How I survived Construction Zone living during our Kitchen remodel is beyond me. It was a nightmare in so many ways. There were just so many things wrong with this 100-year-old space that it really was an eyesore for the rest of the house. And if my original kitchen could have ever been entered into an “ugliest” kitchen contest, I would have surely won. Updating it had been a dream 10 years in the making and I’m happy to say that today, it is complete. I’m going to share with you in two parts on the blog the before and after of our undertaking. Welcome to Part 1.
Part 1
I guess to start, though, with Part 1, I should show you what we were working with from the very beginning. And I’ll tell you straight up, these photos are dark and some may be grainy but they are real life…or what used to be real life.
Our home was built in 1919 and I don’t think, other than maybe a coat of paint here and there, that anything had ever been done to the kitchen. It was hard to go in there and cook, much less entertain, which we both love to do.
The Day The Construction Began
Over the years we continued to remodel the rest of the house because we knew the kitchen would be a HUGE undertaking, not to mention it really wasn’t in our budget. We would be doing the remodel ourselves and we knew living in a construction zone of this magnitude was not going to be easy and it was going to be very time consuming. Aw, heck, let’s just say it. It was going to be a slow process that was going to test our marriage. You know those couples that say they’ve almost gotten divorced over hanging wallpaper? Well, this was going to be our wallpaper and I wasn’t sure we were ready. However, after the majority of the house was done, we bit the bullet and this is the day the construction began.
It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better
The worst part is always the tearing out. I mean, let’s face it. It gets worse before it gets better. It’s dirty and messy and it certainly isn’t pretty. It’s, also, not something we could get done over night. Our plans had always been to increase the size of the kitchen by 7 feet so we first had to enclose an old porch off the back of the house, knock out the existing wall and then raise the ceiling. Mark deserves ALL the gold stars for doing this. He really is a rockstar when it comes to construction. He’s a chemical engineer by day but loves building and working with his hands. He was born to do this kind of work and for that I am so grateful.
This Is Where We Improvise
So if you haven’t already guessed, at this point we have no running water in the kitchen. This is where we improvise. No sink equals no water. Little did I know that it would be four months before I would see it back on again. Our stove and refrigerator had found their new temporary home smack dab in the living room and I found myself retreating more and more to the second floor to escape. I knew in the end it would all be worth it, but it felt like one of those Arizona haboobs rolling through the house every single day. I couldn’t handle the thick coating of dust that constantly covered everything. No matter how much I stayed on top of it, it never seemed to go away. I even found myself washing dishes in a plastic bin in the backyard with the garden hose. Yes, I was THAT neighbor. No judgements, please.
Shoring Up the Second Floor
We took out two major load-bearing walls in the house so we could achieve this open concept into the kitchen, AND, because we were putting new hardwood flooring in the kitchen, what better time to replace the entire floor (insert eye roll). So when it rains, it pours. It’s like a domino effect. One project starts only to lead to another. While we did hire a structural engineer to come out and see if removing the walls to shore up the second floor was even possible and didn’t begin until we got the green light from him, I have to say, I was so happy that Mark chose to tackle this project and put in the support beams while I was out of town. I can be somewhat of a “nervous Nelly.” I had visions of the first floor ceiling becoming my first floor flooring. To this day, I have no idea how he accomplished this by himself. I swear he’s got a super hero hulk gene somewhere in there.
When Does It Start To Look Pretty
Probably two months had passed when I started to ask the question, “When does it start to look pretty?” Where was my kitchen I had so desperately wanted and WHEN would I be able to cook again? I was beginning to think I’d never have that kitchen that I envisioned. My patience was running thin. Working on the kitchen had to be done in the evenings and on weekends. Would we ever get it done? I am happy to say that, yes, we did complete it and looking back, it was worth every minute. I can’t wait to share with you the rest of the project. Look for Part 2 on the blog to see how it transforms into the kitchen of my dreams.
Thanks for stopping by.
XO –
Kristi
