Kitchen Renovation: Part 2 - Demolition

Boy have I sucked at keeping the blog updated on kitchen progress or what?!?  I have posted pictures periodically on facebook but now that we have reached a nice halfway point (based off of our 5-6 week timeline), I figure it’s time for a real update. 

Our real adventure began the weekend of March 22^nd with getting the washer and dryer relocated upstairs.  Plumbing went in, then electrical, and then Matt and his brother moved the beast of a washing machine in along with the feather light dryer (or at least it felt that way after they moved that freakin’ washing machine in).  We LOVE the new laundry being upstairs and honestly, the laundry portion went very smoothly and paved the way for the next step:  Kitchen Demo!!

Not the best picture but we have added a cabinet to house laundry soap and tiddied up the surrounding area a bit. 

Demo weekend was slated for April 5^th.  Matt and his dad went and picked up a trailer from our contractor on a Thursday.  Matt and I were so excited to get started that he and I got the appliances and cabinets out by ourselves on Friday afternoon/night.  When Matt’s dad and his brother arrived, we got the sink peninsula out and then we were ready to start ripping walls and ceiling down.  A HUGE thank you to Matt's dad and brother Brian for the help with demo and Matt's mom for taking Grant for the morning so progress could move along a little more quickly.   

Before the peninsula and old pantry were out

Demo of the old laundry closet

Demo is done!!

Little helper and big helper

We were pleasantly surprised at how smoothly demo went.  The hardest part of the day was ripping up the old flooring with the underlayment.  Plumbing got roughed in while we were demo-ing and electrical was roughed in the following Monday. 

Getting that floor out!

 

By Thursday of the first week, drywall was already going back up.  Drywall is now complete, painting is done and cabinets are now being installed. 

As soon as cabinets are complete, we are scheduled for our countertop measurement on May 1^st and countertop installation should be May 14^th.  I have the feeling the time between countertop measure and install will feel like an eternity but theoretically we are more than halfway finished with this process and getting closer and closer to the finished product.

Overall, we have been coping remarkable well.  My planning ahead with freezer and crockpot meals has saved us a ton (both my sanity and financially).  I updated that blog post with some notes about the recipes and changes I would make for next time so check that out here.  We have only eaten out one additional day each week so far.  It’s pretty much a given that we eat out both Friday and Saturday nights as a norm.  The biggest downfall for me would be the lack of a kitchen sink.  Doing dishes hunched over a bath tub in the basement sucks… bottom line.  Matt is peeved with the clutter of our makeshift dining room turned kitchen but again… we will survive and keep reminding ourselves of what is to come.  

Our makeshift kitchen... What a disaster!

Distressing Our "New" China Hutch

I have been checking Craigslist periodically for a China hutch for our dining room but just couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger on any of them mainly because of cost.  Well did I luck out one day when this one popped up.  I immediately contacted the guy and he said he had someone trying to find a truck to get it but would keep me posted.  The other deal fell through and it was ours!  He had it listed for $75 OBO.  I offered $60 and walked away with one heck of a deal!!! 

I knew I wanted to paint it but wasn't sure on color or technique.  We bought it right about the time we were choosing our cabinet color so I decided there would be no better color than to match our new cabinets.  I took our cabinet sample to our paint guy, he lasered the color to match, and we now have what will be a perfect match to our new kitchen cabinets. 

Please ignore the current dining room color (that doesn't match the new hutch).  It will also be changing along with the kitchen reno!

I love the distressed look and after seeing my friend's awesome dining room table that she did I wanted to try my hand at the look but I was nervous about doing it to such a big piece for my first try. 

I started by removing the glass, doors, and hardware.  Then, I lightly sanded the hutch and doors with an electric sander (probably not necessary especially if you use a primer but I think it helps the paint grip the surface better), wiped it all down very well to clean it and then began with a layer a paint.  (Some distressing techniques recommend applying wax (candle) or Vaseline to the edges before painting to make distressing easier.  I opted not to do the wax and for me it work out just fine not waxing before painting). 

Ok so reality check here... this was NOT a fun piece to paint!  There were a lot of corners, edges, and weird angles that required me to literally stick my head and half my body inside of the cabinet.  Not even halfway through I was kicking myself but kept telling myself the end result would be worth it!  I took it all in steps and worked on it each night after the kids went to sleep.  

Halfway done!

After the painting was finished before I was set to distress the piece, I'll be honest... it was a bit tough to bring myself to take the sander to it.  I had worked so hard already and liked the clean look but I went for it anyway.  I started out a bit timid, sanding by hand but soon pulled out the electric sander and started slowly.  After I got the hang of how much pressure I needed and the rotary speed needed, it went quickly.  And here is the end result with a couple close up pictures!

The final touch was new hardware (not pictured) to match our new kitchen hardware

A closer look at some of the distressed edges

A closer look at some of the distressed edges

I am so happy with the end result and still stop to look at it and do a double take.  It absolutely does not look like the same piece and I am looking forward to the when the renovation is over and I can finally put some of the China I have on display!

Kitchen Renovation Part One: Planning

The Fisher’s Next Big Adventure: A Kitchen Renovation

Are we crazy to be doing so with 2 children 3 and under?  Maybe but we are beyond excited for the final product. 

We knew very early on moving into our home that our kitchen was not very functional.  Updated? Yes. Adequate?  Absolutely!  But not anywhere close to practical for a family of four.  First off, it’s very small for the size and layout of our home.  I am talking we have 4 accessible upper cabinets, 2 lower cabinets, 6 drawers, a small pantry, and very impractical storage above the washer and dryer.  What they were thinking when they designed and built the house in 2004?  I have no idea!  Another pet peeve?  The laundry is in the kitchen.

