Whose Idea Was This???

Well, it's too late to turn back now....and while I am really excited about how the kitchen is going to turn out...I must say I am super impatient and frustrated with the mess, work and the fact that everything we own kitchen-wise is in our living room and dining room.

The plus side is that now I have my computer, coffee, tea, toast and wine all in one handy spot!!!

On the minus side...the dust and dirt is all over everything we own.

We spent the better part of 2 days ripping out all the old stuff we didn't need and then the next 2 days putting in all the new stuff we did need.

The old kitchen is now in the back yard/trailer park waiting to be picked up by Habitat for Humanity.

 We are working on new plumbing (while correcting the mistakes of the previous owners plumbing fiascos), new electrical (finally pot lights...yay!!), and getting everything ready to go for the new wood floors and kitchen.

 Back to the plaster and lath...

 My Crew hard at work planning...

It's tons of work and I'm trying to be patient (my husband would not quite agree with this small white lie) but I can't wait to see how it comes together.  Right now the new kitchen is in boxes in the basement "assembly zone".  Okay it's really the kids' lego space but, whatever.....

I will start working on putting it together in the next few days and the wood floors go in tomorrow.

Stay tuned for the updates as we progress....it's getting a bit nutty around here as we wash dishes in the bathtub but hopefully at the end of it all we'll have a great new kitchen space.

Kitchen Reno...ready, set, go!!

After much planning and talking, google imaging, researching, drawing, sketching and many trips to Ikea....our kitchen reno is finally able to proceed.

One of the things I have learned through this process is something I think is the key to success in any home reno project.  PLANNING!!  The margin of error will decrease greatly if you plan and think things through to the very last detail.

The first step of this project was really coming up with "the Plan".  Measure the space carefully and draw up your floor plan.  This way you can play around with the configuration of the space.  I like to work on tracing paper so I can do many overlays of different plans to see which one is the best for the space.  This is the way we worked when I was at Ryerson and it's a quick and easy way to make many plans and compare.

Once we decided upon the best layout for the space we were able to start looking at design.  I always tell clients of mine, whether they are planning a full reno or a minor facelift of a space, to do their homework and find the style they love.  I find the best way to do this is to use Google Image, or magazines.  The internet is a great tool to see different looks and choose the ones you love.  Chances are you will look back at the pages you bookmarked (either in real life or the virtual world) and see a pattern.  For me it was "the white kitchen".  I kept coming back to the clean, white industrial kitchen style.

I also knew I wanted to mix a look of modern cabinets and old vintage elements.  I love the eclectic mix of using old reclaimed materials with super clean and modern elements.  

After many trips to Ikea, and the invaluable help from my genius friend Tammy....the Ikea plan was complete and I ordered the cabinets.  

We then chose a new fridge to fit into the space.  We decided that with 2 growing boys we should "go big, or go home" and we had allowed for a 36" fridge on the plan.  We found an amazing deal on a scratch 'n dent stainless fridge.  

  We also chose the countertops for the main kitchen part, but for the island I am going to use reclaimed wood from an old barn floor for the top.  I am also going to clad the island cupboards in old doors on their sides.  Set against the modern cupboards the island will be rustic and vintage looking.  I found a great light fixture online to go above the island.

We have a funny ceiling configuration where the past owners cut through the old exterior wall so I am going to clad it in some old wood and hang the light from this.
Of course this made a trip to my good friend Ed a necessity.  I got some great 2" thick, 15" wide boards that are really weathered.  They are going to look amazing in the new space.   As usual, Ed came through for me after an email to tell him what I needed.  I'm posting his contact info again since I have had many people ask me about it.

This week, demolition starts....here is the kitchen "Before"

....stay tuned for more posts as the progress continues.