The Kitchen

We are still in the midst of M’s room renovation, but can we talk about the kitchen instead? When I sat down to write this week’s post about the bedroom renovation, I realized that there really is no news. Our optimistic deadline of having the room painted last weekend has come and gone. We are making real progress, but the process of wall prep is quite tedious and entirely unphotogenic. I know that it is going to all come together at an avalanche pace once the painting is done. However, at this point, the project reports are a bit of a bore.

I have been trying to keep the content here cohesive and write about one project at a time, but our dirty little secret is that this house is a hot mess right now. We have a lot of projects in their beginning stages. While we are using our own DIY energy specifically in M’s room, the dining room has been partially demolished with the removal of the wallpaper and some woodwork and lighting that was added in the 1980s. We have also had some electrical work done in the dining room. As soon as the snow stops (will it?), the exterior painting should begin, but the biggest news of all is that this year we will be renovating the the kitchen.

Our Current Kitchen

Whenever I post photos of this room, invariably, someone tells me that they love our kitchen just the way it is. This kitchen is not for us, but if you love it and want to buy anything when we do the demo, please just let me know. I am serious. I would like to keep as much of it out of the landfill as possible. The lights have already been spoken for.

Our chief complaints are as follows:

• Some of the cabinets do not close all the way.
• The lighting is bad, and I cannot see when I am cooking food on the stove.
• The metal cabinets are rusty.
• There is no dishwasher except for us humans.
• Due to plentiful prior rodent activity, many of the cabinets do not seem sanitary.
• There is no water hook-up for a modern fridge.
• The breaker trips if we are using the toaster and the microwave at the same time.
• There are only three feet of prep space and none by the stove.
• The floor looks dirty even when it has just been steamed or mopped.
• There is a proper work triangle, but with all of the appliances hugging the walls, it is too spread out to be efficient.

This kitchen was put in the house by Dorothy in the 1960s, and I imagine that it was beautiful at that time, and it served her well during the years that she lived in BHH. It is a very happy room, and it gets tons of natural light during the daytime. The best thing in the whole kitchen is the original Youngstown metal sink cabinet combo.

Based on some general research, our Youngstown sink is probably from the 1940s. We believe that Dorothy reused this piece and put in new wood cabinets during her remodel.

The stainless steel sink and sideboards are in great shape, but the rest of the unit is rusty on the interior and exterior.

We do not use the drawers or the cabinet. I do keep a few items under the sink.

I can imagine how beautiful it would be if it was restored, but I am not going to be the one to bring it back to life. It is pretty special though, so if I cannot find a buyer, I may move it to the basement. I would have a hard time sending it to the landfill.

To the left of the sink, we have two dish drains. We have six people in our family. Imagine all the dishes we use every day. I know that people lived without dishwashers in their homes for hundreds of years, but I feel no guilt by wishing for one. Our efficiency and productivity will increase when we have a dishwasher in this kitchen.

On the opposite wall is the stove. It was placed on the original brick hearth where I assume that a woodburning cookstove used to be. Oh, how I wish I could have seen the original stove. I might not have used it, but I would have found a great place for it here. That exposed brick on the wall is the chimney. The only light on this side of the room comes from the overhead light in the center of the room. When we are standing at the stove our heads eclipse the light, and it is difficult to see what we are doing. Also, without prep space, we have to reach back and forth to the counter, set things on top of the microwave, or use the rolling cart for a flat surface.

This corner is a complete disaster.

While we could find a new place for the recycle bins, laziness has settled in, and we just keep them right there on the kitchen floor. The basket is where we keep our kitchen rags. We do not use paper towels. The rolling cart moves around the room as needed, and it also holds some of our frequently used small appliances. We love our Instant Pot!

The Plan

While the details are pretty fluid right now, what we do know is that we are gutting it. Everything except the ceiling and one of the walls will be removed. Technically, the walls are staying, but the wallboard will come down. We may have an opportunity to add some insulation to the exterior walls at that time.

In the list above, I mentioned previous rodent activity. When we moved in, I scrubbed and scoured every inch of the kitchen. BHH sat empty for awhile, and the mice took advantage of that. I never want to have to do that kind of job again. It was the worst rodent mess I have ever seen, and I have done my share of dirty jobs. We decided to use only a fraction of the cabinets. It is much easier to keep a few cabinets and drawers clean and we can spot problems right away. Since we are definitely kitchen minimalists, the unusable space has not impacted us very much.

The part of the kitchen that Andy dislikes the most is the floor. He and I both agree that it always looks dirty. It is perfectly preserved vinyl. It looks like something from the 1980s or 1990s so it is likely an upgrade from Dorothy’s original kitchen remodel.

The floor goes all the way through our entry hall and into the butler’s pantry.

The new kitchen will include the following:

• Cabinets/more cabinets including a kitchen island
• Countertops
• Lighting – overhead canned lighting and decorative lighting
• Flooring
• New appliances – We will definitely get a stove, dishwasher, garbage disposal, and microwave. We may put off getting a new refrigerator until next year although ours currently needs a service call. That may push up our timeline for a new fridge.
• Insulation on the exterior wall
• More electrical outlets on a different circuit
• Water hook-up for the fridge

There is also a phase II plan that includes taking out part of one wall. There is a small porch off the kitchen that has no usable entry or exit. It was likely an exterior porch at one time, but it is now enclosed. It contains a beautiful window. We would like to double the size of the door, and turn the porch and part of our current laundry room into an eating nook. We hope to begin phase II next year. However, if the plan falls apart due to cost or unforeseen circumstances, the new kitchen will look great as-is.

The Process

Andy and I had our first kitchen meeting last week at Lowe’s. It was exciting. It was also completely overwhelming, but that is a post for another day. Friday, Lowe’s will come out to do the official measurements and the lead test. I am crossing my fingers that lead paint abatement will not be a large issue or expense. Due to the fact that the kitchen was remodeled, there might not be too much or any lead paint at all. If you have positive thoughts you would like to send our way, we will accept them gratefully.

If you have some thoughts about our upcoming kitchen remodel, I would love to hear them. Is there something you have in your kitchen that you just love? Is there something you wish you had?