Back to the reno..........

So the last beach cottage reno pix are here. I promised to show the kitchen side of the living room wall re-do once it was done. Here is it finished up minus décor on the walls that will eventually be moved there from other spots as more kitchen renovation starts. Don't pay attention to the floor and missing baseboard - that will be a mess until we get to replacing the floor, no date set for that yet as everything else needs to be done before we start laying flooring.

So, here's the other side of that wall we opened up when we took the coat closet away and put this new/used much needed cabinet in the kitchen. We are doing this reno on a shoestring and went into sticker shock when we priced new cabinets. We went on the search through second hand shops and came out with this 96" tall cabinet that gives me much needed drawer and storage space - all for $100. I painted it and then put green glass drawer pulls on.

Whoo Hoo - look at all this space - the cabinet is 24" deep - so much space. The top drawer stores the cutlery which was a jumbled mess in the small drawer it had been in. The next drawer has all those important kitchen tools and gadgets, middle drawer muffin tins and such. Pots and pans are in the bottom two deep drawers - there was no cabinet for those in the current kitchen so I stored them in the pantry cabinet which was really too narrow for them - a fight to get them in and out.

 

Ok, so here are before pictures of the current kitchen - it will be a while before after pix show up as we only work on this place here and there. See that cabinet hanging down over the stove - well it's coming out soon and the soffit will be removed. This will open up the kitchen and dining room - right now I have to stoop down to look at someone in the dining room.

See the overhang of the countertop - well, those drawers on the right are impossible to get things in and out of because of it - poor design - I can only see 4" into those drawers. We're going to move those cabinets out 12" and eventually put a section of the overhead cabinets down there too. We could never use that bar with stools at it because the dining room chairs are just a couple feet away so we'll be putting that space under the counter to good use.

Oh, and I'll be painting all these kitchen cabinets white, hopefully over the summer - they don't look bad in the pictures but they are, they're sound sturdy cabinets but the finish is worn off.

Ok, so here's looking at those cabinets from the other side - can't wait for them to come down. We'll be taking part of them and putting them on that back wall to the right of the window. That stove and dishwasher are eventually going - the stove is old, a grimey old that we just cannot get clean and the stainless pitts from the salt air. And the dishwasher, just as old, sounds like a jet engine - no escape anywhere in the house from the noise. Both will be replaced with white appliances.

Another view of the kitchen wall to the left of the window. The only job we'll be subbing out in this reno is the countertops - we haven't even begun to look at what we'd like - it will be a composite as that's what we can afford for this house and they do such a nice job of them these days. For a backsplash I'm thinking bead board that I'll paint and distress - that's still in the percolating stage.

That soffit over the sink is coming out - I hate those soffits. I am compromising on the ones on the left wall though. I told Sam they could stay as long as he cut back the soffit to  follow the cabinets - you can see it in the picture above and below.

A new sink and faucet are in order too, the sink is all scratched up and the faucet about to fall apart - I'd love a farmhouse sink but they're just too spendy so will get a basic 2 sink unit.....unless I find a farmhouse sink at some close-out price somewhere..........

This kitchen might look a decent size but it's really small and lacks storage space and really lacks counterspace - the photos are deceiving. More than one person in here and it's crowded. I don't care for the fridge with the freezer on the bottom that holds very little but it was free so no complaining from me.