The good news: our remodel has begun – the kitchen demolition is complete!
The bad news: we are now camping in our living and dining rooms.
After a hellish day of packing up every single item in the kitchen (10 year old rubber sippy cup insert, anyone?), we moved it all into the living room and dining room. Our makeshift kitchen looks like this:
The night before the kitchen demolition, the four of us took Sharpies to the walls (that are being refinished anyway) and graffiti’ed our hearts out. You can see our artwork here.
With the exception of blowing all the circuits in the living room while trying to microwave rice, things are going pretty smoothly. The biggest pain is having to wash silverware and cups in the basement sink. We are using paper plates and bowls, but I just felt too guilty about using everything disposable.
Here is what has happened so far:
- Pantry knocked out to make way for a work/desk area
- Bulkheads ripped out
- Cabinets and counter tops removed and donated to Habitat for Humanity
- Old ceramic tile ripped out
- All electrical and plumbing rough ins and wiring done
- Crappy drywall smoothed over.
- Floor tile is being finished today.
Old cabinets and counter tops waiting for their new owner
Bulkhead removed and drywall patched
Area to the right of door opening used to be the pantry
Floor prepped and ready for tile
My dog doesn’t know what the hell to do with herself. She’s terrified of the hanging sheets of plastic, and the loud noise from the kitchen demolition sent her into my bedroom closet. She barks at every workman who comes in the house and then cowers at their feet waiting for some love. We had to move her lead from the backyard to the front, and she loves reigning over her territory on the weed ridden front lawn.
Queen Nellie
Hopefully our lives will go back to normal on May 1st. That is the reconnect day, and the day we can move back into our kitchen. In the meantime, who is having us over for dinner?
Want to see the finished kitchen? Check it out HERE.
Wow. My husband wanted to remodel the kitchen in our old house. I could never summon up enough courage to go without a kitchen while he was fixing it up. I wish I had! May 1st will be here before you know it!
I hope so! We are now two weeks in and I am getting tired of making do. But then I remember that I don’t like to cook even in a full kitchen, so things aren’t really that different!
Holy cow! I will be seeing you for dinner May 1. Kidding 🙂
I said the kitchen would be in working condition; I didn’t say I was cooking 🙂
Love the graffitti. especially the DON”T PAINT ME ORANGE 🙂 We are having moms night in tomorrow night if you are in the area. 🙂
I wish, Kerri!
My parents did a major kitchen remodel when I was growing up, and I remember clearly having to wash stuff in our tiny powder room sink forever. Hang in there! Personally, I say just use paper products as much as you want! 😉 Stopping by from SITS.-Ashley
Oooh….exciting!!! We added on to our house when I was pregnant with our youngest (who is now 12) and the kitchen was one of our big projects. I got a whole new kitchen…the old one now has a dining room table. Our project took forever though because of it being an add on upstairs and down, and I was cooking on a hot plate in the great room. Ugh! Enjoy and share pics when you are done!!
I will, Michelle. Cabinets are going in as I type this – woo hoo!
Ohhh! I love to see kitchen remodels! Demo is always a fun time, and I love the way you grafitti’d the walls. Looking forward to seeing the finished result!
Thanks, Leslie – I will post tons of pictures when it’s all done.
I love remodels but for clients rather than my own….! 🙂
I would love to see the finished project.
xoxo,
KG
http://www.kgstyleblogs.com
I will definitely post when it’s all done. I’ve been looking at photos of beautiful kitchens for so long – can’t wait until mine is one too!
I’m sure it will turn out beautifully! One rule of thumb for kitchen remodels – tr
Wow, I don’t how you manage to stay sane with all that chaos. It would be neurotic, but I guess a new kitchen will be well worth it. Hopefully, it gets finished ahead of schedule.
It will be worth it, and I am pretty organized – trying to keep the chaos in one area. Eating out helps, too 🙂
Good luck! I can’t stand having any work done in the house. I just don’t feel settled the whole time.
I know what you mean, Lisa. Fortunately the guys doing the work are great, and I just try to stay out of their way.
So cool. I would LOVE a new kitchen. But I have to say- I was distracted reading this because I kept thinking, “did she get a new blog theme?” Am I being a dolt or did you renovate? Either way, looks good!
I did change my theme – it’s my third Elegant Theme since I started blogging. Clearly I have trouble committing to a design!
When I was a kid, we had both the bathroom and kitchen remodeled (at different times). They were the worst remodeling jobs in terms of displacement. However the end results were amazing and so worth it. Can’t wait to see the finished product and if you did live closer would so offer dinner at the very least 🙂
I know you would, Janine. It hasn’t been too bad – using the grill has been really helpful.