Tuesday, November 22, 2022

Casa Kittling's Kitchen Evolution

I've told you in my Weekly Link Round-Ups that Denis and I called our go-to remodeler to have work done on the kitchen. It is the last of the rooms I expect to undergo a change, and there's two reasons for that: (1) We've had a bellyful of the disruption and inconvenience, and (2) we haven't won any lotteries lately.

What's slightly amusing about this last room to undergo the knife is that it's the room I've wanted to change the longest. Why did it take so long for us to give the green light on the transformation? It's all my fault. Having had to correct several of the previous owner's "improvements" over the years, I had the irrational fear that the hollow "cubby hole wall" hid some sort of money pit monster. I could see that Denis and Claude the remodeler were getting tired of me dragging my feet, so I insisted that a hole be cut into that bothersome wall to check for monsters. 

There weren't any.

For some reason that we couldn't see, the previous owners had blocked off two and a half feet of valuable kitchen real estate in a kitchen that was small to begin with. Once I saw there were no monsters hiding in the dark, all systems were go. I'll start the photos with two from The Olden Days to give you an idea of how this room has changed over the years.
 

Although this photo is about 20 years old, changes had already been made to the kitchen and family room. Chiefly the flooring in both rooms (the original was beige carpet in both) and a new stove and microwave.

Family room back in the day.

The first two photos were "before" photos... before my best friend Helen and I turned ourselves loose. I got out a hammer and chisel and sander and got rid of all the fake bricks on the backsplash and over the cubby holes, and then we cleaned and painted. And painted. And painted.

Bye, bye bricks. Hello, new countertops.

Painted over the paneling. Both rooms were lighter and brighter.

The exploratory hole.

All the cubby hole wall was hiding was 2.5 feet of empty space back to the original wall. It also hid a second door that the previous owners had nailed shut. Their kitchen remodel called for nailing two doors shut and paneling over a window.

The light blue-gray half circle is where the stove used to be. That light blue-gray is called "Salt Water"-- fitting for a house where a submariner lives.

When they removed the old paneling, they uncovered the original mural wallpaper that was in the family room when I moved in. I'd forgotten all about it.

Why would they block off 2.5 feet of valuable floor space to cover up superficial fire damage? These people were nuts!

Drywall goes up.

Then the texture.

Then the flooring. (Vinyl plank. Waterproof. Scratchproof. Good for 40 years.)

Cabinets and a countertop go in.

Love it, love it, love it! And the white baseboards add a nice finishing touch. This flooring is much better for mobility devices.

Quite a difference from the very first photo, eh? The room looks so much bigger.

For some strange reason, we don't miss those cubby holes at all!

Already got the Thanksgiving turkeys up!

Originally, the huge lucite turntable was on top of the refrigerator, and that's where I kept the crockpot, can opener, and toaster. When I moved the coffee and tea station from one side of the kitchen to this new countertop, I had the bright idea to use the turntable to house all the "stuff"-- from cups to teabags to creamer to sweetener to coffee pods. Denis and I tried it out almost immediately, so we know that it works very well.


I hope you enjoyed the little tour. Denis and I are certainly enjoying the new space! The past year has been messy, a pain in the neck, and expensive, but with both of us having health issues, we were so very fortunate to be able to make the necessary changes to keep this house a functioning, comfortable home.

20 comments:

  1. Looks very nice and perfect for scooting around. And it's light. I love lazy Susans, and have one in my refrigerator. Excellent work and perfect for the holiday cooking and clean-up. Enjoy your refurbished kitchen.

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    1. We are enjoying it, thanks, Kathy.

      I've often wondered who didn't like Susan so much that they derogatorily named a piece of furniture after her. Now that I noticed many people have finally stopped referring to "lazy Susans" and are calling them turntables instead, I feel much happier for the Susans of the world. :-)

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    2. I didn't even know there was another term for this gadget. Mine is so old I don't even think about it. But I will try to remember the word change.

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    3. I wasn't aware of the change either until recently.

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    4. Yes, it took me awhile to stop making that association.

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  2. Love it! Those countertops are so beautiful. You have so much more room in your kitchen now...and you survived the reno! :D

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    1. Denis just commented five minutes ago that he feels as though everything is finally coming together. I agree! :-D

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  3. Oh, it's beautiful, Cathy! Light and open and welcoming and it looks like it'll be much easier for both of you to move around. I love the look of it, too - it's...restful. So glad it's over, even if you didn't find a treasure trove in that walled-off space. Now you can really enjoy your home even more.

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    1. Yes. After all we've been through this year, 2022 seems to be ending on a high note.

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  4. Remodeling is always such a pain, but, in this case, so worth it. The result is beautiful.

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  5. Very nice. I'm glad it's finished and you don't have to put up with the remodeling activities anymore.

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    1. Yes, we have enough to contend with as it is!

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  6. That definitely looks better, and somehow seems as though you gained far more space than just a couple of feet! I'm glad you can enjoy the results in time for Thanksgiving.

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    1. We really didn't gain that space at all, since the cabinets come out to the same place as the cubby hole wall did. I think what makes the difference is the shelving above. It opens the space up instead of that wall going up to the ceiling.

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  7. Wow! The kitchen looks so much bigger. We love our vinyl plank flooring, it is so durable and comfortable to walk and stand on. I can see why you would leave the kitchen until last - it probably causes the most disruption. I'm so glad it is done and thanks for showing us the progress!

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  8. Wow, I had forgotten what that kitchen looked like in that early photo. What a tremendous change. Very nice my friend.

    I'm thinking no, but I have to ask... where you aware that there has been a fire? I suppose disclosure laws are different in the early 80's too.

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    1. And I like that you could turn the refrigerator that direction now. 🙂

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    2. I had no clue there'd been a fire. Thank goodness it was only very superficial damage!

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    3. Denis is happy about the refrigerator, too. Me? I'm getting used to it. I quite liked it the way it was. Oh well. More space.

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