Monday, October 4, 2010

I'd Cook in This Kitchen!

Today's post is a before and after of the most hideous kitchen in America... mine. Seriously, it was a shame.

The previous owners thought black linoleum would be FAN-tas-tic in the kitchen and they paired it up with two small sections of cheap cabinets. There was only one TINY area we could use to chop or prep food... I'm talking a foot by a foot area, people. It was a true balancing act to cut something and have a plate on the counter simultaneously. A closet backed into the kitchen from an adjacent bedroom so that took up a huge chunk of space. The list goes on and on. Let's just settle it with this: It was a disgrace to kitchens nationwide.

After years of this frowned upon kitchen, my hubby and I decided OUT WITH THE OLD! A few things we knew we wanted: a pantry that was actually IN the kitchen (previous one was in the hall), a big yummy kitchen island, a gas cook top, a kitchen sink with a window above it, double ovens and finally we really wanted an area that our friends, family and children could hang out in while we cooked. Let's face it, the kitchen as we ALL know is the heart of the home and everyone gathers and hangs out there.This was problematic considering that outside our small kitchen space was a deck. Humm.... bye bye deck! Smell ya later!

After hiring an architect drawing my new kitchen on a napkin, we presented it to our very talented builder (Jason Peck - little plug for him)  to revamp the space.

Here are some pictures of the progress:



This is what you saw when you walked down the hall and entered the kitchen. Don't you want to go there and immediately
whip up a gourmet meal? The exposed wood was the closet we ripped out from an adjoining bedroom.

What a mess! Our dog is staring at the ugly black linoleum floor. That's a sign. She can't believe it either!

A view from butlers pantry of our small kitchen. The open door leads to our deck. Well, the old deck.


The drywall you see is a small room we added on to the end of the kitchen. That used to be a porch and now it's our little cozy nook and our favorite place to be.

HELLO BIG BEAUTIFUL ISLAND AND HARDWOOD FLOORS! I HEART YOU!

This is the wall that had a big fat closet hogging the space.

New window and beginnings of the sink/fridge/dishwasher area


Look! Wash dishes AND look outside at the same time! Delish!




Our new nook! my hubby has no idea he's in this pic.

(View from the hall)
 Wait, no huge fridge and a closet? No linoleum?
Chalkboard paint made this little spot my son's favorite place in the kitchen

We've loveddddd our new kitchen! Thanks for taking a look and hope you enjoyed!

22 comments:

  1. i heart your kitchen. like, to quote tina fey, for reals. and i really heart the fabric for the wt over your sink <3. again, for reals.

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  2. Thanks Sheri! We def love it and although it's small, it's ours, right?! Thanks for checking it out! Katie

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  3. Ooh, it's beautiful! Found you through Thrifty Decor Chick. I love the backsplash and the chalkboard. Did you guys make the room a ton bigger? The before picture looks so itty bitty, and I see that you got rid of a closet... is that the only space you changed? Love the curtain fabric too :) (Is the microwave in the island? Is it a regular one or the kind that opens like a drawer?)

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  4. Thanks Anna! we only took out a closet and I reworked the kitchen so that the space would be optimal. Adding the room in the back made a huge difference... opened it up! Microwave is in the island and a huge space saver that way. It's just a standard microwave. :)

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  5. um, YES I LOVE THIS RE-DO! What a wonderful new kitchen you have! I'd love to re-do our kitchen, but it would seriously involve moving to a new house to do so. Sigh. I love this! I hope you can join my link party and GIVEAWAY going on now! alittleknickknack.blogspot.com

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  6. GORGEOUS!!! You guys did a fantastic job!! I love remodeling - we did a remodel on a similarly not so pretty kitchen in our house- if you would like to read about it I blogged about it not too long ago. Your kitchen is delightful and I love all the features and details you put into it. Well Done! :)

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  7. What a transformation! Your kitchen is beautiful and I love the chalkboard and extra large island. Everything is perfect.
    Hugs, Sherry

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  8. Back again to say thank you for joining Feathered Nest Friday! Great kitchen remodel!! You guys did a fantastic job! :)

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  9. It's beautiful! Enjoy your new kitchen!

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  10. HI there! I am your newest follower!! I found you on the weekend linky! I love finding new blogs and yours is lovely:) You can find me at www.bouffeebambini.blogspot.com

    WOW, WOW, and WOW! This si amazing!! It looks fantastic! Great job!! I want that kitchen

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  11. I am totally jealous! What a great room to walk into each morning. Love your color choices.

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  12. We love this party link and I wanted to let you know that we are planning on featuring it on our blog. We hope that you get a bunch of new visitors. If there is any chance that you could post about being featured on Remodelaholic with a link back to your post on our site, we would really appreciate it.
    www.remodelaholic.com

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  13. I love it all! What a great re-do! I especially love the fabric on your window, goes great with the black and white of your kitchen.

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  14. Found you through Remodelaholic and instantly became a follower. I cant wait to see more of your beautiful home. You give me hope: I too only have had two tiny countertops to work with since we moved in here... SEVEN years ago!Our house is super old(1820) and there are so many projects to do that a huge kitchen remodel just isnt happening here.
    Sarah
    HandbagsnPigtails.blogspot.com

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  15. love what you have done....and i have been there my hubby and i gutted our kitchen and dining room several yrs ago but i must admit i loved doing it was something that i feel brought hub and i closer, funny you wanted a window over sink i am trying to get rid of mine!!! i should have in the remodel and didn't its actually wasted space cause we added a family room on other side.....lol anyways love how you framed your window....RICH!!! i so enjoyed your pics.......enjoy!!

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  16. Love it! I second the request for the name of the window treatment fabric, if you have it. Great job!

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  17. Thanks for all the sweet comments! Okay... Paint color is Santorini Blue by Benjamin Moore. LOVE IT to pieces. The roman shade fabric came from Pottery Barn and is called Serefina and unfortunately no longer available. Boo Hiss! They have some other great fabs so good luck!
    Thanks Again!
    Katie

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  18. I'm so in love with your kitchen! I've drawn sketches of how I'd like ours to look when we reno and had to go back to the drawing board after seeing yours today. It's the best plan yet! Enjoy your beautiful kitchen and thanks for the inspiration!

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  19. Gorgeous re-do. Did you have to do anything to make up for the lost closet space in the bedroom adjacent to the kitchen?

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  20. Your kitchen is gorgeous. Congratulations on all your hard work. I really admire your light fixtures. Would you please share what they are? Thanks.

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  21. Hi Jean! Thanks so much... The light fixture in our Kitchen came from South of Market. So glad you like our Kitchen, we've really enjoyed it!
    Katie

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