The beginning of a Kitchen Remodel

Kitchen remodel, do those two words make you start shaking? I am feeling some anxiety as we finally, after 30 years of living here, are going ahead with this long-overdue project.
We did make a few fixes along the way. Sadly, now, even the fixes need fixing!
The flooring is tired and some loose by the pantry. The microwave, stovetop, and fridge have challenges. The lighting is awful, the cabinets are worn. The countertop tile is that ugly white stuff with the wide dark grout, and it is loose in places too. The water pressure needs improvement and there is a too wide gap by the pipes that lead outside. On occasion, a small creature like a frog or rat has appeared. Yuck!

So now the challenge is making the most of one's money. It's not that easy though. Plans must be done by a professional for a permit and there are always a dozen things to consider. You cannot change only two of the three front windows on the front of the house and have it look right, so all three must be updated. It does go on and on.

The advantage though is that this 40-year-old kitchen will be up-to-date and the badly needed repairs and repainting of the house exterior will be done at last.
I must admit that until the past couple of years I had little interest in the kitchen. Learning to cook has changed my thought process a lot, as has an organizer who has helped me get control of my home. When things are tidy the underlying deficiencies are a lot more obvious.

I am a bit nervous about how it will all turn out. I purchased the cabinets and appliances before we hired the designer to draw up the formal plans and that may have been rash. I did love the colors ( slate blue lower cabinets and wood with an orange tint finish for the upper) and trust that the brand names, Thomasville and KitchenAid, mean a decent product. I want a dark cork floor. I'm so looking forward to the floor I've often thought of having. I was at a gallery in San Francisco (Crown Point Press) this week which had cork floors. I really liked walking on that surface. That made me very certain that was a good decision. (BTW - the current show at Crown Point of Gay Outlaw's prints, and ones she curated to hang with them in the gallery, is terrific.)

I want things to be simple and efficient. My husband likes an excess of gadgets and clutter in the kitchen, so it may be a challenge to keep the look. Fingers are crossed!

I'm posting a "before" photo now and hope that I'll have some wonderful "after" shots before the end of 2019.

Love,

Karen🐞