Updated: Jan 3, 2021
In my opinion, the two worst rooms to remodel are kitchens and bathrooms. Both were done last year between May and July 2019. Not fun, but, worth it! Now I cook in style. For some fun recipes, visit my Youtube page and Home page on this blog. Don't forget to visit Important Links.
Above is the old kitchen. We had a leak behind a wall that no one knew about for a long time and we wound up with mold. NOT FUN. Or healthy.
One day I noticed a bubbling of the wall under the kitchen window. Then, we realized when they gutted the kitchen that the wall behind the kitchen sink was also rotted away. Crazy, right. Apparently water was getting into the walls from the outside. They never did pinpoint exactly how or why.
The old cabinets, pictured above on the curb, had originally been dark when the kitchen was built in 1982. It was painted over white by my grandmother, who used to live here.
The insurance carrier brought in huge pieces of equipment to dry out the walls and of course teams to clean out the mold. It was funny seeing the old tile floor that was down in the kitchen under the light wood floor. When they ripped up the light wood flooring it was a surprise, I had forgotten it was there.
As they were putting new walls up and the new dark wood floor, I got to do the fun part. Pick out the paint and all my new appliances, counter tops, Island top, cabinets and backsplash.
After the painting was finished, they took to Installing cabinets and countertops. They did a great job and my husband found the prettiest and perfectly matching hardware for the cabinets. Sometimes it's good to have him around!
Once the cabinets and countertops where in, next came the appliances. I got a great Memorial Day sale on a 4 piece appliance package. Stove, dishwasher, microwave and refrigerator.
The backsplash was complete and then came the new appliances, new sink and faucet and of course, new blinds and curtains.
Finally, the finishing touches. New wall art (I love European scenes) a television in the kitchen, new garbage pail and my awesome Island, which can be moved as it's on wheels.
Of course, I had to rip up the rug in the living room ( I HATED IT, especially with three dogs) and put the same wood floor throughout, from kitchen to hallway into living room.
And, we all know, if you do the kitchen, you HAVE to do the bathroom! So, we did. That's the old bathroom above.
The new bathroom is exquisite and of course, it calls for all new things. Which is so much fun to shop online for. New shower stall, toilet bowl, shower, vanity, painted walls, flooring and of course accessories.
It was rough living out of boxes for months and having everything in an uproar. But in the end, it was worth it.
Nothing beats cooking in a brand new kitchen. I love it. Check out a few of my favorite recipes posted here so far. Gluten Free Vegetarian/Vegan Sweet Potato Soup - Halloween Soup and Gluten Free Vegetarian Crockpot Lasagna.
I fell in love with looking at models of new homes when I was a kid. Back in the early 1970's there was a huge building boom on Long Island and there were model homes EVERYWHERE. Every weekend my parents took us looking at models. We bought our new house in 1972, built from the ground up.
I always enjoyed remodeling, design and architecture. I LOVE antiques and European architecture. My favorite are old churches. I watch HGTV faithfully and love the remodeling shows. One show I especially enjoy is Amazing Water Homes. I LOVE the water. The show reassured me that Long Island, where I live, is the most populated Island in North America. I always knew that; we have close to 8 million residents, more than many states. We are considered a huge metropolitan area.
When I was a little girl, my grandmother, mom's mother, promised me her furniture. It was hand carved Cherrywood built in 1941. She gave it to me in 1985 when I married the first time. I still have the dresser and my son has the fireplace. I had the entire bedroom set until 2012.
Now, we are in the process of adding a stand alone cabinet to the kitchen décor. You can never have enough space/storage.
It's being put together as I type and the dogs have to be in on the action, as usual.
Happy cooking!