31 October 2017

kitchen renovation

Nige's Dad, Keith, came for a visit mid-October primarily to help us with our kitchen renovation.  He was a huge help to Nige, and some neat memories were made as we all helped to change the kitchen into an even more functional room.  Our friend, Bill, from church who is a contractor came and did the electrical work, demo of the old island and pantry, and re-framed the new pantry.  Nige and Keith pretty much did the rest.
BEFORE: the island with a breakfast bar, and low wall that separated the kitchen from the family room.
AFTER: now we have a true island, and it is open all the way around.
BEFORE: the island and breakfast bar.  Where the mat is on the floor is where I stand to do most of my food prep for meals and baking etc.
AFTER: we added in another 15" cabinet, put shiplap around the front and sides of the island, and had the countertop made out of reclaimed wood.  The guy who made the countertop for us, got the wood from Vintage Timberworks in Temecula, CA.  He said the wood came from a 100 year old Sugar Factory in Glendale, AZ and that the wood looks to be about 400 years old.  It is a red/white oak.
BEFORE:  our pantry when it just ran along the back wall.  It was tricky to reach the things on the left because of that support bar.
AFTER:  now pantry is an L-shape.  The trash bin can hide in there.  Nige designed it to have a counter-height shelf which is deep enough for me to have my diary in there too, which is a great little workspace for me, nicely hidden away.
BEFORE: having the wall was handy to have the sofa there, but we are enjoying the new layout much better!
AFTER: we are now able to use our island stools again (which were too low for sitting at the old breakfast bar).  We have new pendant lighting over the island, new under-cabinet lighting, new crown molding on the cabinets, and new flooring.  We are loving our new kitchen, and sharing it with all those who come into our home.


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