Nearly eight weeks after a leaky pipe destroyed our kitchen, we have new cabinets and a working microwave! It’ll be another few weeks before everything’s put back together, but can I say how wonderful it feels right now, to see this kind of progress?
Lookie here: I’ve got two, side-by-side pantries, replete with roll-out shelves! I’m in heaven — or will be, when this is all finished.*
Every project winds up with at least one hitch in its get-along, and this one’s certainly had its share:
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After one contractor flaked out on us, Lowe’s had to do a last-minute scramble to find us another one.
- The cabinet installer punched a few extra holes in our walls. Translation: more patching, more painting.
- Someone tripped a circuit breaker and forgot to fix it. Translation: we lost a ton of refrigerated and frozen foods.
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One upper cabinet’s too narrow and has to be replaced. Translation: four-plus weeks of additional wait time.
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Much of our first floor is covered with dust, debris and drops of paint. Our kitties like to blend these elements together into impressionistic works of art, using their whiskers and paws as paintbrushes.
Remodeling a kitchen is a lot like revising a manuscript. Discuss.
*Cabinet finish and Cheerios packaging probably look different on your monitor than they do in real life. I think I need to figure out how to use my flash — or PhotoShop, at least.
Remodeling the kitchen!
Our contractor thought it would take 3 weeks to do the kitchen.
3 months later the kitchen was mostly finished.
2 years later I have still not picked out the backsplash tile.
yes, that sounds a lot like my work schedule now that you mention it! ; )
(I LOVE the rolling shelves!!!)
Yep. You got it! Like writing, remodeling is a very long, recursive process — and much of the schedule is out of your control.
Rolling shelves rock!
Ooh, loverly roll–out shelves!
And ugh, the dust. Lots and lots of dust. But it’ll all clear soon enough and you’ll have a wonderful cozy kitchen to invite your LJ friends in for tea. Right? (I’m coming!)
Of course you’re coming, Lorraine. I’ve already set a place at the table for you. Now, I can’t guaranteee that you won’t be wiping dust the dust out of your tea cup, but yes, you’re deifinitely invited.
OH yay! Seems like it went a lot faster from this side. It’s agonizing when its YOUR kitchen, tho.
Is the replacement cabinet at least a wall one? We had a base one, and thus couldn’t put in a coutner top, and thus couldn’t install a sink. So pretty much it was pointless to have the cabinets without all that!
I can certainly see how it’s all a matter of perspective. To me, this all seems e-n-d-l-e-s-s.
Yes, fortunately it’s a wall cabinet. Whew, I’m so sorry you had to wait on a kitchen sink. I’ve been 8 weeks without one now, and it’s the worst. The. Worst.
Oof. So much work…but I’m glad that you’re seeing progress. Perhaps the feline artistes in the family could sell their work to contribute to the remodeling budget? ; )
Yeah, that’s the ticket! Hey, I think I remember seeing a couple of coffee-table books about painting cats. Or was it painted cats? Hmmm.
yes i agree
Is that Tucker I see, poking her cute black nose out from under those autumn leaves?
I can imagine how anxious you must be to have it all completed. We had no kitchen for three days when they were putting tile in and it was the longest 3 days of my life. LOL!
And yep, rolling shelves do rock! 🙂
The worst part about it is that we don’t have a kitchen sink. Try to imagine doing everything in the bathroom sink — for more than 8 weeks. Eewww! But when it’s all over, I’ll be so happy. Someday I’ll look back on all of this and laugh. Maybe I’ll even say, “That wasn’t so bad.” Nah, I don’t think so. 🙂
Ug, yeah, I know what you mean. Running water is one of those luxuries we take for granted. Looking forward to seeing pics of your new kitchen once it’s all done!
Remodeling a kitchen is a lot like revising a manuscript because…
Things don’t always go as they are planned.
It usually takes MUCH longer than you think it will.
In the middle of it, you often go, now WHY did I think this was a good idea?
And when it’s done, you usually smile because it all turns out okay afterall. 🙂
Those shelves look niiiice.
Note: In Photoshop, go to [Image > Adjustments > Shadow/Highlight] and then tinker around with it until you figure out how to knock down the glare and brighten up the shadows. It’s a nice tool.
Do your kitties retreat into the serenity of your office and create impressionistic works of art on the inviting surface of your newly clean desk?
Lining roll-out shelves in pantry cupboards with pretty paper is akin to using coloured highlighters when shrinking one’s manuscript.
I loooove the cupboards! Living without a kitchen . . . ugh, I can’t even imagine!
But you do have that lovely office space now, right? That has to be a nice retreat from everything else for awhile.
Keep your chin up!
Well, you certainly have had a few setbacks, haven’t you? But wow! Those cabinets look gorgeous. I’m very envious. You are going to have one great kitchen. I’m so happy for you. I’m sorry about the circumstances it took to get said kitchen, but when it’s done, it’s going to rock!!!
side-by-side pantries, replete with roll-out shelves
Yup, that’s definitely heaven! That’s what I miss about the farmhouse in S Reading – it had a had a walk in pantry! Then when we moved to Windsor, I turned a back room into a pantry/utility room by using tall bookcases that had glass doors for the pantry. Sadly, there isn’t any room where I live now so I’ve made due with a credenza but it’s not the same. 🙁
Hang in there! t won’t be much longer and then you’ll have a beautiful kitchen where you can enjoy your early morning coffee
Ooh, so organized. It’s looks really nice! Want to come over and do my cabinets?