Kitchen Reno

It is mid-November, we have embarked on a kitchen renovation. For 9 years I lived with a kitchen that was enclosed, I never liked being in there. The cabinetry was dingy and old, the fridge was a teenager and the countertop stopped being pretty in 1983. Nevertheless, we made do because that is what we had to do. It was functional enough but it never inspired us to want to spend any more time than necessary in that room. We did have a back door in the room that let in some nice light and a clear view of our kids playing in the back yard. I don't want to complain, I always felt fortunate to even have a kitchen of my own and food to fill the cupboards.

One of our big 'must-haves' when we were looking for our new home was a nice kitchen, or at least one that had the potential to be nice. I had always wanted to knock down the wall between the dining room and kitchen in our other house, but it was a structural wall, which would have meant a great deal of money and work, and asking for help. When my husband installed a wood stove in our basement, and put the chimney through that wall it squashed the dream for good (sorry honey, I know it was the only place for it to go.. I do..)... and when potential buyers came through the house, 7/10 of them said 'I wonder if we could knock this wall down'... if I was feeling really honest I would say 'no'.. other times I'd let them figure it out on their own...

In any event, I now have a kitchen that I love. I loved it the day I saw it, simple white cupboards (with no melamine in site, and no oak strip on the bottom!) nice ceramic tile floor, appliances I adore (and that work well, AND are from this century), the room is light and bright and I know I will love it forever. I do miss my gas stove (the one and only splurge from the old kitchen - and we sold it with the house...) but have gotten very used to the electric again.

If that wasn't enough, to already love the kitchen, we also knew we would be able to knock down the wall separating the kitchen from the large open dining/living room combo room. We are going to install a lower set of cupboards, and a countertop of course. We'll also add a small raised section to hide the mess a bit and add an interesting perch for the kids for breakfast, or for a glass of wine for our guests while we cook. The wall will have a very large blackboard/white board/cork board of some kind with the phone for our 'command centre'. The extra cupboard space will allow us to find a home for our various appliances we couldn't bear to part with but have never really had the space for. And we will also double our work space, and my dream - a place for buffet style dinners! I am so very pleased that I will finally have a kitchen I love, and be able to make it the true heart of our home, to have guests in and not be secluded in the kitchen, to have an open spot for easy conversations, and to have loads of storage and work space. I have simple tastes, it may not be everybody's dream kitchen, but it is mine.

Of course, to fit into my blog, I need to elaborate on how we are being frugal. Luckily for me, my hubby is very handy. He is an electrical engineer so he has no problem relocating electrical outlets and light switches. He also can easily identify structural things like knowing what is load bearing and such. This past Saturday while I was babysitting to pick up some extra cash, my hubby tore down the wall (and even cleaned up the mess!). He capped off the electric part and rebuilt the 'header' of the wall to match up with a part we are keeping (which helps hide the stove and keep it built-in). We will source the cabinets and countertop ourselves, and install them ourselves too. So just a little dry-wall work, and some basic installations and we'll be all set for hundreds perhaps thousands of dollars less than hiring a contractor.

Big kudos to my husband for this one - I have never in our 14 years together seen him not able to do something. Whenever he puts his mind to something, he can do it.. he amazes me and I am so thankful for him. From building satellite components (the real ones, up in space) to carpentry work, plumbing, jam-making, beer-brewing, to being an all-around great guy to be with... he does it all :-)