Kitchen, August 2013

Current Progress
In August, I set out to tackle some kitchen basics: our second dining chair, a dining table, shelves, a tiled toe kick, drawers, and finding storage.  Our kitchen is not done yet, but we certainly have moved forward!

Our kitchen photo-capsule:

Here's where we are now, August 2013:

We love our Cole & Mason salt and pepper mills, too!

Here's where we were when we moved in, April 2013:

And here's where we started, April 2012 to where we are now, August 2013:

Rewind: April, 2012

Over a year ago, my husband and I walked upstairs to see what our future home would look like. We knew we would clean, paint, and floor, but we didn't actually expect that we'd gut our home at first meeting.  The kitchen had been recently renovated in 2008, but there were problems from that renovation. My mom's then go-to handyman had built the cabinets, but the laminate he installed did not reach to the wall. There was a gap, where it seemed food had fallen into the cabinets. When we opened the doors and drawers, some were falling apart, and some had a terrible smell.

As we cleaned out rotted food and trash lining the bottoms and backs of some of the drawers, sink base, and some of the shelves, we found a network of mouse holes and what looked like remnants of nests. My brothers helped us car-jack the laminate off the cabinets and we unexpectedly gutted the entire kitchen. We said goodbye to the quaint, moldy, retro fridge, and the old stove that was plugged in next to the door, not in its prime.

There was a light switch to the right of the door, where the stove used to be.  Our electrician moved it where our entryway console is.  He put in new outlets, including an outlet for our 10 cubic foot refrigerator, next to the door.  He added wiring for a garbage disposer and our dishwasher and built new cabinet bases.

Honestly, the kitchen is what kept us from moving upstairs sooner.  When our 1 year renovation anniversary rolled around, we knew we had to move, or our home would be a money pit for no reason.  Having to live in an unfinished kitchen has not been ideal, but it has also helped me become more thankful for every improvement I needed to take under my own wing.  I've learned so much by being left to my own devices, and I am so thankful for having an opportunity to try things.  :)

Fast Forward: August 2013

Here are the projects I documented in our kitchen this month:

Pickle Jar Storage Containers

Kitchen Ledge Shelves

Deciding to Buy a Breville Smart Oven

Tiled Cabinet Toe Kicks

Second Squared2 Dining Chairs

Squared2 Dining Table

"nourish" Crate

and the Magnetic Measurement Organizers I posted about at the end of July:

There is still a ways to go, but I am thankful for being where we are.  We have a place to cook, and a place to sit down and eat.  :)  That's what is important, in the end.