Sunday, January 18, 2009

Metamorphosis Monday

The culprit

After demo and installation of new window

Old, low ceiling and everyone's favorite, a fluorescent light box

New raised ceiling and track lighting

Old high pass through and little used cabinet. We originally planned to remove this wall altogether, but it contains a large plumbing stack and alot of wiring. We (our budget) chose to remove the cabinet and lower the pass through to give a more open appearance.

The best part of any kitchen, the coffee area! Open shelve where cabinet used to be.


Old stove and pantry area. Lots of wasted space, and just ugly. Notice the lovely formica backsplash. The different paint colors were our attempt to get it right the first time. My husband swears that the rest of the house is held together by layers of paint.

Detail of the new backsplash, as well as the new stove/pantry area. We gained 15 inches of counterspace and a pot/pan organizer cabinet by getting rid of the old pantry "closet" and installing a new, narrower pantry.

The much more appetizing new view from our dining room.

Susan from Between Naps on the Porch is graciously hosting Metamorphosis Monday starting January 19th. Visit her at http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com to find links to all of the participants.

In July of 2008, we returned from a wonderful and relaxing week at the beach. When we arrived home, we noticed a distinctly "musty" odor. Thinking that it was due to the house being closed up for 10 days in the Texas heat, we ignored it for a day. The next day, I went to pull an appliance out of a lower cupboard and discovered lots of wet and (horrors), the beginning of mold. After the initial screaming meemies, we set out to discover the source of the water. At first, we thought the washer had leaked as it was on the other side of the kitchen wall and we found water under the machine. Our trusty appliance repairman came out and gave the washer a clean bill of health. So we pulled the cabinet out (it was at this point totally useless) and discovered that the water was actually coming up through the concrete slab! So, away we went breaking up the concrete around what we thought was the source. Lo and behold, one of the pipes in the slab was set too close to the rebar, and a hole was eventually rubbed through. Apparently whoever built this house knew it was too close, as they had wrapped the pipe in - can I hear an amen - DUCT TAPE! Our plumber came out and repaired the leak, we repaired the concrete and then set out to renovate the kitchen. Our homeowners policy would not cover the repairs, as there was a sneaky little Texas clause in our policy that did not cover "leaks under grade". So, what now? We had been trying to decide what to do with this horrible, dated, UGLY kitchen for years. We just decided to rip everything out and start over! These are some before and after pix. We did all of the work ourselves, with the exception of the new drywall and the quartz countertop installation. It took us about 6 weeks from demo to new kitchen, during which time I discovered 3 important things: 1) It is no fun washing dishes in the bathtub 2) It's hard to have your kitchen and dining room in your living room (except DH loved having the frig next to his chair) 3) You know that you've been eating out too much when the man behind the counter at Wing Stop greets you by name when you come in! Hope you enjoy the change as much as we have. Stop in anytime for a cup of coffee and a chat.

32 comments:

PAT said...

Great Metamorphosis Monday post! Wonderful kitchen redo!

Wendy said...

Wow, you rasied your ceiling. What a project to take on. I'm loving your coffee area. Great job.

Wendy

Susan @ A Southern Daydreamer said...

Love your kitchen redo...

Wendy said...

oops, that should be, You raised your ceiling. Sorry for the spelling.

Cindy (Applestone Cottage) said...

Really nice job, I love how warm and inviting it looks. Cindy

Susan (Between Naps On The Porch.net) said...

Kathy, I love your kitchen renovation...really opened everything up! Your countertop is beautiful! I love what you did with the lighting. I, too, had a flourescent light in my kitchen...I was so glad to see it go. (LOL) Your new lighting is great! Thanks for the great Met Monday post! Susan

The Muse said...

Oh yes...this qualifies! LOL
What massive changes, for the better!

Lana G! said...

Wow what a story behind this redo! It looks fabulous! You guys did a wonderful job!

Betsy Brock said...

Aaahh...so fresh and updated! I love it!

Lynne (lynnesgiftsfromtheheart) said...

