The hardest part of this renovation to date (acknowledging that we are all of 5 days in) has been making what seems like thousands of decisions. From the very beginning, where we started with “Yikes, look at the linoleum – it’s lifting. We need to replace the floor” to “maybe since we need to replace the floor, we should get rid of the tile, too and get granite” to “well we might as well make a few other changes at the same time” to “let’s take the pantry out and replace it with cabinets” and “this island needs to be extended” etc. After looking at dozens of kitchens on an app called Houzz, I found exactly what I wanted. Michael got right on board when he saw that my plan included a six-burner plus griddle with a 1 and 1/2 oven gas range! He was hooked. But before we even got a bid proposal, we had to decide on what changes we wanted to the pantry, the island, the cabinets, which appliances we wanted to replace or add, lighting (under cabinet and ceiling), plumbing fixtures and sink, tile or engineered hardwood or laminate, granite or marble countertops, and granite or tile backsplash. Most of these decisions came pretty easy and Michael and I agreed on most everything, which has really made the decision making process so much nicer. But even within each category, the details were, at times, daunting. For example, Cabinets — painted or stained? Frameless, face-frame, or flush inset? Door and drawer style? Knobs or pulls and which style? Concealed door hinges? White or maple print interiors? Fortunately, we worked with Kent’s cabinet guy, Jerry at Kings Cabinets! He was very patient and showed us real-life examples (as opposed to pictures) of every detail.
Now that we have a signed contract and the work has begun, the next decision is paint colors. As easy as all the other decisions have been, this one is proving to be the most challenging and I am surprised. I rarely have difficulty making decisions, but this one has been a struggle. Michael is leaving the “aesthetics” of the remodel primarily to me. I have engaged my youngest son Brian (a VERY talented cabinet maker and VERY artistic) and his lovely wife, Natalie (his muse) to give me input. With their help, we have made a final decision! To get to this point, I purchased samples of the colors I liked, brought them home and painted various walls to see how they will actually look (which is often very different than they look on the little strip at the paint store). Now remember, we are painting our kitchen, living room (with 20 foot ceilings), family room, and hall. Oh, yeah, and the cabinets against the walls in the kitchen will also be painted; while the island cabinets will be stained. I purchased a total of 13 sample colors! Now that I have figured out which walls are going to be what color, I plan to mix 8 of the samples together and paint our bedroom – so happy to be able to use most of the samples (which were 30 ounces of paint each and not free).
As week one comes to an end, the project is on schedule, the kitchen now consists of four walls and nothing else, the trash trailer is gone, my walls have 13 different colors painted on them in strategic places around the room, and we have survived! One down, six more to go. The good news is that when you are old, time flies; so six weeks will be over before we know it.
Beige,, taupe, blue, or teal? Yikes!
Look, Ma – no pantry!
Safari So Good 