The Kitchen, Before & After

We finished another room on the house last week!

Or I should say Jono did.

He squeezed it in during his three-week break from classes before they start up full-time next week. (He got into grad school - woot! Congratulate him if you see him.)

Here's a before and after of the kitchen, which was under construction for about six months. We should learn not to start these things - but now that it's done, I love it.

Before:




This room already had cabinets up to the ceiling on all sides, so Jono just built and replaced the doors and hardware on them and painted them. We also decided to do away with the fake-marble hunter-green counter-tops and replace them with something more earthy-looking.
The fridge was moved from one side of the room to the other, since it used to open out onto the top of the basement stairs (handy, right?). He had to do some demo work on the old cabinets to make a new place for it. He then built the cabinets on one side of the kitchen from scratch, including the new pantry and lovely open ones I wanted. All that's left to do now is put in the cork floor we want. Eventually.

After:




It's very green, in a pleasant way. Notice the coffee-maker and grinder have their own separate counter space next to the pantry, as if they're the Holy Grail of our kitchen. Which they are.

My finish work at the end included succulent plants on the windowsill and telling Jono where I wanted things hung on the wall. He likes to use a measuring tape and level to hang things, while I prefer to eyeball it. So when he sees me "eyeballing" a wall, it makes him nervous.

I also filled and arranged stuff in the pantry and on the open shelves. Oh yes, my wooden bowls and dry beans in mason jars now have their own special spot. Arranging stuff and organizing always make me really, pathetically happy. Unfortunately we TOTALLY fall into male/female stereotypes when it comes to these sorts of projects. I'm freely admitting this.

We've made some progress on a few other rooms lately too, so more to come for those of you who like to snoop around in others' homes (I'm one of you ;)