Wednesday, July 29, 2009

The Kitchen Remodel, or why I'm blogging about stuff that goes in the oven.

Back in May, TheTooth and I finally moved to our new house. Unfortunately the house came without kitchen appliances. Fortunately, this presented us with our best opportunity to do things over. This is an image of the before version. Yeah, it's a mess, and I had already run out of space:


As you can see, outside of the fridge we brought from the old garage, and our microwave (both on the right) there's not much with which to cook, and little usable space. Best guess is this kitchen was created in 1964 when the house was remodeled and the Formica countertop was added some time later. It needed help. So, TheTooth, my wonderful parents, a couple of friends who helped out, and I created my paradise. It's still undergoing a bit of renovation as I haven't yet picked out the lighting, we just installed the baseboards, the pass-through needs to be finished, and we need to repaint again, but here's the result pretty much to date.

View from the same direction:


View of my cookbook bookshelves, countertops, and my favorite cabinet pulls (ya gotta love forks, knives, and spoons in the kitchen!):


Yes, I am spoiled rotten, and yes, I have already used most of the burners. I know I won't much of the time but I prefer gas and unless I wanted to redo the whole gas arrangement for the kitchen to accommodate wall ovens, this was my option. Trust me, I am in no way complaining. I prefer this version. I know it's summer and all, but I just can't resist cooking on it. Plus, that vent hood works so well the house really doesn't heat up.

You might wonder why I went with wood when granite and all of the composites are the big thing. One reason: huge cutting surface. Yes, I'll have to go to a bit more trouble to keep it clean and in good condition, but for me it was worth it. Also, we have no intention of ever moving again, so what do we care about resale values and such?

I can't thank those who helped me create this place enough: my appliance guy, who helped me find refurbished appliances so I could stay in budget, my wonderful hubby TheTooth, my incredible parents who worked like mad on this, and the great friends who pitched in too. I can't wait to cook many meals for you all!

No comments: