Monday, the 20th of October, was a big day for the kitchen remodel. The dual-fuel range was delivered and installed, and the range hood was installed. This allowed us to cook our first meal in the new kitchen!
We didn’t really cook much. We had cavatelli bolognese using bolognese sauce I’d frozen from a big batch I cooked a couple of months ago. And we just had to boil water to cook the pasta. We also put together a salad from a prepared salad mix.
Still, it was momentous.
This is a photo of the “whole” kitchen after the range and hood were installed.
A close-up of the range and hood. Nice, huh?
Cooking pasta with bolognese sauce for our first dinner in the new kitchen,
The house is more chaotic than it has been for the past 5 weeks because it is time to paint. That means removing all our cookbooks from the kitchen bookshelves (probably 200), dismantling our temporary kitchen, and moving everything away from the walls.
Now, not only is the kitchen a mess, but our “cozy” room and formal dining room are, too.
More stuff temporarily homed in our “cozy” room.Cookbooks and other items from the kitchen and pantry.
It took 2-1/2 days to prep and fully paint the kitchen and pantry area. We chose a warm color that was not too dark and that complemented the tile, grout, and countertops.
We also had the cabinets that are original to the 1935 house repainted in their original color.
Kitchen with new paint.The pantry area.Our green cabinets are painted
I found this poem I’d written 10 or 12 years ago and thought I’d share it. I don’t think it needs any explanation.
Our Simba blanket only comes out in times of joy or grief
It signals the beginning and the end of a dog's life so brief
We bought it for Milli's whelping box liner
It's been a bed, a place to poop, and a doggy food diner
Bode and Daisy and Simba played, they rolled and chewed and tugged
Simba stayed strong and whole throughout, no matter where it was lugged
I think we paid $5 for it, probably at Walmart
It is thick and soft and colorful, a sign of a brand new start
The puppies, at first, looked like little rats
But with Simba's comfort grew into brats
We kept them both, just couldn't let go
They were Sailor and Milli's "accident," you know
Now, I sit with my memories, and watch Sailor die
Stretched out on Simba, his final lie
Like others before him: Milli, Bode and Bart
Rolled up in Simba, the dog and my heart
Will make a visit to the vet for good
And will come back as ashes in a box of wood
He's breathing roughly, all nasty and wet
But he'll die at home, no need for the vet
That damned doggie cancer, it haunts us again
But his eyes still follow me, and is that a grin?
Soon we'll see the last rise and fall
Of that powerful chest, and that will be all
And we'll touch him and pet him and cry out loud
As gently we fold him in Simba's shroud
We are embarking on a project to renovate our aging kitchen. We are using a great local design and contracting firm to do the work. We did not like the windows directly behind the range, with no possibility for a backsplash. The IKEA cabinets were starting to flake off paint and fall apart. We also wanted to replace the gas-only range with a dual-fuel range, hoping an electric oven would work better for us.
Here is a photo of the kitchen before we started the renovation process.
The first step was to demolish the existing kitchen, right down to the studs!
There is almost always a dog in the photo,
On the left is an old, original cabinet where we are replacing the butcher-block countertop and the tile backsplash. They will also be repainted the same green.
To create a backsplash behind the new range, our designer suggested two smaller windows on each side. We also decided to use slightly opaque glass so we can’t see out to the neighbor’s house and no one can see in. This eliminates the need for curtains or blinds. This photo also shows all the new electrical wiring, although it is probably not obvious, as well as the rough plumbing.
The drywall is now installed.
Cabinets installed!
Cabinets on the back wall. These cabinets extend further toward the door than the old ones. That will give us a lot of extra storage, but given the size of the table in the room, it will also somewhat restrict access to the door. I think our solution will be to get a smaller table.
In addition to the cabinets in the kitchen, we are adding a few base cabinets to a room just off the kitchen that was originally a porch on the 1935 cottage, but has been converted to a kind of “pantry” room. Against the back wall is the wine refrigerator and our temporary kitchen.
We cook with a toaster oven, microwave, and InstantPot, and grill outdoors when we can. Wash-up is done in a bathtub. Not fun!
Another photo of our temporary kitchen. We are making Hamburger Eggplant Parmesan, and it turned out delicious. We picked the eggplant fresh from our garden.
We wanted the frame and trim around the new windows to match the window above the sink area (which we didn’t modify) as closely as possible to retain the character of the old house. Luckily, we found spare framing and trim pieces in the basement, and the carpenter reproduced the look beautifully. We wrapped the cabinets in protective covers because tiling comes next!
Day one of tiling. You can see the decorative tile at the old cabinets to the left. And you can see the green subway tile backsplash on one wall.
This is the decorative tile at the original cabinets.
Here’s the backsplash tile where the sink and dishwasher will be.
And the backsplash around the range. Very different-looking from the original kitchen.
These photos were taken on 19 October. The butcher block countertops are all finished and installed, and the sink is in place, although it is not fully installed.
We made a lot of progress on the 20th. We got the plumbing all installed, including running water at the sink and the dishwasher hooked up. There is no electricity yet, so there is no garbage disposal or dishwasher use, but we didn’t have to wash the dishes in the bathtub!
The cabinet glass was installed, too,
Finally, although I don’t have any photos yet, the exterior around the reconfigured windows was patched up very nicely.
