We bought our house about 9 years ago having just been married and still pretty much children. It was all we could afford and was a refinanced home, so it needed a little work. It is a basic three bedroom, brick ranch style home, but the addition of a family room with a large stone wall and wood burning fireplace just sealed the deal and we fell in love with it. We have since remodeled all of the bedrooms and added much needed lighting, remodeled the two bathrooms, and added wood flooring in the living room, as well as creating a waterfall and little outdoor seating area that we just love in the back yard. The one room left to tackle was the kitchen, but we knew it would be a big project, so we just kept putting it off. I am happy to say that we finally decided to bite the bullet and remodel this very outdated and frankly, pretty ugly room!
After giving the cabinets a very thorough inspection, we decided that real, solid wood cabinets are a rarity today and we wanted to keep them, but update them as much as possible. They are very sturdy and in really great shape, so all that was needed was a a little sanding, a fresh coat of paint and new hardware. I really wanted the kitchen to be as bright as possible as we don't have a window in there, so we decided to go with a nice white semi gloss paint with a wax sealant. For the backsplash, we chose a very light, neutral colored mosaic style tile that will both add a little color, but remain fairly neutral at the same time. I just love the ever so slight pops of light blueish grey mixed with the tan colors! I had my heart set on a dark wood butcher block counter top, but Chris and I did some research and realized that it is actually pretty difficult to maintain. And while I LOVE spending time cooking and baking in my kitchen, spending time cleaning and treating the counter tops is not something that I really wanted to do. So I gave up on the idea of butcher block and Chris, Ivan, and I wandered around Lowe's until we found a shade and style that we all agreed would go perfectly with the backsplash and white cabinets. It was so adorable seeing Ivan just throw out his ideas and true feelings on each counter top! That little boy has quite the personality!! This left us with only paint colors to decide on, so I let the boys loose in Lowe's while I picked about 20 paint samples and then brought them home for Michelle and my sister to weigh in on!! We narrowed it down to a few different neutral shades and I eventually decided on fair maple (or was it faint maple?! I can never remember!).
Once all of the decisions had been made, it was time to get home and start on the demolition phase! Chris wanted to raise the cabinets up 3 inches to give us more room for my mixer and different counter top accessories, so we knew this would be a bit time consuming. But he had his trusty sidekick, Ivan, helping him, so the job went very quickly and smoothly! I don't know that I've seen that kid as happy as he was the moment Daddy put him on the counter, gave him a hammer, and told him to swing as many times as it took to tear out the drywall above the cabinets! Daddy is VERY cautious when it comes to his boy, so Ivan was all set with eye protection and Daddy's hands on him the whole time. He has also been a great help sanding the cabinets and removing the old backsplash. As a mom, these are my favorite moments to watch - the moments when my little boy realizes he is capable of more than he thought and takes one more step towards becoming a little man! Makes my Momma heart so happy!
Anyway, the demolition phase is taking a lot longer than expected, and I have been going crazy! My house is in complete disarray, there is dust EVERYWHERE, and I can't ever seem to find what I need! I had a mini breakdown when attempting to do laundry but not finding anywhere clean enough to fold the clothes. My husband is very much a voice of reason and had to talk me down and remind me that no one is going to die because I can't do the laundry or dishes! He's right, he's right, I know he's right! I also hate the fact that we're eating out so much, but Michelle has been gracious enough to cook for us and invite us all over for dinner, so I really should just calm down and relax a little bit!
Up next will be starting to put things back together, so be sure to check back for part two. In the mean time, please enjoy the pictures of my very messy, chaotic house!!
