The Big Kitchen Reveal!

Or, I should say, the Small Kitchen Reveal because it is a small kitchen. It packs a big punch, though! We love the results of our kitchen renovation! If you want to see just how much it has changed, click here to see the before pictures. We had the ceiling scraped of its popcorn finish and redone, the overhead florescent lighting changed to cans, added new pendant lights, put in a beautiful tile backsplash, and installed new cabinets, countertop, and appliances. The only thing we left untouched was the floor.

As you can tell, I'm neither a professional photographer or designer! Apparently, not much of a housekeeper either. See the dishes left in the sink? Just keepin' it real, folks.

We're missing one knob on the base cab for the sink. We accidentally ordered one too few. No worries - it'll be done soon.

One of my very favorite things is the new microwave drawer. You press a button, and it opens like a CD drawer. Putting it here allowed us to have an actual hood over the stove which creates a great focal point for the room.

We added a little wine fridge under the bar. It's a great spot for it!

Now, credit where credit is due. The kitchen's design and installation were done by Smith Woodworks and Design of Augusta, GA. I've linked to their facebook page because it showcases their other great work. They gave me a time-frame of 3 weeks, and I laughed to myself at the impossibility that it would actually happen. Folks, they did it in 3 weeks and 2 days, in spite of Joel suffering a very bad ankle sprain in the middle of the job. He was right here, crutches, swollen ankle and all, working away. In fact, the whole family worked in my kitchen. Smith Woodworks and Design is a great family-owned company with a super work ethic and a strong commitment to doing things right. If you live in this area and you're planning to redo your kitchen, be sure to check them out. (I'm receiving no compensation whatsoever for that endorsement.)

We are very pleased with our kitchen!

Update: Kitchen Remodel Day 2

After Day 2 of The Great Lowe Kitchen Remodel, we've made lots of progress! The cabinets and appliances are gone, except for the refrigerator which they graciously left for the time being. There's framing for a new raised bar. The electricians have come and done their thing providing wiring for new under-cabinet lights, moving a switch, getting rid of my unsightly wall phone jack, and installing 10 new can lights. The plumbers have done their thing - our sink will move slightly to the left, and our dishwasher will be moving from the left to the right of the sink. The air conditioner vent has been rerouted so it will come out of the toe-kick under the cabinet instead of out of the soffit overhead. (Dear Original Contractor:  what were you thinking?) Best of all, the cottage cheese ceiling is gone! It actually came down much easier than I thought it would, and the mess was not as bad as I expected. The key to less mess was this fantastic tool - a ceiling texture scraper.




I'm going to get one of these puppies and scrape every ceiling in the house! You attach a bag to it, and the stuff falls into the bag - not all over the floor. You do have to go around the edges of the ceiling with a putty knife, and that does make a mess, but it's not nearly as bad as it would be without this tool.The process was simple. They sprayed water on the ceiling with a spray bottle, let it soak in good, then the stuff just scraped off very easily. A couple of swipes was all it took.

So far, we're having no real troubles with eating and cooking. It's inconvenient, but possible. The most inventive thing I've done really wasn't a big deal - scrambling eggs on a flat electric griddle in the garage. Today, a pot roast will cook in the crock pot out there. With the 100-degree heat, I could probably just put it in a pot on my driveway and get the same results!

Probably Not Compliant With Food Safety Regulations...

Things are about to get VERY INTERESTING in the Lowe household. For the next month, this is my kitchen.

Yep, you're looking at two crockpots, a toaster, and a microwave sitting on a counter in my garage. The box on top of the microwave holds some cooking utensils. The rest of my necessities-only cooking paraphernalia is in this small cabinet next to that counter.

The coffee maker is set up in the downstairs powder room.

 And THIS would be my kitchen sink, my garden hose kitchen faucet, and my grill oven.

Can you guess what's happening? If you guessed kitchen renovation, you're right! Everything but the floor is slated for demolition tomorrow! Stay tuned for some before photos, some during photos, and undoubtedly, lots of microwave and grill recipes. It's going to be quite an adventure!