Hello sweet friends after almost a year of waiting the time has now come for the Kitchen Renovation Week 1 Demolition.
One Last Look
I want to start off by offering tremendous gratitude for this kitchen.
It has helped nourish my family for seven years.
We made the most of what it offered for as long as we could.
Now some of you might remember what it looked like when we first moved in. 
It was a complete cave comprised of beige and brown.
Paint truly can transform a space. It can also hide a multitude of sins.
The missing drawer and a note that indicates the broken dishwasher doesn’t need to be saved are just at the surface of what lies beneath.
We knew when we purchased the home that the previous owners had experienced a flood in the kitchen.
Yes, we should have just renovated from the get go. But we just didn’t have the money at the time.
So over the years the cabinetry has continued to deteriorate at various degrees.
I think this is a good time to mention that lighting and camera angles can make things appear much nicer than they are in real life.
I’ve been sharing just the pretty for a good long time while we saved money for a renovation.
It’s not that I was trying to hide anything. I just didn’t want to focus on the negative aspects. But they were there for me to see everyday.
It was hard accepting that this was the cleanest I could get the sink. Believe me, I tried everything!
The faucet had plastic parts that were also past their prime. Several areas had begun to chip off.
It had become virtually impossible to find a camera angle that didn’t show the many areas that needed attention.
It well past time to say GOODBYE.
Kitchen Renovation Week 1 Demolition
Because everything was so rotted demolition took only a couple of hours.
We are keeping the tile flooring we installed in 2017.
Although our layout isn’t changing drastically we are thankful that we had purchased a bit extra to fill in the spots that are needed.
Once the new cabinetry is installed it will be easier to point out what is changing.
For the many of you who LOVE the hearth, fear not!
It escaped the wrecking ball.
The left insert will be remodeled into an appliance garage and storage.
The entire hearth will also be receiving a German Schmear treatment.
The kitchen hearth wraps around to the living room fireplace.
I am SO anxious to transform this gigantic collection of orange toned bricks. They are so visually heavy. The makeover will truly lighten the dark living room up as well.
Of course one of the messiest parts of demolition, even with tarps and tape, is the DUST. It seems to seep into every area of the house.
I keep cheerfully telling myself that it’s only temporary and it will all be worth it!
In the meantime I will continue to cook in my makeshift kitchen. I am somehow managing to still feed my family. But I think that might be a whole other post.
Shoutout to the buffet, bar cart transforming once again for a heavy duty job.
Cabinetry
Next week I will cover our decisions on cabinetry.
See you Friday!
Laura
So very happy for you! It will be worth the wait!
I’m so excited for you. Kitchen renovation is so expensive most have to go through the issues you have done.
A kitchen sink no matter what you try to get it clean with it doesn’t work.
I can’t wait to see all the goodies you choose.
The brick will be stunning
Wow! So happy and scared and excited for you all at one time. Kitchen renovations are the most troublesome but so totally worth it when its all finished and you are able to cook your first meal again. We did ours in small steps so it went on for a few years but it was so good to finally look around and realize we finally had a clean and efficient room. There will be days when you want to throw in the towel and run away but then come the days when you see progress and something turns out better than you had hoped. Can’t wait to see the progress and the final finished room. I know it will be amazing!
The process might be a mess, but it will be so exciting when it is done. Looking forward to seeing how it progresses!
Looking forward to seeing the progress, and the end result. It will be beautiful, for sure!!!
WHEW!!!! I was nervous the brick might be going. YAY…I think it will be wonderful with the plan you are going with. That living room fireplace is HUGE!!! You look dwarfed in the picture. I think you will be so happy in both rooms.
DUST????!!!! You don’t know dust until you have tiles cut in the house!!!! They had to because the stove top didn’t quite fit!!! Yikes!!!!!…… 25 years ago.
Keep us posted on it all…I think is fun to watch!!! But…be aware, whatever time frame they gave you…add a couple more months. We were told 3 months for new windows and it is now 5 months and still waiting!!!! AND these are all made in the USA!!!
It is going to be amazing. Congratulations
Looking forward to seeing all of your changes and that German Schmear! It will look aaaahhhhmazing!
oooh, I would go very lightly on the brick! I’ve done mine light and slow. It’s better to have too little than try to take some off. Good luck.
What a journey, Laura. I admire that you have the wherewithall to take it on! (Let me just say, with all my heart, I would kill to have your OLD kitchen (not the original but the most recent!)
It is going to be amazing! I cannot wait to see the changes. I am also looking forward to the post on feeding the family while renovating, we will be undertaking a renovation in the Spring.
You sill be so happy with your new beautiful fully functional kitchen!
Laura, I know your new kitchen will be great and beautiful for you!!! Love the dust photo! Enjoy this time and we will enjoy watching how the kitchen transforms. Like Cinderella’s pumpkin…
Happy painting, wall boarding, insulation and all that comes with it,
Barb
Ah, so much “scope for the imagination” as Anne Shirley would say! We did a big remodel in 2007 and put in a new undermount sink & granite countertops. The sink, which is a name brand, is looking pretty close to yours now and the bad thing is we can’t just lift it out & put in a new one! Thinking about having it reglazed like they do bathtubs, but need to see if it would be worth it. Do you know anyone who has ever done this?
Your new kitchen will be beautiful! I can see why demolition didn’t take long. Hope the renovation goes smoothly!