One of the things that has always bothered me most about our current house is the tiny galley kitchen. It is close to impossible for two people to comfortably work in there and as Ben has grown and wants to play wherever I am, it has become even more difficult to make dinner with a stethescope, two or three blocks, a ball, Mr. Potato Head’s hat, and a sippy cup underfoot. The kitchen at our new house is much bigger! There are at least twice as many cabinets and I am very excited to fill them. Here are a couple of panoramic photos to get you oriented.

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Looking into the kitchen from the back breezeway door
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The dark kitchen view from the dining room

Grandpa built all of the cabinets in the kitchen when they remodeled in the ’90s so compared to some areas of the house, this is quite modern! Everything is solid wood and in great shape so there are very few changes we have to make for the space to be safe and usable. Aesthetically though, the space is far from what my dream kitchen would be. I want to write up a list of the changes to each room as I post about them to help us keep our DIY aspirations in check with reality and for us to be able to look back upon some day and realize how far we’ve come. We’re considering two phases of renovation for the kitchen, one to update it to something closer to our ideal and then the dream kitchen several years down the road. We completely gutted the kitchen at our current house two and a half years ago and have been enjoying the upgrades we made ever since (built-in, double-layer silverware tray for the win!). My guess is that most of the phase 1 goals will be taken care of within the next 12 months and phase 2 won’t start for another 5-6 years. Over the next many years, we would like to:

  • Swap the stove and dishwasher for those at our current house
  • Install a garbage disposal (phase 1)
  • Paint the cabinets using Rustoleum’s Cabinet Transformation kit (phase 1)
  • Replace cabinet pulls
  • Find a good, toddler-safe trash can solution
  • Replace the window (phase 1)
  • Remove wallpaper and boarder (phase 1)
  • Paint the walls (phase 1)
  • Replace the circular-bulbed fluorescent light fixture
  • Replace the countertops with butcher block (phase 1)
  • Add a large rug (I’m jonesing for stripes) (phase 1)
  • Replace vinyl toe kick with wood (phase 1)
  • Replace the microwave (phase 1 or 2)
  • Replace the cabinets (phase 2)
  • Built out the bulkhead over the fridge (phase 2)
  • Replace the fridge with a wider model (have to figure out how to feed 2 boys somehow!) (phase 2)
  • Install new countertops  (phase 2)
  • Install new sink with new faucet (phase 2)
  • Paint walls (phase 2)
  • Replace vinyl flooring with wood/manufactured wood/laminate wood (phase 2)

Do you have any thoughts you’d like to add? Things you would have done differently when you remodeled your kitchen?