Monday, February 1, 2010

Preparing for the Remodel

I bought this cute little cupboard for our daughter at a neighbor's garage sale a few years ago, but she didn't have room for it at her last place.  The woman's dad made it for her when she was a girl.  Now that Ashley has moved, she has room for it, and we'll give it back to her when the remodel is about to start.



We moved it out of the living room so we could replace it with the glass door shelf that was in the bedroom we turned into a dining room.

Before:




After, the shelf is on the west wall instead of the south wall, as the cupboard was:



All of this moving was actually done in order to get the hoosier moved out of the kitchen.  I was willing to try to sell it, but Larry didn't want to, which really pleases me, because I was the one who insisted on getting a cupboard like this.  I liked the ones with chipped paint, so this was our compromise.



Here it is, in its new home in the dining room.  It's pretty crowded.  I thought we would have to move the sewing machine with the TV on it, and we may, but for now, it looks better than I thought it would.  Oh, I just noticed the shelf on the basket of towels on the chair on the left that hasn't been put up yet.




So, here is the temporary home for Ashley's cupboard.  We are planning on putting the silver shelf in the computer room, which is turning into a play room for our grandson.




I scooted the big shelf over to about where the end of the 6 feet of cupboard/counter space will be with the open shelves above it.  I am excited that there will be a microwave above the stove instead of in this area.




It's going to be fun experiencing the same amount of room we'll have for our table when it's all done.  It's almost tempting to just have the main work area get the new cupboards, but I really need more counter space, and it's going to be awesome when it's done.




By the way, the cupboards in this area, which is U shaped, will have doors on them, and I hope to not fill them so full the doors don't stay closed.  LOL  The door on the other side of the baby gate leads to the dining room.  There is a restroom behind the stove, so the rooms couldn't be made into one.



I want to thank those of you who have made comments and suggestions on my kitchen posts.  I have been spending lots of time reading Consumer Reports and shopping to figure out what appliances to get. We have picked out a side by side Energy Star refrigerator that won't stick out as far into the room as others.  We are planning to go ahead and switch from electric to gas with a convection oven.  We can't afford the duel fuel ones.  We're pretty sure we know which range and dishwasher we want, and I am going back and forth between 3 different microwave ovens.

I hope to do some blog reading the next few days, and see what you are all up to.  Wow, it's February!  Before the month is over, I hope to get some lettuce and such planted.  I have so much I'm thankful to God for, and am very excited for spring to get here.  

18 comments:

  1. perfect time to do this - Keeps your mind on positives such as the coming Spring and all anew !!sandy

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  2. Very exciting Sue! It looks like you are doing your homework too, excellent! The little cupboard looks great in the kitchen too. I got really excited with the glass shelving photo however. I have several similar vase type thingeys as the birds and child on the top and next one down shelves. They belonged to my grandmother. We had some hummels too, one for each kid with the plate to match for the year they were born. The kids have them now. Your kitchen will be a dream! :-)
    Frances

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  3. Sue, This is so exciting! I just love the Hoosier cabinet; it looks like it's in excellent shape. Btw, the tea towels on the window look sweet. gail

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  4. Hey Sue girl ! It is so exciting to have a room remodled .. especially a kitchen because we spend so much time there eh ?
    You can never have enough counter space girl so that is a great point .. I have my micro wave above the counter top with the cupbards and it really leaves you with so much more room .. we switched over our kitchen appliances last November and getting the energy efficient ones are really worth the home work investigating which ones best suit our needs : )
    Good luck with it all and I am looking forward to seeing how it all works out !
    Joy

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  5. Hi Sue ~ I can remember when we remodeled our kitchen space, it was exciting, frustrating at times, but oh the joy when it was all finished. We did the work ourselves, so it took longer that the three days your crew is going to do. I bet you can hardly wait for it all to begin. Where will you stay while this is going on?

    I LOVE your Hoosier. I can't wait to see your new kitchen set up and decorated.

    Hugs ~ FlowerLady

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  6. You will be soooo appreciative when the remodeling is over! Lots of work, but I'm sure you'll be so happy with the results. :-) Have a great week.

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  7. Sue, I am excited for you! I know what a thrill it is. I have no regrets about the mess or having people in the house (which I hate) for the three months or so it took.

    I am glad you didn't get rid of the Hoosier cabinet. I wish I could find a place for my cherry cabinet. I know it is ruining out in the shop.

    Take lots of pictures when they are finished.

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  8. Sue, I'm so happy for you....a new kitchen sounds great. Don't fret too much over the decisions. I feel sure you'll be delighted with everything you choose.

    donna

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  9. It's going to be great when it's done. I love that hoosier cabinet :-)

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  10. So much fun doing all of that planning, isn't it? We're adding a small wet bar downstairs in our family room. I suppose I should look into counter top microwaves, I haven't had one for a long time. I may move my canning stuff down there when it's all done, I'm still debating.

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  11. I love love that little cupboard... I would paint it white! ;)

    cielo

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  12. I popped on over to see what you have been up to, and WOW! Pretty exciting stuff. :)

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  13. Hi Sue! yes, the time is going by fast, which I'm so glad for! Spring is around the corner :) I had trouble with your pictures all loading...only a few showed. I see though that you have a great collection of figurines!
    I do not have pics on the blog about my kitchen remolding (from your last comment)...thanks for sharing yours!

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  14. oops...meant kitchen 'remodeling'...don't want any mold...lol!
    Lynn

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  15. Have fun with your plans for your kitchen and with your planting!

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  16. Hi Sue, finally...I am catching up! Taking my blog offline, deleting everything from Blotanical--well, it gave me a feeling of 'peace' for a couple of months. I had time to re-group and think about what really mattered to me. I realized how much I enjoyed keeping my blog and having so many friends through blogging, as well. I am so glad to be back...but getting around for visits hasn't been quite as frequent as I used to do when I first started blogging. Anyway...I see you are going to have a re-do of your kitchen, and I am very happy for you. I hope you are able to have enough room to do what you'd like without feeling so jammed in. It's nice to have some counter space and room to spread out.

    Right now we're in the midst of a giant snowstorm so we're hunkering down! Lots of fun;-) I am also doing a 'sustainable living' program on my blog with a give away. I hope you will take part!! Take care of yourself my friend, Jan

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  17. I wannntttt that cupboard! Remodeling is such fun, isn't it? (Ictually, not something I like doing, but I like other people's adventures in it because I get all kinds of ideas...

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  18. I can't wait to see how the kitchen reno plays out. I enjoy reading about the planning process and ideas! It's just as much fun as doing it.

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