Kitchen Progress

On Saturday, Rob and his dad worked on pulling the corner cabinet piece away from the wall. It went pretty well and there were no terrible surprises. The one wall needed some repairing, but nothing a little dry wall wouldn't fix. The thing that is probably going to be the most difficult is the floor. We knew that the newer floor wasn't installed under the cabinet, so it wasn't surprising, but we are not sure if we are going to be able to find the exact flooring. We still need to look around a little bit, and we're optimistic that we'll find something that will work. We plan on putting a shelf in that corner anyway.

I would just like to point out that I can basically take no credit for any of this. Rob and his dad did all of the work. And, on the same day, they also repaired a leak from our shower that went down into the dining room ceiling. I took some pictures just so you could get an idea what we were dealing with that day. The hole looks big in this picture, but it was really only about an inch and a half big, and now it is all patched up thanks to my wonderful husband.

On Monday, Rob and I headed off to Ikea to get the countertop and a new light fixture since we kept hitting our heads on the pendant light that we had in the kitchen. We had a successful trip and decided on this light fixture which was only $25. Oh Ikea- how I love you.

So, here is the new butcher block countertop on the current cabinets. We also had to get the legs for the one side for more support. It was Rob's idea to make it bigger on the one side so that we could store the trash can and our step stool underneath the counter. We still have to get the barstools and the shelving for the corner under the pot rack. We are going to keep the kitchen cart in the basement for some storage of things and I thought it would also be nice to have around for summer bar-b-ques.

We decided on the butcher block from Ikea because it was so affordable ($200 for this huge piece) and would allow us to use money in other areas of the kitchen- like adding a backsplash. We also decided that probably at some point we would replace all the countertops in the kitchen with something nicer anyway.

I am already so much happier working in the kitchen. I had some girlfriends over for dinner last night and having all that extra counterspace is so nice. It has made me realize that not only will it be beneficial for every day use, but also great for entertaining.

So, there is still lots to do, but I am glad we have made so much progress already!