Ara-basking in New Backsplash

We took the backsplash plunge! While I can infinitely explore the "what ifs" of most design decisions, my husband balances this tendency. After another dizzying visit to Floor & Decor (aisle upon aisle of options; it's overwhelming and amazing all at once!), where I searched for the "perfect" choice, he reminded me that there was more than one perfect choice. That many different tiles would look great in our kitchen, and it was a matter of making a decision and moving on. That we wouldn't be "wrong." Sage words. That led to:

It's the "Arabesque Lantern White Porcelain Mosaic" from Floor & Decor. Just $3.97 a sheet! Used their silver grout, which is just a little lighter than the cabinets. Easier to clean than white, and I like the contrast. The tiles themselves complement the farm sink, and have a simple elegance to them. 

While there are probably a million other tile combos that would have worked, I now have something that I love and the bonus of knowing we saved a ton (our other tile considerations were $10-$30 per sheet). I now find myself working from the breakfast bar to admire the end result, basking in the backsplash. 

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!

"Before," Meet our Pre-Reno Kitchen

My husband and I have added a few people to our circle in the last few months. We recently had some of them over, and all commented on how nice our kitchen is. And while those unsolicited compliments are like music to our ears, one thing about them bothered by husband: "They don't know nice it really IS because they don't know how bad it WAS." If he had his way, we'd keep the before pictures displayed over the sink.

Luckily, I continue the 39" cabinets over the sink, so this cannot actually happen. But, I know what he means. Seeing where we started is key to understanding how much changed, and how much work we did. This one's for you, honey!

At a glance, you might be taken in by the granite counters, nice tile and stainless steel appliances, as we were. However, it only took one meal for us to realize just how dysfunctional this space was. Everything was squeezed into half of a 16' x 11' foot kitchen, reducing prep and cooking space to about a 6' x 6' space. For no good reason.

No cabinet on the left (if you are facing the sink), upper or lower, was accessible when the dishwasher was open. Shortly after unpacking the kitchen, I had to turn around and rearrange all the cabinets so that nothing we used regularly went in those cabinets. If you opened the stove when somebody was at the sink, that person was trapped. If you opened the stove and dishwasher at the same time, the doors touched. When the fridge door opened, the entry to the dining room was blocked. And that door to the garage, behind the pennisula that cut the kitchen in half, meant that you couldn't pull stools up and make good use of that space either.

The photos with the yellow are the "before, before," from when the house was listed for sale. While I forced myself to live with the layout for almost two years, the  harvest yellow walls and flourescent light were non-starters. I painted before I even got all the boxes unpacked. Also, when we moved in, the fridge had been moved into the nook where you see the white bookcase. So truly everything cooking-related was squished into that back half of the room. And while the white paint on the cabinets may have prettied them up a bit, it did nothing to overcome the cavernous, unuseable space at the back of the corner base cabinets. 

This last picture is more to show the scope of work. And how messy my foyer can get. Though that doesn't seem to phase River and Buddha. The couch in the upper right of the pic is on a wall that no longer exists. Then, where you see the entry to the kitchen would become a recessed nook for the fridge in the remodel, as well as creating a bench area. Which is oddly one of my favorite outcomes of this whole project--having a place to sit and take off shoes when you come in the door. Sometimes it truly is the little things.  

Glass Door Knobs Dress Up Pantry

You may recall my excitedly awaiting the arrival of the vintage glass door knobs that were to grace my new Ikea pantry cabinet. The good part about my procrastination in writing about the kitchen renovation is that I've had a few months to think it over, and it's definite--I LOVE having this bit of history gracing my kitchen. The scale is perfect and they are beautiful, receiving many compliments.

When shopping for vintage items, places like ReStore (used and new items donated to and sold by Habitat for Humanity), thrift stores, yard sales and architectural salvage places are all good options. However, when I'm too busy, tired or in need of something very specific, Etsy, where I found these knobs, and Ebay are my go-tos.

Sure, I could drive all over town checking the above places, but for about the same price, I can find exactly what I want and have it shipped to my door. As much as I love DIY and the thrill of the hunt, there is a value to time. Chalk that up to lessons learned the hard way!!

As far as hanging them, we debated a few options, but ultimately de-threaded the screw that would have went through a door (easier said than done!), drilled through the cabinet door and secured them that way. We had to measure out to make sure the screw fell between the draw fronts inside, since there's no room between those and the door. That lesson we just learned through our keen powers of observation. No hard way required. Whew.

Ikea Changed My (Kitchen) Life

Ok, as I've indicated in earlier posts, I got swallowed by the kitchen renovation, which also overlapped with my trying to start a new business PLUS dealing with an extended illness of my husband. If these sound like excuses for why I'm blogging about redoing our 1970s kitchen well after it's (mostly) done, they are. But, pretty good ones. I think. So today I take you back in time, to the magical day when I realized that our new Ikea cabinets would change our lives. Back in "the old days," pre-Ikea, I spent a lot time giving tours of the kitchen--to my children and husband:

Male House Members: "There's nothing to eat."
Me: "Have you looked in the pantry? There's 20 of that soup you like."
MHM: "Nah-ah. I looked. There's only organic food I hate." 
Me (opening the door and pointing to the bright red cans taking up a full shelf): "Right here. Tons."
MHM: "Oh." (In the case of my husband, the "oh" would be followed by thanks. He is a gentleman.)

Now that conversation goes like...nothing. It doesn't happen. Even my teen MHM can find what they want with the pull-out shelves in our new Lindingo gray pantry (so pretty, too!).

Boo. Yah. I keep most of the organic stuff in its own drawer now, so it doesn't get contaminated by the guys' food and to cause them less confusion. And, oh yeah, because I have SO MUCH STORAGE now!!!

Another example of the handy-dandy organizing is this upper corner cabinet with lazy susan. No more things getting buried in dark, forgotten spaces. No joke, everybody started drinking way more tea. It's easy to see and oddly enjoyable to spin the carousel around to find something tasty. 

I'm now replacing teas that sat around since last season, but I consider that a good thing. And nobody asks what kind of tea we have any more. So, yes, the pull-out drawers and lazy susan options are a little spendier. But it is worth it. I can honestly say it changes the way we eat, interact and use our kitchen. Not to mention, we saved so much by going the Ikea route, it wasn't too painful. Now, if only we hadn't decided to remove that load bearing wall. Ugh. 

One day I will write about the long, bumpy road to my DIY planning, and how those HGTV shows are more accurate than we'd like to think. Something always goes awry. Like the first three contractors tell you the wrong wall is load bearing...........Make sure to add a contingency to your budget, and don't secretly think in your head it's not part of your "real" budget, and that you'll never spend it. You will. And if you don't, celebrate by buying a lottery ticket. Because you are one lucky SOB. Just sayin'.