A Modern Kitchen

a.k.a.Where the Magic that is Chronic In the Kitchen Happens

(Cross posted from my other blog FibroDAZE):

In March, 2011 with the demolition of our existing kitchen, we embarked on a renovation journey that took far, far longer than anticipated. Perhaps we were naive of timelines; however the mistakes made by the big-box home renovation retailer (whom shall remain nameless) added many, many weeks to this project. Nonetheless, here we are some 9 months later, and our new kitchen is nearly born!

We took our kitchen from this, a typical 80′s kitchen:

It’s difficult to tell from the pictures, but the counter-top was quite damaged, the cupboards – particularly on the inside – had many areas of damage, the flooring was ripped, and, as you can tell by the extra shelving unit (one of three), there was not enough storage.

With the help of a kitchen designer, we created extra storage and counter-top square footage by deciding to enclose the cut-out you see in the second photo and move the fridge over.  We opened up the space by taking out the peninsula.  We gained additional counter top space  by  an over-the-range microwave (we found a used one.) We added and relocated electrical sockets. A far more functional kitchen, with plenty of storage, began to take shape. As we did not relocate the sink or stove, we suffered no great loss of use  during the renovation.

This renovation was not without its’ challenges however, mealtime wasn’t one of them: with the use of a meal assembly service – where you make freezer meals on location, bag them, and bring home to cook later – we did not have to eat every meal out.

We have friends who are electricians, cabinet installers and a couple of extremely knowledgeable handymen, which kept our costs down.  Doing this project as inexpensively as we did would not have been possible without their help.

Here are some pictures of our  nearly finished kitchen.

I love the faucet and sink we picked out.  The sprayer on the faucet works great. If I’m making pasta, to fill the large pot with water, I can  set a large pot on the counter and pull the sprayer arm over to fill it. I then slide the full pot over to the stove.

We chose quartz for our countertop. Low maintenance (no yearly sealing required), easy to clean, stain and scratch resistant, and antibacterial.  The only caution is not placing something hot directly on to it.  Thus, I place a hot pad under our small appliances (such as our slow cooker) when using same on the counter.

I hope you’ve enjoyed your tour.

Design magazines, our kitchen is ready for it’s close up!