Now We're Cookin' with Gas!

My Kitchen is finished! Well, almost finished.
There's still some caulking to do, and a few last minute adjustments, and of course there's the painting of trim and walls, but that can wait for a week or two.

I've spent a whole day moving plates and cups and pots and pans from the dining room and the basement which has functioned as a sort of make-do kitchen for the past month. Thank goodness I don't have to survive using the microwave and the toaster oven and wash dishes in the tiny basement sink any more.

It went from this....

.... to this.....

.... to this.

And of course, nothing ever runs according to plan, even on the best of days there's always some kind of major hitch. The sinks, faucets and drains were connected and running smoothly, then the drain pipe clogged up SOLID! It took Dave and his buddy most of the next day to clear the clog using a scary combination of plumbers snakes, the shopvac, the garden hose and a generous helping of brute force. Just an accumulation of crud in the pipes, they said. Very nasty stinky black crud. Especially nasty when it spurted all over the basement floor.

The other end of the room started out like this.....

.... to this....

.... and the finished product. Still more to do... some sort of window treatment, not sure what yet, a new light fixture, and the old fridge is still there, the Hydro One people were coming to pick it up last week, but their truck broke down!

Thanks for all your hard work Dave.... the kitchen is awesome, I'm going to enjoy using it so much. YoungerSon says he's looking forward to some fabulous dinners now.... little does he know that I can burn food in a new oven just as easily as I could in the old one.

I'm away for a week.... off to The Rock.... pics when I get back.

Out with the Old....

.... and In with the New!

At last, an update on my kitchen renovations. I know the blogger world has been waiting for this news with bated breath. The decision to tear the kitchen apart was made back at the start of the year and it's finally happening. You can see the original kitchen here and here. Yukky, eh? 1969 Special.

YoungerSon's FIL Daddy Dave is doing the work for me, and he's fantastic! He came to the house armed with paper and pencil and tape measure, and lots of great kitchen ideas. Next thing I know he's ordered new cabinets and then I was off to the cabinet maker's to approve the design and choose a stain colour.

BTW, Martin the cabinet maker is a dead ringer for Kramer in Seinfeld! I couldn't stop staring at his hair.



The next stop is to choose cabinet handles... so many to choose from! If I only had the choice between 4 or 5 designs it would be so much easier! This is only one of the designs that I'm considering.

And then it was off to the granite showroom to choose a slab of granite for the counter top. I chose Tan Brown... it's got shades of black and gingery browns and a few sparkly bits, but no pic yet, wait till it's installed.

Daddy Dave and his buddy arrived last week hauling his huge work trailer, and within an hour or so the old cabinets, sink, plumbing and draft hood were in a pile on the driveway and the stove and dishwasher were out on the street for big garbage pickup.

The fridge is still in use but will be replaced. Meanwhile it sits in the middle of the room in everyone's way.

Installation of the new cabinets got started the same day. The cabinet doors were delivered all wrapped in plastic and are sitting in my dining room, along with most of the contents of my kitchen. I'm surviving with the aid of an electric kettle, microwave, toaster oven and BBQ, and washing dishes in the sink in the basement. Thank goodness it's summertime.

Dave made a template for the granite counter top and it's currently being cut to size. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and knocking on wood that it'll fit! You can only cut those things once.


And of course, I've had a lot of help from a certain 16 month old, who has been taking great delight in sitting inside the cupboard where the sink will eventually be going. I had to tape up the drain pipe, I was worried about what he was going to poke down there.

Currently, there's a big hole being knocked in the kitchen wall to accommodate a larger vent for the new wall mounted microwave/ draft hood.... but that's a story for another day.

Kitchenation 101

The kitchen renovation plans are continuing.

Here are the "before" pics. Dark brown cupboards with white marble handles, 1960's floral avocado green and burnt orange tiles on the backsplash.
The electric range was purchased when YoungerSon was 10 days old.... he's now almost 27. Only 3 of the top burners work right now. One went POOF! with a pretty blue spark last week.
The fridge has seen better days, it has little watery accidents on the inside sometimes.
And the dishwasher..... well, let's just say that it does the job but it's not a pretty sight.

So I went shopping.

Just window shopping so far, but saw lots of really smart appliances. I originally thought I wanted white, but I'm warming towards the stainless steel look. And I like the idea of the Energy Star appliances that are much more energy efficient.

It's definitely time!

Time for a Change

My modern kitchen isn't so modern any more!

The kitchen was originally installed in the late 1960s, replacing cupboards that probably dated from the 1930s, and which now grace the walls in my workshop at the back of the garage. The kitchen must have been ultra stylish and trendy when it was new. It had all the modern appliances.... in Avocado Green! MMMm lovely. Thankfully, they've all been replaced with white since then.

And the backsplash tiles are a charming 60's avocado green and harvest gold.

Very retro.

Time for a replacement methinks.

So this week I've been measuring cupboards and checking out replacement counter tops. The current counter top is white... well, it used to be white, but it's looking very tired after 40 years... WOW, has it really lasted FORTY years? And to top it all off, this morning I put a hot pan on the counter and left a burn mark. Self sabotage.

I went to Home Depot with my kitchen plan and they are going to send someone to measure up next week, and give me an estimate.

Of course, once I get new facing and doors on the cupboards, and a new counter, I'll need a new sink, new taps, new window treatment, and don't forget all new appliances, and then I'll need to paint the ceiling, and the walls..... This could get expensive!
But I'll be able to claim a 15% tax credit on renovation costs up to a maximum $10,000 for any home improvements completed up to next February, thanks to the Government of Canada's latest budget.

So this is definitely the year to get it done!