the foyer. Also, it gave me something I've always wanted: space for a storage bench in my entryway. 

On the kitchen side, the fridge backs up to the nook, recessed so as not to block window sight lines. I opted to put my Hoosier in this corner, rather than add more cabinets. I worked hard on that baby, and love that we fit it into the reno (and saved $$ by doing so!). 

For the fun of it, here's one during. See more pictures of the de-construction here.

The day this opened up, I sat on my couch with a glass of wine and just stared at this opening for like an hour. Partly marveling at how much that beam of wood added to the renovation costs (see the budget breakdown), but mostly at how drasticly the feeling of my home changed pretty much overnight. Ok, more pretty after "after" pictures to come.

Tear Down The Wall...Kitchen Deconstructed

Once upon a time, our house was all about boundaries. Walls separating the living room from the dining room and kitchen. Built in pantries that blocked doorways when opened: 

After a few years of being separated from guests while I slaved away in the kitchen, I went all Pink Floyd on our house. It was time to TEAR DOWN THE WALL. With the help of some pros, due to a pesky load bearing beam. 

 I'm not sure if I should admit this, but the first night that the wall came down, I poured a glass of wine, sat on a the couch, and just stared in admiration. For like 30 minutes. On a Friday. Opening up our kitchen instantly transformed the entire first floor.

While we lived in a state of destruction and construction for about a month, and the dining room doubled as a pantry for most of that time, the renovation was planned in such a way that we never spent more than a few days without being able to use the bulk of our kitchen. Having all our appliances before it began probably helped.

Was I scared to change the architecture of our home? Absolutely. I went in circles worrying if I we might be ruining our property value, or if we'd regret removing what also served as a sound barrier. However, from the moment that light from the living and dining rooms first flooded into the kitchen, I've had no regrets. The space, and the people using it, are connected just liked we'd hoped. My advice about walls between where you cook and where you live--when in doubt, take it out.

Sneak Peek: Looking into New Kitchen

As I go through my chronologically-challenged blogging, I couldn't help but put a sneak peek of the finished product out there. Well, finished-ish...still have to do more trim, backsplash and a few other items that have been languishing once we got the kitchen to a useable space.

Here's the view of looking in from living room. We built the island using 39" Ikea lidingo wall cabinets facing into the living room (so much storage!!) and regular base cabinets for the front. My husband built a base that the cabinets rest on, and connected them to each other from the inside.

More to come soon, promise!