The Kitchen Remodel Begins!

Last weekend (Saturday), we decided to tear out the Kitchen.  I figured that we'd better get started, since there always seems to be a bump (or two) in the road.  And there certainly have been!

DH spent Saturday morning re-arranging the furniture to corral Luke for the next few months, while I dropped Luke off at Grandma & Grandpa's house for a full day of playtime & walks while we tore stuff out.

Here is a shot of one of the last "before" pics - before we removed any built-in item from the Kitchen.  It is fun to look back and see how things used to look, hence the bazillion pictures. :)

Another shot of the Kitchen in all its glory!  (Plus a cat, who was interested in hanging out, but soon ran once the sledgehammers & crowbars came out.)

This is DH after removing the wall cabinets.  We found out that there must have been existing cabinets (the ones we tore out), but the wall wasn't there - they added it later.  It was some CRAZY construction on the Cabinets, let me tell ya!

If you ever tear out a countertop with a seating overhang, this is the only way to loosen the top.  It has worked twice now!  :)  (P.S.  you need a hunky guy with amazing leg strength, too.)

We tore out the corner base Cabinets and started seeing more of the beautiful handcrafted Cabinetry.  (belchhh!)  It sure feels more open!!

Proof that the wall was built AFTER the Cabinets were installed.  Retro doors!  Wow!  I wonder why they covered this up?  

After tackling the right side of the Kitchen, we skip the sink base and move to the left side.  We move the appliances (or start to) and realize the refrigerator has a water line for the ice maker (which we did not use).  We disconnect the water line, wondering if it is hooked up ... and sure enough, it is!  We shoot water into a trash can & shut off water to the whole house while we go to the hardware store & DH finds a cap for the line.  Thank goodness he is so handy!!

We removed all the Cabinets that we plan to (for now).  We are leaving the sink for as long as we can.  The sink cabinet is built as one big cavity with the corner cabinet, so for now, it all stays.  

The mess outside after Day 1 Demolition.  We didn't get a dumpster, so this will sit for awhile until we find a vehicle to take it to the dump.   #GhettoFabulous!

On Wednesday of this week, we break into the soffits that were framed in above the Cabinets and also tear out the stud wall that separated the Kitchen from the Living Room.  We took a break for a few days, as we found a few things that looked like structural issues & made the Kitchen Designer in me want to tear my hair out!  The stupid "half-wall with decorative posts between the Refrigerator & Stove actually concealed the vertical post you can see in the picture (it is wood at the bottom & sheetrock covered above), which we believed was sitting below a ceiling beam, making it structural.  Also the end of the framed wall was sitting below that same ceiling beam, making us think that was structural too.  After calling in a contractor, we thankfully discovered both were not issues!  I was trying to think how to modify the Kitchen ... the post wasn't an issue ... but the framed wall was!

Some of the beautiful wallpaper we found when we knocked out the soffits above.  There were three different kinds of wallpaper, some of which my dad said dated the house to the 40's & 50's.  It was really kind of neat to find that there!

My little brother found a picture of our house being moved (it was in our local paper back in November 1996).  We knew it had been moved & a new foundation was installed (which makes our basement that much more open & less creepy!), but it is SO cool to see the history behind it!  This is showing the back of our house.  The back door from the Kitchen (same door!) with the criss-cross glass pattern, the window to our dining area, and the open hole is the back door down to the basement stairs.  It looks a little rougher then than it does now, but we are sure thankful for its journey!

Well, now that the fun stuff happened to transform the Kitchen, we're doing some glorified camping.  The plastic to the right of the picture contains the old Kitchen, Dining area, Laundry closet & Bathroom.  We have segregated ourselves in the Living Room for the near future.

DH and Luke (who looks thrilled!) showing off our Kitchenette area.  We have a toaster oven, microwave, paper towel holder, plastic plates, plastic bowls & plastic silverware to tide us over until the new stuff can be installed.  We are actually thankful we have so much space to be in during this remodel.  Our last house remodel in Kansas left us segregated in the Master Bedroom only, as we had the Living Room, Kitchen & Dining Room torn up for 2 months.  Good thing it was just us two at the time ... it was crazy tight quarters!  

