It's done

The gas range w/ convection oven and warming drawer and the range hood (the item that started this whole project in the first place.)



Kitchen sink with the oh, so quiet dishwasher.















The refrigerator with the cabinet reserved for wine glasses. (Glass shelving coming this weekend).


Finally, a place for the cookbooks. This was my idea.

Several weeks ago, I bid farewell to an old friend. Today, O want to introduce you to a new one.
The new kitchen is complete. Judy painted the walls last weekend. I’ve cooked several meals in it, and despite my early trepidation, I have come to embrace it.
Before the project started in early February, I dreaded the ordeal. I didn’t want to be without a kitchen. I didn’t want the mess. I really didn’t want the change. The old kitchen suited me just fine.
My main problem was that I couldn’t “see” the design. I feared we were putting a mini McMansion-style kitchen into a very small space. I could only imagine a wall of wood cupboards closing in on me. Once it was constructed, I saw that my worries were a waste of time.
We decided on KitchenAid appliances. Viking or Wolf would have been great, but real budget busters. We upgraded the oven to gas with a convection oven and warming drawer. Now that it’s all up and running, I’ll share a few things I learned about remodeling a kitchen.
• Use a reputable design firm. Let a pro redesign the kitchen. They have the computer tools to show what the kitchen will look like (honest, this works for most customers). They’ve also done this many times before. They can tell you if an idea will work or not.
• Be prepared to make a ton of decisions. Many of them will be on the fly. We had a general idea where we wanted the ceiling lights but gave no thought to switches. The decision to take out the ugly phone jack just popped in my head, much to my wife’s surprise.
• The sink and faucet will be surprisingly expensive.
• If offered a cupboard door sample, take it. We didn’t, and for three weeks before the job began, I thought the cabinets we chose were too dark. If I had had the sample, it would have reassured me that the color was right.
• Be diligent and persistent when putting in gas. Don’t procrastinate about calling and setting up appointments. This was the most frustrating part of the whole job. One company said it would be out for an estimate and never showed up. The company we went with did the job, but I had to make several phone calls and spend all day waiting for my 9:30 a.m. appointment to show up.
• With that scenario in mind, be sure you have a flexible work schedule or are willing to burn some vacation time. There will be times that you’ll want to be home.
• Unless you are blowing out walls, expect to throw out a bunch of stuff from the old kitchen. We lost space because we put the garbage can where a cabinet was, and a space where we kept a lot of glasses is now a fancy cabinet reserved for wine glasses. But we haven’t used a lot of those drinking glasses or oodles of coffee cups in years. The triage was more than overdue.
• Save the old refrigerator. This may be one of the favorite parts of the whole remodelling. I now have a fridge in the garage. I no longer have to go in the house to grab a beer when working in the yard.
• Also keep some of the old cabinets. Make a deal with the guy installing the new stuff, and he’ll put up the old ones in the garage or laundry room.
• Most importantly — know your role. Judy’s the decorator. I’m the cook. She knows what she’s doing.