Kitchen progress, stage 2

Ever since we moved in, we’ve been working in spurts on remodeling our kitchen. I wrote back in November about the progress we’d made – opening up the partial wall between the kitchen/living area, moving the oven, adding a hood, taking out the bar, and replacing the hardware/fixtures. But it remained very much unfinished, with exposed slab, dangling wires, and open walls. So when we found out we were expecting another baby, finishing the kitchen was one of the first items on our pre-baby bucket list – for the little one’s safety and to avoid indefinite home project purgatory.

When we took stock of all the work to be done and the accompanying dust and chaos, we decided that our best action plan would be for Erik to tackle the messiest jobs while the kids and I took a trip to North Carolina. While I was gone, he took a kitchen that started like this when we moved in:

And moved it most of the way toward its current status!

What better welcome home present?!?

The room looks so much larger now with continuous wood flooring and bright white cabinets!

We switched from a U to an island configuration, and faced the stools toward the window to take in the mountain views.

It’s so convenient to empty the dishwasher and place things into the drawers just opposite it. Eventually we’ll add a little open shelving on the wall just above the dishwasher for our most frequently used glasses and plates.

There’s still a ways to go until the kitchen is checked off our pre-baby list: new counters, replacing the window, finishing the drywall and installing wall tile, moving the light fixtures, and adding cabinetry around the fridge and hood. Basically, it’s almost finished below the counter line, but with bright blue dry wall and temporary materials above that point. We’ve already hosted many a meal with the new layout though, and it’s so much fun to have guests seated and snacking on the stools while I finish cooking. I’ve also loved having the kids color or snack at the island while I work in the kitchen. And we brought the kitchen a little bit into the living space which really makes sense considering how much time we spend there. It’s so gratifying to see our kitchen plans come to life and now we’re enjoying deliberating over the materials to finish up the job!

{I’ll try to write again later this week with more details on the construction/demolition process and our choices so far. You can find more photos here.}