Kitchen Renovation: First Two Weeks

We're two weeks into our kitchen remodel and a lot has happened and a lot more needs to happen before we're done. Lots of activity, lots of banging, lots of drilling, etc. I feel kinda bad for Bandit, our neighbor's dog, who keeps barking because of all the commotion. Our Living Room Kitchen has been better than expected and our friends have been inviting us over and dropping off prepared foods.  Yay for friends!

Our old cabinets piled up on the porch waiting for the dumpster to arrive

Hello Dumpster!

Filling up the dumpster

Demolition of the wall separating our kitchen from our dining room

Wall gone!!!

Who knew this pipe was inside the wall

Sheetrock separating our living space from the construction zone

Turns out there's another layer of even older hardwood floors under the original old timey hardwood floors

Opening up walls

Old insulation cleaned out

Glad our old picture hooks are serving a new purpose holding up masks

Kitchen Renovation: plasticmom's Kitchen Completed

Our contractor finished up plasticmom's kitchen yesterday and it passed inspection so I enjoyed a celebratory strawberry sundae from Burger King. I have some minor odds and ends to tidy up like buy and install some hardware for the wall cabinets. To glimpse the before photo, click here.

Completed kitchen with new IKEA cabinets, quartz counters and tile backsplash. Loads of long cabinet pulls for her to "hang stuff" like towels and clips. The fridge is relatively new, but she kept her old stove and microwave. New under cabinet lights that actual turn on when you turn them on. Her old ones were flickering fluorescents that took a while to fully light

Left: plasticmom's teeny counter depth fridge. She's always dreamed of a "small fridge" whereas I've always dreamed of a bigger fridge. We made her "dreams" come true with a 24 inch counter depth fridge with a top fridge and bottom freezer so she doesn't have to bend over as much

Left: Custom shelf above the fridge built using IKEA coverpanels I'm thinking it'll be perfect for stashing paper towels

Center: IKEA sink and faucet. White subway tile backsplash with a strip of green/blue mosaic glass. Maple Blanco Silastone quartz counters. They recommended putting the seam in the middle of the sink so there isn't a "long line" and I think it works. Just a little line on either end of the sink

Right: custom open cabinet with adjustable shelves built with IKEA coverpanels 

Right: custom open cabinets built with IKEA coverpanels

Right: Still, mistakes happen. Didn't realize the stove handle had a wide curve so the top drawer doesn't open all the way

Right: Top drawer only opens 75%, but thankfully the other three drawers are fully functional. Tight squeeze, but mostly OK. Oh well!