Kitchen Reno - Almost There!

So. Let's talk about how long it actually takes to remodel a kitchen. For whatever reason, I had envisioned about a week.

One. Week.

Yea. Right.  What was I thinking!?

It has taken FOUR weeks, from day of demolishing to the day that I could actually use all aspects of my kitchen. 

FOUR weeks. Not one. Just one delay after another. You'll see that we STILL aren't finished, but the rest is just aesthetics.  We need to paint, put up the backsplash, and do the floors. But I have a functioning kitchen now though. I can cook, clean, and organize in my kitchen!  Before I show you the new, let me show you the old.

This was the most frustrating place in the whole kitchen... there was NO workspace beside my stove & oven and I couldn't really use the cabinets above the fridge because then went back so far.

The other horrible thing about this kitchen was that I barely had ANY counter space. That high bar was too high, I couldn't find any stools that would fit that bar and even if I did, the kitchen nook was too small to accommodate both stools and table with chairs.

Then, there was the side counter. Oh. My. Gosh. That was the worst idea. All it was was a big ole drop off counter for everyone and it made me mad every day as soon as I got home because I would see how cluttered it was. I hated that counter!

Then, there was the wasted floor space on that wall that was between the kitchen and the living room...see it? With all the bags and shoes?

Let's talk about this pantry.

When I first moved in, I thought it was so wonderful! I thought "WOW! I will have a real pantry!" Little did I realize what another area of wasted space it was.  Because it was in a corner. So I never really got to use the back of the pantry because then I couldn't get what I wanted out of it.

If you didn't see what it looked like during the DEMO, you can see it {HERE}.

Now here is the NEW version. (minus the paint, backsplash, and floors)

I changed the color of the cabinets from the oak-y color to antique white.  But more importantly, LOOK at all that counter space!  

We moved the fridge from the back wall, to the side wall and took out that wasted counter.  We also took out the old corner pantry and got these pull out cabinet pantries.

We dropped the high bar and added about 6 inches (or was it 12 inches? I don't remember...so many numbers to remember!) and made it all one size and then put more cabinets under the counter on the bar side. MORE storage! (yes, we're using chairs at the bar right now.. I don't have barstools yet lol)

My drawers are pull out drawers so I can actually SEE what is in them and get out the pots and pans and lids that I need without having to climb INTO my cabinet.

I mean, seriously. I am in love with all that counter space!

These are the backsplash options so far...

Here's the pull out pantry...I have two of those and then the two top ones are just shelves.

I have my little "grab it from the fridge and put it down" spot, which is also my coffee and toast spot! ha!

And that area that was the drop off spot for bags and shoes? It's a counter and cabinet area now.