VG Kitchen Remodel: The Final Reveal

So we started with this:

Beat up. Old. Tired. No working appliances. An extra door. Five god damn layers of linolium. Popcorn ceilings. Sofits. Broken pipes. Busted cabinetry. A light box. Scratched paint.

You get the idea.

Now. Three months later, a lot of backbreaking work, too many trips to Home Depot, and more than a few spousal arguments and grey hairs later.

-SHAZAM!-

Clean, spacious, and plenty of light. Just the kitchen I have always wanted. After years of cramped apartment kitchens this was the chance to build something right. Let me tell you, writing a cookbook in an apartment smaller than most closets with an oven that could only be kindly referred to as mercurial and a fridge that was shorter than me was a pain in the ass.

-Kitty approves.-

Much of the major work in this remodel was done by my amazing contractor whose name I will keep secret and only give out in person because he should only be hired by those deemed worthy. He is the contractor who did Elise at Simply Recipes' kitchen, and after viewing his work there I was smitten and hired him on the spot. I'm sure I drove him mad once or twice, but he kept a cool head and did flawless, detail oriented work.

The floors, ceilings, and painting was all done by my husband, Brian. We had help from our friend Spruce through most of it, and Catherine Enfield from Munchie Musings assisted me a few times with painting in 100+ heat. My 68 year old mother did a ton of the linoleum and popcorn removal, which put the rest of us to shame.   

-Useless corner. Just useless.-

-Now filled with cabinetry to stock plates, glasses, serving bowls, and liquor (of which I have a lot). Also, ignore the Folgers. My mom was visiting.-

The door and windows that were in the right side of the kitchen were removed and replaced with the new fridge and more cabinetry. To make up for the light lost, the above-head cabinetry over the peninsula was removed and some simple industrial pendant lamps were hung so that the light from the dining and living room could flood the kitchen and make it warmer. 

A wall was removed between the living and dining rooms to make for a larger space and better flow for movement and entertaining purposes.

-The adjoining living room. Furniture slightly out of place as we are caulking the baseboards.-

Products

Note: We did a lot of purchasing through Home Depot as Brian receives a military discount of 10%.

Cabinets: Kitchenaid Cabinets with Sable with Ginger Glaze, Designed by Bob Sullivan at the Folsom Boulevard Home Depot in Sacramento. All the cabinets have easy flow closing mechanisms so they literally cannot slam but rather quietly shut. Many of the cabinets are designed as having lazy suzans and spice racks for ease of stacking and organization. 

Granite: Bianco Romano (white with swirls of purple and grey). Installed by Block Tops. 

Flooring: Cotton Valley Oak, picked up at Home Depot. 

Lighting: Home Depot, The pendants were all on sale for $20 a pop. The recessed lighting was on discount for $20 each with a SMUD rebate. 

Magnetic Knife Block: Fintorp from Ikea. On sale for $5. Hells yes.

Bar Stools: West Elm, Scoop-Back Bar Stools. Picked these up with a 15% off coupon I received from an event for the relaunch of Best Friends for Frosting (an amazing lifestyle blog you should follow). It was a splurge, but I wanted bar stools that were so comfy you could fall asleep in them.

Appliances: A french door fridge. A slide in oven with stove. A second built-in oven. A microwave with vent. A very silent and high capacity dishwasher. All picked up at Sears. 

Kitchen Table: Hand-me-down from Elise. She got it in the the early 80's from a Goodwill.

Rug: My parents purchased this in a souk in Ankara back in the late 90's. It was already about 50 years old and the previous owners had upgraded thinking there was something apparently wrong with this rug. Their loss, my gain.

Cookbook Shelf: Expedit from Ikea. 

We still have to put hardware on the cabinets, install a backsplash, and get a light for the dining room; but those are minor details and don't hamper use of the kitchen. In addition to the majhor construction we had to get a permit to install a second line from the breaker box so the kitchen could handle the second oven. (Which, might I say, was a bitch.)

Overall, I'm glad this is done. This was a stressor of a higher order than the cookbook and equal to planning the wedding. Oof.

Lastly, a huge shout out goes to my mom who assisted me with this renovation. She assisted us with some of the finances, put in a ton of physical labor, and damn it if she wasn't right during 90% of our disagreements.

-Adjoining dining room.-