First week of our major kitchen renovation

It was a typical Monday morning…until we told the kids to graffiti the kitchen wall with a permanent marker.

Day one of our long awaited kitchen renovation needed something notable; something to mark the occasion.  So after the graffiti, we gave the kids a hammer and suggested they put holes in the walls. Shyly tapping at first, they got into it, and did some healthy damage to the kitchen. Once they were gone to school, it was my turn. I’ve been waiting for this day for years!!

Kitchen Coach demolishes kitchen!

Our old kitchen looked quite nice but was totally impractical. After six years, we were used to it, but the dishwasher had been on a work to rule for about two years, the Corian counter had an ever-expanding crack (from a poor installation), and then the oven died. The oven died about 18 months ago!!

This past spring we had a marathon designing spree to create our new kitchen on paper. We wanted more light, more connection to the rest of the ground floor, as well as to our back yard. Since we love to entertain, we wanted as much work space as possible, and of course loads of storage space. Simple style, super practical, and pleasant to be in.

We spent the summer clearing out the basement of our accumulated junk, cleaning the floor and walls, and moving the kitchen into our new temporary kitchen space. A kitchen coach’s dream job!

Here are some before and after pictures of our basement and its new definitely-temporary kitchen.

Kitchen sink

Basement kitchen before

Twelve weeks is what we have been told it will take to get the job done. It should be done by Christmas. … I know! I hear you!! In my mind, I’ve budgeted my mental energy for more than twelve weeks, but there is nothing wrong with optimism and faith.

When the kids came back from school on Day one, there was a solid wall between the construction zone and our living space. The adventure begins!!  I will keep you posted.