Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Kitchen Update

I normally stick pretty close to gardening on my blog.  Actually, if you think about it, the kitchen is an extension of the garden.  It's where we bring the food we grow, prepare it, cook it, and if there's room, eat it.  We may even have some plants growing in it.  I just know I am excited for my kitchen to become more functional.  These pictures were emailed to me today, but the ones he first showed us I don't have yet.  Here's a link to the post with my before photos if you didn't see it.

This is the view of the U area.  It's hard to see what all is there, but I am losing the cupboards above the sink.  The planner/contractor is working well with us, and making changes as requested.  He is going to put a shelf across the window.  On the left of the sink there is a nice corner cupboard at an angle.


The second photo shows the 6 foot cupboard that is going to be a few inches from the south wall where the hoosier is currently.  I asked to see what the upper cupboard would look like, and asked if he would be willing to put different kind of shelving, such as track ones.  I found some examples of open shelving to email him last night, and haven't heard back about that.  He did say he'd be willing to do the track shelving, and it would save some money.  That's not my main reason, though.  I think I like the look of open shelving better for the area.  He was originally going to have the table be by the window, and the shelf closer to the door to the kitchen from the rest of the house.  We thought there would be more room for the table on the other end, because it could be closer to the inside door than the counter could be.   I am excited about using this area for popping corn, and using other appliances, such as the popcorn popper, toaster, and slow cookers.  I can store them in the cupboard underneath.




The next is a view from above.  The back door is on the upper right.  The new side by side refrigerator will be in the same place the current one is.  There will be a cupboard above it, with another next to it where the current dishwasher is.  The new built in dishwasher will be in about the same spot.  The new gas stove will be moved closer to the sink, so there can be a counter on each side of it.  A built in microwave/fan will be above the stove.  The cupboards will go to the top, and not have separate doors for the above ones like we have now.  The gateleg table will remain under where the photo shows a plate rack.  There will be room for a chair on the other side or against where the cupboard will be.

I will be glad when I can have room to do things in the kitchen when the dishwasher is running, and won't blow fuses.

They are also going to take the carpet off the stairs to the basement and remove the paneling.  I don't remember if they are putting something up or what.




Several others have shown photos of their kitchens.  I hope more will be inspired to do so.  I should send you to see FlowerLady's.  When I showed Larry her photos, he asked me if I was sure I wanted to have cupboards along the south wall.  He pointed to my current shelves and said that was me, and that FlowerLady's kitchen was me.  I told him someone pointed out that I will make the kitchen homey.  I am glad he is supporting me in having open shelving instead of another cupboard on the south (to the left in the above photo) wall.

I am now up past my bedtime, and can't remember who else has posted theirs.  If you have a post about your kitchen, feel free to leave a link to it in a comment here.

19 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. I remember that there are few kitchen rules and one of them is to have the fridge, the sink & the stove in a triangle.
    As this is a major activity area but Im not sure whether this is what been designed here.

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  3. Sue I am so happy for you getting your kitchen done. I know how exciting that is. As a matter of fact I know all too well how exciting that is and could barely look at your photos. LOL I used to work with an architectual designer. They did very high end commercial projects and when the economy tanked brought on more residential projects. Always insanely expensive. I did the proposal and conceptual drawings throughout the process and there were new drawings with each new change. I never wanted to see another re-model again in my life.

    Tell me when you're all done so I can open my eyes again. LOL

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  4. I can sure feel your excitement Sue. I love that your going to have some open shelving. It's hard to believe these people will do this job in three days. I can't wait to see the transformation. I know you and Larry will be glad when it's all over as the process can be very stressful, not to mention not being able to work in your own space for awhile. Do keep us posted. I am enjoying this. Thanks for the link to my kitchen/scullery post. I love our new space and know you will love yours too.

    FlowerLady

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  5. Nice plans, Sue! I like the open shelve concept. Our kitchen renov. was a fun time for me...countless hours spent looking through catalogs and mags for that perfect design/style. Can't wait to see your results! :)

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  6. I've been thinking about redoing my kitchen for 25 years. It's great to see that someone was actually able to make the necessaary decisions. It is going to be beautiful.

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  7. I can only imagine how excited you must be getting. Think of all the time you spend in the kitchen...I can't wait to see it all come together.

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  8. Getting your kitcken redone is very exciting. I put beveled glass doors on some of my cabinets a few years ago and it was almost as good as a re-do. Changed the look of the kitchen over night! I replaced apliances last summer. The oven and refrigerator went out in the same month.
    The open cabinets will be great!
    The kitchen IS an extention of the garden. I too grow all sorts of winter plants in the kitchen.
    Looking forward to seeing your new kitchen when she is finished.
    Sherry

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  9. cant wait to see the finished project

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  10. This looks great, Sue. I feel as though I'm watching some HGTV! ;-) Keep us posted.

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  11. oh great! I love a kitchen remodel! Hope you'll post some before and after photos.

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  12. How exciting. I'd love to a do a little fixer upper on my kitchen. It could certainly use a more efficient layout of counters and appliances.

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  13. It's going to look great! We have doors on our cupboards, but I really like the open shelf look a lot. Can't wait to see how it turns out!

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  14. Looking forward to seeing the completed product.

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  15. Sue - I've given you an award! The award is designed to introduce readers to new and interesting blogs. Here is what the Kreativ Blogger Award asks you to do. If you can’t do all of it, don’t worry; the award is still yours!
    1. Copy the creative blogger logo from my blog www.commonweeder.com onto a post in your blog.
    2. Link to me in that post.
    3. Mention seven things about you and/or your blog that might be of interest.
    4. Mention (and link to) seven other blogs you like.

    This is fun, and I hope you'll think so too.

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  16. I do like the open shelf look, especially when it shows off pretty dishes and glassware. Living through a kitchen renovation has to be so frustrating, but I know you're going to be thrilled with the results when it's all done.

    I don't think I'll show off my kitchen right now...unless you want to see a sink full of dirty dishes:)

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  17. Hello Sue, I see you're celebrating the New Year with a new kitchen - that sounds exciting. I was intrigued to see how important a popcorn popper was in your plans. I don't think I'd know a popcorn popper if I fell over it!

    Your open shelving sounds very stylish and I'm sure will make the kitchen seem bigger than enclosed cupboards.

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  18. Sue, I believe you are making some very good choices, and I can't wait to see the finished product. Pamela x

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  19. A new kitchen sounds wonderful! I couldn't do open shelving, I love it, but we are messy! gail

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I welcome comments and questions from anyone, including those who do it anonymously. Some people find my posts by doing searches, and I like hearing from them. I guess spammers won't even read this message, but I will delete spam as soon as I see it.