Given that it had such a large kitchen and ample room we were surprised that it only had a small concrete pad for a "patio" but we quickly remedied that before concluding our first two years here by putting in a really wonderful outdoor kitchen (which sees use for BBQing and entertaining pretty much year round).
The kitchen/dining room areas, while relatively large, were not often cramped. We frequently have 20+ people here at mealtime (and that's just family and friends - not even a party!) and it's pretty "cozy" (in realtor terms - packed in like sardines is how I'd describe it)!
Over the years we've kicked around various ideas, plans, "if we had all the money in the world" ideas but nothing seemed to really work. Gerry always liked the notion of pushing out wall(s) but our roof line alone makes that too complicated to seriously consider.
Finally, the decision to remodel was made for us. First the refrigerator died making replacement a necessity. And it seems that the dishwasher had signed a suicide pact with the refrigerator so replacement of that item also shot up on our "to do" (immediately!) list.
We picked out a new one at Sears (took us about 10 minutes - would have been five but Gerry likes to ask at least one question to make the kid earn his commission and we thought it only polite to hear the answer before letting him write up the sale). As a final thought, I asked would this appliance definitely, POSITIVELY fit in the hole to be left by the old appliance and was told "absolutely - all dishwashers are the same size."
Not surprisingly (given our track record) this turned out NOT to be the case (I should have gotten it in writing!). Naturally the fact that the new one would not fit was not discovered until AFTER the old one was removed, loaded onto the truck and destined (hopefully) for the dump. So it sticks out - isn't attached to anything - and (even more fun) if you pull out the top rack while the bottom rack is out the entire thing falls forward crashing plates and glasses (it's a wonder anything is surviving!) Gerry & I took this as a sign from above - it's time to remodel the kitchen and make this absolutely the most expensive dishwasher on the entire planet!
The official start to construction won't begin until later this month but for us the project has already begun. Gerry & I have begun the "packing" phase and I have to say it's been fun/surprising/shocking to pull out things (some of which we had long ago forgotten we even had!) and box them up (while anticipating where they will go in the new kitchen). We tackled the dining room first because the things in there we won't really miss for the 3-4 months we will be without them. From there we moved to the butler's pantry (totally wasted space that will be so improved/useful when completed!) and now we're starting on the kitchen itself.
The Hutch - Before and After
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| Probably not coming back... if interested in purchasing let me know! |
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| Moved to the piano room - Our "temp" kitchen for the duration |
Yesterday we held our last party in the old kitchen. Family & friends joined us for allegedly for a Super Bowl party (but we just needed some extra "muscle" to move the furniture from the dining room - good thing the power went out at the game in the 3rd quarter!) As everyone brought things to contribute to our "tailgating" party, I had to explain that my usual supply of serving platters was "already packed" - it's become my new mantra!
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| Mom's China Hutch Probably not coming back |
We don't have final plans yet - hopefully soon as things will need to be ordered in time to be here to accommodate our builder's schedule! But appliances have been selected and are eagerly awaited (ovens where I don't have to fold my cookie sheets to get them in there!!!) and now we're (actually I'm) in the process of determining what types of cabinets, cupboards, drawers, pullouts, etc. I simply must have. Those are all "functional" decisions that I enjoy but I'm dreading the not-so-functional ones (colors, counter top materials, drawer/cupboard hardware, faucet, etc.) We're have a timeline though - the project (for us) needs to be absolutely completed before Sarah and family arrive this summer. More importantly we're scheduled between two projects for our builder and our window is not endless, fortunately for us - until completion our "kitchen" will be the foyer where we've put the dining room cupboard and eventually the microwave and refrigerator.
Relocating from the dining room to the piano room
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| Wish I could say that was "construction" dust! |
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| The last group shot in front of this wall - scheduled for demolition later this month! |
~later, "it's already packed" tw
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