Our motivation behind remodeling this home really comes down to two things: 1) There is no main floor bathroom in this house and one needs to be added and 2) The kitchen is small, cramped, allots no room for a dishwasher or suitable cabinet space for a growing family. The funny thing about it though is that we absolutely LOVE this kitchen. In all honesty, it's probably the reason both Jeff and I fell in love with this house...partially because it was a no brainer to spruce it up, but also because it would serve as the inspiration for our new kitchen.
Ok, quick side note on our tour...for the third night in a row we just found Rosemary sleeping naked in her bed...what the heck?
Back to the tour. So here are pictures of the existing kitchen:
The first photo is the view from the "foyer" and the second is the view from the existing dining room. This is the original cabinetry and as you can see, it has an abundance of character and charm. My favorite thing about the cabinetry is how low it comes. I don't know many historical attributes of cabinetry, but it seems you see this lower height on upper cabinetry primarily in older homes. Yes, the low height of them imposes on convenient counter workspace, yes, the lower height of them means a shallower upper cabinet that barely fits a dinner plate, but yes...I love them and want our new cabinets to be virtually an exact match. Can you see the exposed hinges as well? I've never seen hardware quite like this, but think it is a perfect touch on these vintage cabinets.
In the second photo, you'll see a breakfast nook at the far end of the kitchen. Currently, I'm sitting at that very chair writing this post at a desk that actually goes in Gloria's room. However, in the remodel, this space will become the main floor bathroom. Adjacent to the bathroom will be the mudroom (in the space where the sink currently is in the kitchen). There will be a new entry into the new kitchen that will now occupy the existing dining room space. Here are a few pics to help you visualize;-)
Here I am in the "new kitchen" at the sink doing dishes. However, I won't spend nearly as much of my day at the sink as I do now being that we will install a DISHWASHER!!!!!!! The wall that currently separates the dining room from the existing family room will become more open - so I'll actually be able to see into the family room from the kitchen. How nice! To the left of the sink in the new kitchen will be the dishwasher and pantry. The wall that currently separates existing dining from existing kitchen will be removed and rebuilt in a location that will allot proper space for mudroom and kitchen.
In this photo, you can see me hard at work at the stove preparing a divine dinner for all to share. Mmmmmm...it smells delicious! The existing arched opening that you see dividing existing dining room from existing living room will remain the same. The newly created arch that will be created on the opposite side of the kitchen will mirror this arch...except be slightly larger.
And now for the "piece de resistance" - the "Butler's Pantry." My cousin Kristen lives a few blocks down from me and is putting in a butler's pantry...how dreamy! As soon as I caught wind of this, I decided it was my sole mission to fit a butler's pantry into my next house. Well, here it is...and there is absolutely no room for it in this new, yet not-so-spacious kitchen. So, rather than the wrap around, doored-off, sliding ladder equipped, library-like Butler's Pantry I was imagining, I'll settle for a glorified built-in hutch. Here's its locale:
The window you see in this picture will become smaller in the remodel. The cabinetry will run wall to wall, ceiling to floor and feature a mixture of dimension in cabinetry depth and a completely different surface than the rest of the kitchen counters. We are also thinking of having these cabinets be a completely different color than the rest of the kitchen. Here I picture perfectly enameled white cabinetry with glass hardware vs the rest of the kitchen that could be stained cabinetry or perhaps painted another color (why do I keep seeing sagey green cabinets with milk glass hardware?) Other ideas for the space include honed white carrera marble countertops (maybe in the hutch area since the marble is so porous?) But what about butcher block? Or honed black granite? The possibilities are endless.
With that, our kitchen tour has come to an end. Although it is a small space, it promises oodles of possibilities and endless opportunity. We will meet with the architect again in early December to fine tune our plans before beginning the process of interviewing contractors and gathering bids.
Thanksgiving is upon us and this week, I am thankful for a warm and cozy home to put my children to bed in and create precious memories with my family in. Blessings are abundant in our life today and we could not be more thankful.
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