Our "Before" Kitchen

Oh happy day, our kitchen remodel project begins in T-minus 3 weeks. So, what exactly are we getting rid of and what kind of space do we have to work with? Here are some pictures from when we first bought our home and what the kitchen looked like…


The Kitchen Trying Not To Be Ugly


Kind Of Burns Your Retinas, Doesn't It?

I like to try to be positive, so let’s first start with the good things about our existing kitchen. It’s quite a large space (12×20) and has ample cabinet storage. There is room for a prep island and an eat-in space. There is a nice bank of windows that looks out onto our yard. A separate butler’s pantry gives us additional storage space and a staging area for entertaining in the dining room. Our back stairway, which we use all of the time, is located here and allows for easier travel throughout the house.

So what is wrong with our kitchen? Well, it’s not exactly what you would call aesthetically pleasing. In fact, I will go out on a limb and say it’s UGLY. Others have confirmed this, so I’m not just exaggerating for dramatic effect. We have black painted lower cabinets, honey colored upper cabinets, gray laminate counter top (except for the island which has 3/4″ rose colored granite), honey colored laminate flooring, walls sponge painted gold, and lights that look like UFOs. It’s not really clear to me what the previous owner was thinking when they did this. I guess it must have been the ’80s and this is just what you did. “Gah!” is what I said the first time I saw it.

The room has grown a little on me in the past 6 years, but really only after we changed the wall color to a light green and took down the space ship lights and switched them to something more traditional. The built-in seating area is also one of the most uncomfortable things I’ve ever sat on, the sink is in a very inconvenient location, the wall heaters don’t work so the room is always 10 degrees colder than the rest of our house, and most of our appliances are broken in one way or another. So we’ve finally said enough is enough, this kitchen must go.

We’re starting to pack up and deconstruct this week. Then a nice reuse/recycle company will come and take our existing cabinets and counter top away. More about them in a future post…

Here are the previous posts about our adventure:
Remodeling Our Kitchen
Budgeting for a Kitchen Remodel
Designing a Kitchen