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...jen o'connor's...Artful Adventures & Daily Inspirations

I Love Art, Adore the Handmade and Treasure the Vintage. I am the Fun Mom, the Silly Friend and the Writer who wants to make more room for beauty in the everyday.

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Saturday, May 30, 2009

All of a sudden...


All of a sudden, I am re-doing my kitchen.

Say goodbye to this...and all because my nephew Oliver was here and I asked him to take down cabinets with Micah.

And so it began...harmlessly at first...thinking about surfaces, storage and using the space. And all of a sudden it is happening!

Here's the before...

and the after... or should I say "the intermittent" until paint, stove hood and antique corner cabinet arrive!

Shannon's here for the summer and she's been emptying cabinets out onto counters with a brutal joy, forcing me to sort, purge and tidy.

Here's is the goodbye pile...don't worry...I have plenty more...I am way to much of a pack rat...what is a "potato ricer" anyway???
The kitchen -- as it was 'til the first power tool arrived on the scene last week --like aging leftovers - still ok to ingest, but not pleasing to the palette.

And so, I am making this up as I go along. Yes, I have a vision, yes, I am a really good planner...but this has become a "one-step-at-a-time" let's "do-it-ourselves" re-do we are fitting in between other projects and plans..oh and a the regular and never ending to do list.

I should confess that in an impassioned lust for a kitchen that will be well...me and mine in mood and design... I drove to the dump and tossed out all those overhead cabinets (yeah, really), what I used as a desk (uh, oh!) and an ancient behemoth of an over-the-stove microwave. Then I drove home and took chisel to tile.

I am wondering where the heck I will put the glasses...but I will figure it out. I have decided to go for less cabinet space (I'll just fill them if I have them). Yes, less, but more useful. How that will all play out is orbiting in my head, and the universe just might kick back a good answer.

So I have come to accept that indeed, the kitchen re-do is finally -after years of gnashing my teeth at the prior homeowners' love of mauve and green tiles (visualize a Marriott Motel in the early 90s...) and a lack of decent flat surface to actually prepare food...it's happening...

Just like that... so wish me luck and stay tuned! Kathy I am off to read some of those cool mags you've loaned me...thanks for the support and encouragement...and to Melissa thanks for the appliance help, and to Jennifer, thanks for the island ideas and sharing Stephanie & Ken's magic(more on that soon)!

So there is much to be done, but what makes me most fretful, all the writing on the walls that will be covered with paint. Fear not -- I am going to transfer the kids' notes on heights with dates to some tracing paper and re-do on another surface...but those quotes (some of you know I write favorite quips and quotes on the wall) will go - but no worries new ones will come...

...more soon
xxoo Jen

7 comments:

Theresa said...

Jen, I can't wait to see how it all turns out... I'm sure it will be beautiful. :)

elma said...

WOW all the best in doing your kitchen. I hope it doesn't take to long. How are you going to make it with the kids in all. Can't wait to see it all redone! I am sure it will be beautiful:)

Tammy Burks said...

Good luck with the remodel. I lived to tell about it after doing that last year....washing dishes in the bathroom sink for 3 months got kind of old, but it was so worth it!
Can't wait to see how it turns out!

Here it is at it's worst:
http://skiptomyewe.blogspot.com/2008/04/more-remodeling.html

And finished: http://skiptomyewe.blogspot.com/2008/07/peeking-into-my-real-life-kitchen.html

{Bellamere Cottage} said...

How exciting! I can't wait to see the next step....you're a very brave girl! :-)

Blessings,
Spencer

laurie meseroll said...

nice stove ;)

Anonymous said...

Jen,Are you selling the cabinets? Liz

Melissa said...

Jen, you are very welcome for the help. The best of luck with finishing the project to your liking with minimal stress. I can't wait to see it when it's done!
:-)


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