The beginning of the new kitchen

Long time no blog. :)  Today we have officially begun renovation of our outdated and not so well done kitchen.  After consulting with a couple of contractors, we decided to do this ourselves.  It is of course, less expensive, and also we are at our own mercy and not the mercy of a contractor who may decide randomly that there is something else he would rather be doing.  We will be installing an Ikea kitchen, a new and relocated dishwasher,  a new and relocated slide in range, and a vent hood that will properly vent the cooking odors that seem to settle in the hall outside the master bedroom.  We are excited and nervous!  I will try to chronicle this process here as completely as possible.  Wish us luck :)

 

We have already cleared out the kitchen cabinets, and kept out what we will need to cook and eat on for the next 6 weeks or so.  The rest has been packed away until we are all done.  James is working in what used to be the office, and the office has been moved temporarily to the dining room.  We are using a product called RAM board to cover and protect the floors while we do this.  It is a great product. Heavy card board reinforced with some type of plastic, but it still breathes, so a new floor finish can actually cure under it.  We found ours at Home Depot, but you can read about it at HERE. This area will become our makeshift kitchen while construction happens.  More pictures as that develops later.

Wide baby gate with a swing door for easy access will keep the furry members of the household out of the construction area.

An unused Elfa drawer tower that was collecting dust in the garage conveniently became our utensil, towel and tea storage for the duration.  I knew I didn't get rid of it for a reason!

Those countertops are 90's era California countertops of choice.  I hate them.  I would not have liked them any better even if they had done a better job installing them.  I will take great pleasure in seeing it leave my house in pieces. ;)

One of the last meals we will cook on this disgusting cooktop. Two of the burners don't even work, and the downdraft vent is completely useless.  The food on the other had is pretty darn good, and I made a double batch so we could freeze portions for later.  It's Coconut-Lime Pork Tacos with Black Beans and Avocado, and we not only eat it in corn tortillas, but it works well in lettuce wraps, or in a big salad with lots of avocado, salsa, carrots, cucumber, green onions, etc. Try it, you won't be disappointed!