Monday, September 26, 2011

What We've been up to... {a Kitchen redo}


Lots of memories here ~ sweet ones of family,
Amanda baking with me to procrastinate just about anything else we had to do ,
Sarah {my niece} and Rachael taking turns SITTING in the bottom drawer,
Jason and his buddy, Glen, making mac and cheese {almost every day}
Muffin hiding from thunderstorms under the sink,
cookie dough and mile high apples for pies.
I remember when the kitchen was not opened to the dining room
and we took the wall half way down!
--- loved getting a peninsula---
always - always dishtowels in multiple locations!
It worked hard for us for 25 years, but the bottom cabinets really needed to be replaced.
They look okay from a distance, but up close ~ different story!
... and so the work began...
I did a lot of packing up and cleaning up...
and came home from work each afternoon to new surprises of how much Chris got done during the day.
Off with the school clothes and on came my "construction dust" clothes.
We've been working until midnight.
I'm always so amazed at how brave Chris is as he measures and cuts
sheet rock, adds new outlets, plans for extra lighting...
Everything he does is just right!
Saturday morning, we looked out over our kitchen space and said,
"Thank Heavens we're on time!"
The installer was on time too ~ 8:00am bright and early.

Here's a peek at the top cabinets.
I put a tea set on the shelves just for fun.

We kept the soffits; lots of wiring runs through them and 
I discovered that everything you change adds a lot more $$$ to the project...
so we changed very little.  We were very disciplined at reminding ourselves that
we just needed to replace tired old cabinets.
...some crown molding will dress up the dated soffits...
we hope :o)

There are still some things that need to be done.
{finishing work, counter tops, and resetting the appliances}
{I'll be without a kitchen sink for a while, hopefully not too long!}
 *
Thanks for visiting and catching up with me!
I'll keep you posted on the progress and do my best to catch up with everyone.
Have a wonderful new week dear friends and family!
 I pray that God bless you always
as you all are such
blessings to me!
Maria
ps.
Pinterest and GardenWeb's kitchen forum are such valuable resources
for gathering ideas and information.
I also thank everyone out there from whom I received great advice! 

27 comments:

  1. Oh Maria...you have been a busy lady! Your new kitchen will be ready just in time for the holidays! E.N.J.O.Y.
    BEAR HUGS
    ~victoria~

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  2. Congratiulations with your new kitchen . You must be dancing overthere till midnight !
    I must tell you ......Eva liked her first applesauce and you know what .... she was wearing the pink bib you made !
    Isn't that wonderful !
    My son made pictures , as soon as I have them I send you one .....
    enjoy your new kitchen

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  3. It looks beautiful so far Maria. And I am amazed by you. Working all day and then again until midnight!
    I can only imagine how exciting it will be to get baking in your new kitchen!! Love Di ♥

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  4. Oh my goodness my sweet friend...pure joy in the making. Sometimes it is sad saying goodbye to the old with all those sweet memories but just think of the lovely ones waiting to be made in this amazing kitchen of yours...job well done!

    Now have a great week....hope you are not too tired from all this kitchen fun to make it through the week...but they go Fast! Our Canadian Thanksgiving weekend is coming soon...can you believe that!!!

    Hugs to you my friend. xoxoxo

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  5. Oh Maria ~ with you love of the Kitchen, and all the wonderful things that come from yours, I so thrilled you get a brand new one.

    Oh my....this is going to inspire so many lovely things from your kitchen.

    Love and hugs and blessing, dear friend.

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  6. Wowwww a new kitchen !! that looks great that white color !!..enjoy a happy week darling.....love from me...xxx..

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  7. I love the white cabinets. Ao pretty with your tea set.