Kathy what a wonderful transformation. Water can do sooo much damage can't it? I love the raised ceiling and your coffee area is just wonderful. Have a super Met Monday. hugs ~lynne~

Bo said...

Hi Kathy...wow, I'd never have known it was the same kitchen...I know you must love it...so pretty!
;-) Bo

Anonymous said...

How nice your kitchen looks now...sometimes it takes those little leaks to get one going..

Pug1 said...

Great post!!!! CHEERS! Michele

Marty@A Stroll Thru Life said...

Kathy, one of my favorite kitchens. You guys did such a great job in redoing it. Sometimes a big mess can turn out to be a blessing. I can't wait to see what you do in your mom's kitchen. Hugs, Marty

santamaker said...

Your new kitchen is stunning. You should be very proud!

Confessions of a Plate Addict said...

Hi Kathy! So nice that you got to put your wonderful kitchen redo out there for everyone to see! The coffee area is my favorite, too! Have a great day...Debbie

Barb @ The Everyday Home said...

Kathy - I am not sure if I knew the "hole" story. LOL What a great post! You cracked me up about your husband loving the fridge by his chair. Men! (insert rolled eyes icon here) My fave area if the coffee station too.
So maybe the duct tape wrap was a gift to you after all - a new kitchen. :-) Blessings my friend - see ya' over at micasa.

Anonymous said...

it looks great.fabulous job.alot of work,i'm sure...Ann

Kimberly said...

"Can I hear an amen"--laughed so hard at that :D Lovely kitchen!

Gone said...

What a beautiful make-over!!! It looks wonderful!

Jan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jan said...

Oops, I wasn't watching my typing in my previous comment. Sometimes there are silver linings in those nasty happenings, and your redo is one of them. What a great job you have done. That new ceiling makes all the difference, along with the counters.
We had a slab leak 10 days after we moved into our house 6 yrs ago, but found it soon enough that it only cost "6 grand". It did that much water damage in a day! I was NOT happy with the previous owners who swore there was no evidence of a leak. Oh well, we did have coverage through our homeowners and another home warranty policy that we insisted on. Those 'slabs' can be a pain! Thanks for sharing.

Lisa (aka) French said...

Ohhh What a great makeover! Love the after isn't it amazing what we can do with a little time, money and imagination;) French

bj said...

What a great makeover...it looks really nice.

Glenda said...

Beautiful job. I sure am glad you weren't gone any longer than you were. I understand from what I've read that mold can present some serious health problems.

Anonymous said...

You did a SUPER job. We're in the middle of doing the same, but keeping all the lower cabinets and getting rid of all the uppers along three sides of the kitchen. Love seeing how nicely your's turned out!

Victoria
http://auctiongirlvintage.typepad.com

Melissa Miller said...

What an inspiring post. Thanks for sharing.
IT'S BEAUTIFUL! :)

Lady Katherine said...

Your kitchen, makeover is so wonderful! love it!

Bargain Decorating with Laurie said...

What a transformation! This turned out great. I know you are enjoing the fruits of your labor. Thanks so much for sharing this. It is an inspiration to see this metamorphosis. laurie

Cyndi said...

Kathy,great job of showing the whole process and telling the story.I laughed at the end,I remember the washing the dishes in the bath tub days too and all the eating out.We only like a couple of restaurants here and we went so often the servers knew what we wanted,it was kind of embarrassing.I spent so much time in one of the restaurants that I ended up painting my rooms similar colors...crazy times,renovating. Cyndi

Unknown said...

I found your blog because the name is similiar to mine. In the space of 2 weeks we had both of our children move out, it was a shock, but I am happy to say we are surviving! Your kitchen looks great! When you are given lemons the best thing to do is make lemonade, and you did! Good for you! Sue

nikkicrumpet said...

I'm sorry about your leak...what a pain in the butt that it was beneath the concrete. But you guys did such a marvelous job on the renovation. You made great choices and it looks beautiful! I'm sure it was worth it in the end....although hubby must be sad to lose his chairside fridge!