A smiley little boy today!  We have him barricaded off with the chair you see in the bottom right of the picture.  So far (thank God!), he has not tried to climb through the chair legs & sprint off into the debris that is the Kitchen!

Currently, we are waiting on getting a plumber and electrician in to do their stuff.  They are both supposed to come next week (which is a short week, due to Thanksgiving).  Hopefully we can make some progress, as they have to be done first before we can do the sheetrock, then paint, then Cabinets, Countertops, Flooring, Appliances & Backsplash Tile.  We have a LOOOOONG way to go!

Tantrums of the Terrible (Almost) 2's

I haven't read many parenting books on discipline other than watching Super Nanny (lol!) and catching a few good blog posts or things on the internet here and there.  I say this, as I feel frustrated at times with Luke and how he behaves.  I believe he is "testing the waters" with some of his behaviors, as well as trying to figure out these crazy things called "emotions" and dealing with frustration.  He is 19.5 months old and I know the "terrible two's" can start early.  I'm looking for some ways to correct the following behavior:

Scenario #1:  Church
We get a small pew & give Luke space within the pew to sit, stand on the kneeler, rotate his array of books in the book holder, etc.  I will read to him his favorite books that we generally save for Church, making them more "special", and he will munch on goldfish or cheerios throughout the Mass.  Then, something happens ... like ... we have to stand up, but we were looking at / reading a huge popup book of his open and I can't hold him AND the book, he will get mad/frustrated, throw the book, flail in my arms, flail his arms and hit me in the face, pull my hair, etc.  All I can do is to hold his arms together (if he's hitting me) and say "no, don't do that" or "please stop" while people all around stare (mortifying!).  Sometimes he's out of control and yelling that we have to head to the back.  I know he wants to not be confined and have space to run, but I want to (and am determined to) teach him to at least be quiet in a somewhat confined space for an hour.  We are going to be going to Mass for a long time!

Scenario #2:  In Public / Restaurants
My entire family (10 of us) went to eat at Cracker Barrel when we went to visit my brother last weekend.  Luke sat at the end of the table, by me and my dad.  He really loves Grandpa and going on walks with him ... and I think does obey him pretty well generally.  Grandpa spoils him and lets him do things that are special ... like drink out of a regular water glass (Luke thinks that's a big hit!).  When Luke can't drink out of the special glass for the 8th time in a row, he gets mad and starts to grab for things on the table to throw on the floor.  He starts with his sippy cup, then any food, then anything else he can possibly get his hands on ... plates, glasses, utensils, you name it!  I understand he is frustrated, but he won't stop after being told don't do that or "no-no", after holding his hands together, after saying "lets be gentle", pushing him away from the table in his highchair so that he can't reach anything ... nothing works.  It takes him awhile to simmer down.

Scenario #3:  At Home
Luke can't do something with "x" (the remote control, eating/slobbering on my cell phone, climbing on the end table, etc), so he picks up an object and throws it.  Typically it is behind the couch or off the back of the chair.  He will look at you after he throws it and say "oohhhhhhhhhhh" in a voice where I know that HE knows he did something naughty.

I know you should be consistent, but I have also heard to not say "no-no" too much and "don't spank, that's where they learn to hit", etc.  I grew up with spanking as punishment - It sure got the point across.  I don't object to spanking.  I think Luke's too young for time out ... but maybe he's not.  DH likes to yell "NO-NO!" in a very loud voice, but I'm not sure that that's very effective (maybe for life-or-death situations, not every day).

I've tried to ignore Luke's bad behavior (it's just a phase), I've tried to correct it with words other than "no-no", I've tried saying "No!", I've tried spankings ... I just don't know what to do.

What works for you?

What's your Favorite?

We are re-doing our Kitchen shortly and I have to make some decisions regarding flooring ... what color do I pick?  I am the person who agonizes over and over on things, as well as second guesses herself at every turn.  Even though I do this for a living, it is easier to give advice and recommendations to someone else, rather than myself.  

Here are the two final options:

Materials Shown Above:  The dark Cherry "Mocha" door is for the perimeter Kitchen Cabinets.  It is the color, but not the door style.  The painted wood chip sample is the color of the Island.  The Countertop color is Wilsonart HD laminate in "Cosmos Granite".  The floors shown are both vinyl plank (not your typical sheet vinyl).  This way it looks more like real wood and also a plank can be removed if it is damaged and replaced with a new one.