Well we have been talking about reno options for a long time and had planned on it being a project we took on in the next 10 years.  In fact, Matt and I agreed that we were going to add on to the garage (3.5 car garage) before we made a change to the kitchen.  We need the extra garage space for the boat, cars, and misc tools and stuff that accumulates.  The garage project was slated for this upcoming summer.  That all changed when Matt said to me about two months ago “You know, I’ve been thinking… We should really do the kitchen first.”  I, internally, was jumping up and down freaking out bubbling with excitement like a 5 year old.  My husband who was going to get his garage addition before our kitchen remodel (which I was absolutely ok with) was willingly giving up that idea so we could do the kitchen first!  It basically boiled down to the fact that as a family the kitchen made more sense to do so we could enjoy it and get use out of the added functionality.  
 

When looking for a contractor we stumbled upon Best Choice Cabinets of Kewaskum.  Our loyal and amazing photographer Jamie Gellings had recently begun doing work for them and mentioned it casually in conversation.  After meeting Mike and learning about the Amish hand crafted cabinets he uses, we stopped our search.  Hands down, they have been absolutely amazing and extremely helpful from the very first meeting.  He came in with Jamie and we came up with some preliminary design ideas including moving the sink to a differently location, adding a prep sink to keep the traditional kitchen triangle, blowing out the current pantry and moving it along with moving the laundry upstairs to our master closet (Yay!  I am soooo excited about the laundry!). 

Here are some before pictures  (please excuse the clutter and messy counters) and preliminary after pictures.  Sorry for the quality of the design pictures.  I took pictures of the pictures :)  

Laundry is currently behind the bi-fold doors and there is an eat-in area by the windows

Fridge will be centered between the pantry shown here and sink moved to window area

Existing pantry is getting removed and stove will be centered on this wall adding more cabinets and counter space

 

This area now includes a prep sink and seating area with storage under the bar of the seating area.

We’ve made some minor changes to these along the way but overall this is pretty close to how the finished product will look. 

The cabinets are going to be in the cream/ivory family with a glaze (the dark edging you can see in the lower picture).

 

Flooring is going to be a 12 x 24” vinyl tile (pictured below the counter sample but hard to see).
I am obsessed with the backsplash which is going to be this morroccan style grey lantern tile.

 

 

Countertops will be quartz Caeasarstone “Piatra Grey.”  This picture (and the one above) doesn’t even come close to capturing how pretty it is with the veins of light grey and cream. 

The sink is going to be a white farm house/apron front.  We aren't sure if we will leave the fluted or smooth edge facing out yet though.  It just arrived yesterday and we were so excited to unpack it!  Got it on ebay for half the price they normally retail for!

Stainless appliances are purchased along with a new washer and dryer.  The wall color and other small touches are still yet to be determined and the project isn’t slated to start until mid-March or April which at this point just can come fast enough!!! 

Any pointers out there from someone who has been through a kitchen reno?  It's going to be very hard living without a functional kitchen for 5+ weeks.  We are trying to plan and come up with contingencies on how we will eat and where we will store everything.  Yikes!!!

Craft with the Kids

I saw a great idea... on Pinterest of course for a painted picture using the kids' foot and handprints.  I modified the idea slightly and purchased a canvas from a local craft shop (which happened to be 50% off and only cost $4.99!).



 

 

I used some paint we had around the house and mixed black and white with a little silver to give me a shimmery gray color and painted the entire canvas (with some help from Grant).

 

I then used Grant's hand to make the "O"  and Amelia's feet to make the "V" and added in a current picture of them.  I also used a fine tip white Sharpie to add their ages below their prints.  I adhered the picture with Mod Podge glue to the canvas.      

 

The end result was this super cute keepsake complete with their hands and feet at the exact age and date the picture was taken.  This particular one was a gift to my mom for her birthday.  I have since made one for us as well! 

Projects: Corn hole toss

We decided to throw together a quick game of corn hole toss with mostly scrap wood and stuff we had around the house.  Matt made the game boards and I sewed the bags and painted the boards.  What turned out as the final product wasn't too shabby.  We even made a couple for family and a friend as a housewarming gift. 

 

First, I cut 6x6 squares out of duck cloth

 

 

Next, I sewed along three edges and we filled with corn.

 

 

And finally I sewed them shut

 

The "fancy" bean bags for our friend's corn hole set

We even had Packer colored paint on hand from the previous homeowners who painted a Packer theme in our basement.

 

Projects: Refinishing Furniture



We recently purchased a nice, solid wood bedroom set off of craigslist complete with a full size bed (headboard, footboard and rails), tall 5 drawer dresser, short 6 drawer dresser with mirror and nightstand for a mere $425.  Although the finish and color of the wood wasn't terrible it needed a little work so I decided to paint it. 

 

Here are a couple before shots of some of the pieces and hardware. 

 

 

And here are the pictures of the final product!  I kept the original hardware and spray painted it with a brushed nickle finish.  Otherwise, I sanded the pieces, primed, and painted with 2 coats of oil based paint.  In between coats, I lightly sanded to get rid of any rough spots or tiny air bubbles but over all I am very pleased. 

 

The white pieces are in Amelia's room and in the future we will buy her a bed to match (or I will just paint another piece).  



And these grey pieces are all in Grant's room.  He had an existing night stand that I also painted to match the rest of his pieces. 

Sorry about the lighting in some of the pictures! :)