Chaos in the Kitchen: The Renovations Begin

We’re in the midst of a kitchen renovation around here… exciting and messy!

This is what we are trying to accomplish:

make the kitchen feel more spacious
replace laminate cabinets and countertops that are falling apart {packing tape is holding counter edges in place}
create more counter work space
have an island where four people can be seated; ideally not all in a row {we want it to feel like a table}
have our kitchen feel more interesting and funky

Here’s the before view {the hole in the soffit is there because Mr. BOP was looking for the heating duct}:

The kitchen was like this when bought our house about nine years ago. We added this butler’s pantry on one side {through the doorway on the right} to create more storage and counter space. It was a great enhancement, and we decided to keep that in the same configuration, but with new cabinets and counter.

As we planned the renovation, we turned to architect Dick Robson {my step-father}. Here’s the concept drawing that he created for us, below. The area to the left of the present fridge has been open space for an eat-in table {earlier in our lives} and now, a couch. Using that wall for kitchen workspace gains the spacious feeling that we were looking for. Plus, the view from the sink will now look out toward the stream. The only loss here is that we really have enjoyed having a couch in the kitchen.

This plan accomplishes everything we were looking for — counter space, a seating area for the four of us {the island is 8 feet across} and space that is overall more interesting. The pantry will remain on the right hand side of this view. We have made a few minor changes, such as decreasing the height of the soffit above the island and also continuing the counter all the way across to the left of the new fridge. Although we like the breakfront look, we decided to sacrifice some style for function in that area. We also needed to replace four windows on the left side to accommodate the counter height.

So, this brings us to our current phase; chaos and demolition! We feel fortunate to be working with Joe Churchill of J&L Woodworking, as they create custom cabinetry and coordinate the kitchen installation. We highly recommend them. Joe and his right hand man, Ron {along with several electricians} got to work this week:

So that’s what’s going on here on our home front. Next week’s tasks; choosing cabinet hardware, painting, approving the concrete countertop sample, emptying the rest of the cabinetry, and coordinating with our plumber and taper. Oh, and packing for camping too! Although renovating a kitchen is challenging, confusing, and inconvenient — I’d say so far, so good. Stay tuned!