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  8. WOWZA my friend...what a change! It looks beautiful...can't wait to see more pictures! It is such a lot of hassle to make over a kitchen but so worth it. :D

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  9. Maria, I LOVE your white cabinets. This is so exciting! I'll be watching for more updates!
    Yvonne

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  10. GOOD MORNING DEAR FRIEND! OK, this is so up my ally; kitchen redos and really, HOME REDOS are what I love, but we are done! I HOPE ALL IS WELL after storms, so much work and now that you are back in the classroom. LOVE TO YOU DEAREST; I have to get out of here to get into my classroom! Anita

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  11. ohh I looove watching redoing pictures before/after..love it..and I can see yiu been verry bizzi :)) and your new kitchen is just amazing :)) /Marie

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  12. Maria, you are going to have a lovely place to whip up delicious things. I like the look of the cabinets. I will look forward to seeing the finished and decorated kitchen.
    Shannon

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  13. beautiful!!! much, much love to you dear maria. you are precious to my heart.

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  14. Maria I had not idea you had this going on!! The sneak peek looks great!! I can't wait to see the rest of it!!

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  15. Maria, I know you'll love the new kitchen after it's completed. It will be beautiful...

    I know, as well, that you will always hold those memories made in the old kitchen close to your heart. Oh, those memories that create a life are priceless.:)

    Many blessings,
    M.

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  16. are you still enjoying your beautiful light kitchen .
    So happy for you Maria . Looks beautiful . Wish you lots and lots of happy times overthere !
    Autumn is a good backing/cooking season I think !
    Lots of groetjes

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  17. Oh my goodness, what a beauty!!! I think you made me decide: my next kitchen will defnitely be the same colours as yours, class!!!! Hugs, Lori xxx

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  18. We did a complete kitchen redo in our last house. We had to start with new ceilings and walls. It was a mess, but so worth it when we were done. We did the partial redo here and even that (mostly the countertop) made me so happy. It is hard to live without, but I'd do it again anytime for the finished results. I love the white cabinets! Can't wait to see the pictures!

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  19. Hi Maria! I'm stopping by from Robert Brault's blog. Your new white kitchen cabinets are so beautiful. I've been wanting white ones for quite a long time....maybe someday! Enjoy! :)

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  20. hey you sweet kitchen-princess ?
    What has been the very first thing you made in your new kitchen ?
    Must be a very tasty delisciousness
    Happy kitchen weekend !

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  21. .. a cup of calm.. reading it on that picture made me smile instantly, Maria. That is quiet a job you and your family are handling. It looks so very very beautiful. Fresh and warm. I love white for kitchens, mine is white too. The perfect seasons are ahead, perfect for baking!!
    I am sorry I did not comment earlier, I did see your pictures but somehow I did not leave my message yet. Could be good possible that one of my children had been calling my name ;)
    We have very hot weather, it has been that way for five days now and it will stay this way until Monday. A lot of cycling and I plan on finally reading my favorite magazine outside.
    Much love always xxxxx Have a sunshine and joy-filled weekend, Maria xxxxx

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  22. OHH BOY OH BOY OH BOY!!!! I LOVE A KITCHEN MAKE-OVER, MARIA!

    Dearest, it is looking so fabulous and I love the white MUCH MORE! My home is vintage and the cabinets are a lovely old wood. BUT I have been tempted to paint them gray and the walls white. I THINK IT WOULD LOOK FABULOUS! Bravo my sweet. AND how is school going? Can we make it to Christmas holidays dearest? OH WAIT, we have November holidays to look forward to; I HOPE I CAN MAKE IT!

    Big greetings of love to you sweet friend and may you enjoy your new COMPUTER!!!!!

    Anita

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  23. Looks so beautiful Maria!Im a new follower and I think im going to so enjoy your blog.

    Have a lovely sunday!I love the poem on your right sidebar.

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  24. That old kitchen did have wonderful memories but the new one looks perfect for some of its own lovely times with family and friends. You must be exhausted! I'm thinking of you.

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  25. We are nowhere even CLOSE to this! Can't wait to see more sweet girl...LOVE IT!

    xoRebecca

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  26. I cannot wait to see photos of your finished kitchen!! Congratulations! We've been through it tree times... I know how difficult it is but you're smart, (smarter than we were!) to do is all at once!

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  27. I would LOVE to see an after-photo!

    :)

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Thank you for stopping by! Your comments add sunshine to my day~