Option 1 Flooring is pictured above ... 

It is a traditional looking floor, which my DH says will go best with the house.  It does pick up some color in the Countertop & Cabinets (which I have on order already, so they can't be changed).  

Option 2 Flooring is pictured above:

This is more of a "grey-ish" modern color tone than the first floor.  I'm worried that it may be too modern for the house, although I like how the colors loook together ... it blends nicely with the greys in the Countertop.  But then, I still have warm wood tones in the Living Room, which is open to the Kitchen.  

This is our front entryway (the door is off to the left).  At this point, I'm keeping the stair riser and handrail stained, but I am going to paint the rest of the trim white.  Gasp!  Yes, don't paint old trim ... there are people who say this (like my relatives), but the back of the house has painted trim, the living room has a different color trim (you can see on the doorway) and I just want it all to blend.  The Entryway has original hardwood floor, with a beautiful orange tint (blech).  There is a spot in front of the dresser.  I know people don't like to cover up old hardwood, but I'm considering putting the vinyl plank here so it ties in this area with the Kitchen.  It is either that, or I stain the floor a different color.  What would you do?

This is an antique dresser I have in the entry.  It is my younger brothers, as it is on "loan" to me until he has a place to put it.  The flooring choices against the dresser make me think the floor on the left (Choice #1).

Here is the Dining Area as it is across from the Kitchen.  Notice the trim here is painted and is not "original" to the house.  Well ... the baseboard closely resembles original trim.  I showcase my new-to-me Craigslist Table and 8 chairs.  We can use 4 chairs at the table and 4 chairs at the new Island - saving me money on bar stools.  Score!

A shot of the existing Kitchen.  Note the beautiful baluster rails separating the Stove from the Refrigerator ... the beautiful soffits ... the ceiling fan ... the cabinet handles in the middle of the doors.  Oh, I'll miss it all.  :-D

Here you can see DH posing for all you ladies out there ... I told him that I was taking pictures for my blog, so he'd better move or pose.  So pose he did!  :-)  The Cat calendar is the side of the Wall Cabinet, with a wall behind it.  If I moved the box of diapers with red bag on top, you could see that the Countertop wraps around from the sink to the peninsula where the bar stools are.  You could also see that there is no Dishwasher and only 2 usable base cabinets (I use the term usable lightly).  Whoever built the Cabinets didn't take into account some corner clearances, so not all the Cabinet doors open.  Also, the Refrigerator door doesn't open all the way, as it hits the peninsula Cabinetry at about a 75 degree angle.  We are removing the wall with the Wall Cabinets and extending the Cabinets on the sink wall out to the end of the dropped ceiling / play cubes on the sink wall.  Then we will create an island at the same spot the two chairs are at, but increase the length so we'll have two more chairs.

This is the view into the Living Room. We love the open space, as Luke has a lot of room to run and play, and with the new Kitchen layout, we can keep an eye on him more when we are in the Kitchen.  Remember that I'm painting the trim on the windows, as the trim in the back is painted.  

This is a view from the front door back towards the Kitchen.  You get the full effect of some of the mess we have here.  And ... I did not decorate the walls, as I knew we'd do the Kitchen as soon as we could after moving in.  We have all of our Kitchen things ... plates, bakeware, food, etc in the bedroom on the main floor, so we wouldn't have to move stuff twice (I'm trying to be smart about it.  Haha!)  So we've been somewhat "camping" since the middle of August when we moved in.

THE NEW KITCHEN LAYOUT:  A Bird's Eye View

Here you can see the overall layout for the Kitchen.  The Refrigerator relocates to the Sink Wall.  The Stove slides down from its original location.  The island creates better traffic flow, openness and more countertop space.  Yay!

P.S.  The island will truly be one color ... I couldn't get the computer to show off the Cabinets right ... but you get the idea.  :)

Now that you've seen the plans for the Kitchen ... and seen what the rest of my house looks like ... What's your vote??  

Do you prefer .... Floor #2 (on the left) ... or Floor #1 (on the right)???