You may remember from this post that my family and I are about to embark on a pretty big Kitchen renovation. Walls are coming down, floors coming out, old cabinets being donated and new cabinets coming in, new appliances, new countertops and MOST IMPORTANTLY a new layout. As much as I’m excited about shiny, new things coming into the kitchen I’m most excited about configuring the kitchen so that we have more usable counter space. I really enjoy preparing and cooking meals but right now we work out of a little corner. Soon this will all change. Woohoo!

I thought I’d take you on a tour of the old kitchen along with some inspiration pics…

Once upon a time there was a fridge. It was a big and bulky fridge with no real home to speak of. The fridge sat smack dab in what feels like the center of the kitchen. This sad fridge longed for a home of it’s own.

I promise you this story will have a happy ending but right now we have a sad fridge with sad homeowners.

If the refrigerator door is open you have to wait your turn to get by. It sits inches from the counter top which makes the kitchen feel smaller than it is. Trying to figure out where to place that fridge started this whole project.

Soon it will be moved to a new location along the back wall and will be tucked cozily into a custom cabinet. I think the fridge will be much happier. I know we will be!

This is our current Kitchen bar area. This is absolutely the hub of our home. Homework, blogging, meals, congregating with friends, projects all happen here. Although it has been fine for over 4 years we’d like something that functions a little better. We’d like to be able to seat four instead of only 3. If you are over 5 feet tall be prepared to bang your knees. It’s way too shallow currently. It also has this weird angle in the corner. Squared egdes please!

We’d like this, pretty please…

I mentioned walls are coming down, right?

Currently we have a wall that divides the kitchen and dining room and another wall that divides the laundry room and dining room. That’s the laundry area way to the left in the photo below.

Taking down this wall is the biggest challenge and the largest expense. It is a concrete block, structural wall that requires the skill of an engineer and the support of a beam. I just know in the end it will be worth the expense and effort.

Bye, bye walls! Hello open space!

The space will become an integrated kitchen and dining room.

The kitchen, laundry room and dining space soon will all be one. The laundry room will look dramatically different with the washer and dryer being housed in custom cabinets. There will even be storage for all my son’s sport balls, a designated place for laundry detergent, even a custom cabinet that will hold a hamper. Someone pinch me please!

There is a door to the left of the cabinet in the laundry room. This is where we enter the house more days than not. Right now when you enter you look straight at the wall that divides the laundry space from the dining area. I’m longing for the day that we walk in and we will see clear through to the front of the house.

I mentioned things moving around and a new layout. The blue tape below marks where the new sink will be going. Here is the new sink which will be undermounted into quartz countertops.

The old sink currently sits below the window which faces the backyard.

I actually have always liked this. In order to create more counter space we are flip flopping a few things. Now when I wash dishes I will have a view of the lake outside the front of our house. I think I will get use that.

Laminate countertops with rounded edges will be a thing of the past as quartz countertops come in.

Originally I wanted to still have white cabinets. I changed my mind after I saw cabinets that have a driftwood look to them. Kind of like this…

So there you have it! We have about 4 weeks before demolition begins. Yikes!

Thanks for coming along with me as I document our kitchen reno. To be continued…

Happy Friday!