Our Kitchen Renovation Part 1

Yes, we decided to renovate our kitchen after 20 years in our home. Although we loved it when we moved in, several years of sunshine through the windows, New England winters, and plenty of home-made goodies, had very much taken its toll. It was time…. time to freshen & brighten things up.

Over the next few weeks I will be posting our renovation journey and hopefully it will help you in your own kitchen project or design ideas.

In the beginning…. it was very “orange”

Before photo of our kitchen renovation project. wood cabinets have become warped and oxidized making everything look an orange haze. — **Kitchen “Before” Photos**

before photo of refrigerator enclosure. — **Kitchen “Before” Photos**

Our kitchen is literally in the “heart” of our center hall Colonial home.

It is the first room you see as you gaze down the center hall when entering from the front door. And the first room you walk into when entering from the back sliding door. It is the space in our home that continually receives the most foot traffic; and over the years has been a welcoming gathering hub for family and friends.

The cabinets we had were builder grade custom that were already in place when we purchased our home. If I could have chosen myself, I probably would have selected something a bit different, but I was happy to have a new home and kitchen. In the end, these cabinets served us well for many years of family use and I was content with them during that time. As I look back at the before photos (above), everything looks so orange. Cabinets, chairs, floors – all had oxidized quite a bit over the years. The wood surfaces that were once a nice warm brown, slowly morphed into an orange haze. I was very ready for a change.

I thought about simply painting the existing cabinets to extend their life (skip renovation costs and simply redecorate), But sadly some of the doors had warped a bit over the years and their over-all functionality was lacking as well. Reviewing everything, my husband and I sat down together and made the decision to renovate. Together, we wrote down everything we desired for a better functioning and aesthetically lovely kitchen, then settled upon a reasonable budget to do so. We thought we were all set. That was easy. Then the renovation journey began.

**Idea board and wish list snippets for the kitchen renovation**

Finding Inspiration

I spent hours scouring the internet for design ideas and inspiration. And even more hours scouting for just the right accessories such as cabinet hardware and lighting solutions. The above picture are snippets from my kitchen idea board and wish list. In general, we wanted a light and bright kitchen that would be timeless in style. Therefore a classic white kitchen is what we settled on. For many years I dreamed of cabinets reaching all the way to the ceiling (no more awkward dusty ledge), with inset doors (for an old world feel), and shaker door fronts for simplicity. Working closely with our local kitchen designer, the all of these elements were incorporated into a new cabinetry design. The order was placed from Medallion Cabinetry and we were on our way. Now, after all those years of dreaming, it was becoming a reality. It was both exciting and terrifying at the same time!

Demo day (yikes!)

Demo day was a mix of emotions. No matter how relieved I was that the renovation had finally begun, part of my heart cried as they removed an “old friend” from my home. After all, for over 20 years we had lovingly prepared countless meals here, along with the many fond memories that went with it. During this time I could not help but reminisce of our kitchen from days past.

kitchen 2001 — **Photo of our kitchen in 2001, just before moving in**.

In less than an hour they were gone!

The old cabinets and countertops were sold on Facebook marketplace. When the buyers arrived to disassemble and take away, I felt a twinge of sentiment and regret. Honestly, I had to leave the room for a bit while they were taken apart. It was a strange feeling to know my kitchen was being completely torn apart. But after only a short while, my once loved cabinets were gone; leaving behind a skeleton of what our kitchen (and home) once was.

A refreshing blank canvas

Once I was over the loss of the old cabinets, it occurred to me how much better the kitchen looked already! The whole space felt different. Without all the orange, everything immediately felt lighter and brighter despite the mess; a pleasant surprise actually. For the first time in 20 years, there was a fresh blank canvas to work with and I could see how beautiful it was going to be.

Kitchen renovation removing old cabinets — **Demo day – removing the old cabinets and tile**

**Demo day – removing the old cabinets and tile**

Moving along with the renovation

New drywall was installed and we made final decisions for the tile, countertop, hardware, appliances, and lighting. After several (long) weeks the cabinets arrived. All the boxes were stacked in the adjacent dining room. It was very exciting when it all came in! Each box was like opening a gift, with full anticipation.

We chose to stay in our home during the renovation process and set up a temporary kitchen in our living room. A folding table was set up to accommodate all the necessary kitchen items; toaster, coffee maker, etc…) and an old microwave cart (pulled out from storage) worked well as a temporary cook station. For this we purchased a small double burner cooktop which, despite our hesitation, turned out to work quite well. To keep things cold we used an electric cooler which functioned as a refrigerator replacement. Although a bit awkward at first, our make-shift kitchen worked out just fine in the end!