More Big Things...

There are things looming in the Flora household.  I think men are currently in my house, destroying stuff.  My Monday night consisted of moving.  I didn't think I'd be doing anything like that for a long time, but here we are...

 

Say hello to 1954 kitchen with the only way I knew how to decorate: eclectic.  Don't judge me by my refrigerator, I love people and I like pictures :)

 

 

You might have also noticed that I have very little storage which leaves me to store a lot of my kitchen items on counters, shelves and racks. I'm hoping that this project remedies the storage issues and I can once again be the minimalist, neat freak that I prefer.

 

 

That is my husband's hand as he video tapes the kitchen...

 

 

 

 

 

see that thing in the sink...many of you probably have no idea what that is because you don't live in 1954, it's a dish rack.  That's where I put my dishes after my dishwasher (me) cleans them.  That will be no more because alas, there is a dishwasher waiting to be installed!

 

 

 

Now it's time to say goodbye to that kitchen...

 

 

Clear it out, those were the instructions...

 

 

No light fixtures, no handles, no appliances, no light plates...

 

 

We had to put a lamp in the kitchen just so we could see:

 

 

and because I think you just need to see the floor (in case you haven't noticed, I'm a very bad photographer.  I'm looking into a new camera which I think will help but really I'm just trying to blame the camera and I'm the real problem).

Finally, this is what our enclosed porch currently looks like - more to come on this space in the future. 

Now for revealing the new plan... this is the main kitchen portion and mostly what you need to know is that I will have a microwave over my oven (no longer taking up precious counter space).  In addition, my countertops will be stainless steel and the sink will be integrated, featuring an overall seamless design (and very clean, which as you stick around you'll notice I'm a fan of clean).

What you need to know about this is that I will have a dishwasher...as mentioned above.  So I'm excited, what can I say?  We're talking about three years of washing dishes by hand and we like to entertain (sometimes more than 30 people at a time).

The below features include a pantry-ish area - which if you looked at the before photos, you noticed that I kept my pantry atop my fridge.   No more clutter, in fact there won't even be room for anything on top of my fridge because the cabinet over it will come to the front.

This might help with the overall picture, ignore the birch cabinet frames as we aren't technically using Ikea for our cabinets.  Although, if you are thinking of it, I think it's a great option and I did my research.  It just happened that we were able to have custom cabinets made for nearly the same price (we have friends that are really helpful). 

I used Ikea's kitchen planner to help me come up with my first design and it was really helpful.  I researched their cabinets because I felt like it was a great option (all of the above for just over $3,000 without the shipping).  We have hired a general contractor because my hubby and I are neither skilled nor have the time to complete this project in any sort of a timely manner.  We hired someone we trust and it was his suggestion that we look into custom cabinetry.  He did that for us and came back with a deal we couldn't refuse.  

The countertops have been a different story.  I originally wanted granite, I thought, but when the bill came back at $2,600 I started researching other options.  Then when I came across this posting from Pioneer Woman's blog: Countertops, A Comparison, I officially wanted stainless.  Then, to add insult to injury, my husband being the wonderfully skilled fabricator that he is, thought that he might be able to accomplish this task himself.  As time went on he realized that he would be unable as he didn't have the proper tools (something about a press break).  So we set our sights elsewhere and just when I was about to change my mind back to granite my husband told me that he'd seen countertops with an integrated sink, creating a totally seamless design.  YES, PLEASE! (now you know where the name came from).  Now he was stuck with me and what my heart was set on.  We're waiting to see what the countertop guy says...I'm impatient, but hoping deep down that I'll be impressed with his response.

That was a long story about our kitchen and our counters, but I think that it is fun when I get to see what others are up to.  Hopefully you'll enjoy this just as much.  If anyone has extra dinner to spare, we'll be looking for places to eat.  Also, if you have paint ideas, I need to make a decision on that really soon.  More to come!