Looking back through old pictures of this house makes me realize two things:

One being, this house was so sad when we first bought it.   The energy that the entire structure exuded was that of depression, disease, and desperation.  The air was heavy. (Not to mention, stinky.  ????)

And second…. we’ve sure done a lot of work….A LOT!  ????  And my aching back verifies this fact.

I can’t wait to show you what we’ve done in the kitchen.

Making it Home

After we removed the trash and started demo, we knew it was going to make someone a fabulous home.  But would it be us?   I’ve told you before that there were several times during this huge renovation, we questioned whether we could live here in the House on Winchester.  It was so hard to picture ourselves living in such a rundown, scary structure.  Trust me.  It was very scary.

There were several leaks in the roof that went from the roof, through the top floor, through the main floor, to the basement.  This was definitely the worst house we’ve tackled.

So, what I’m saying is, looking through old pictures brings up nasty memories.  I haven’t looked at these pictures for a long, long time and honestly, they make me feel sad. The wifey is still only able to see the BEFORE pictures in small doses.  So now that I’m crying and depressed, let’s get on with the show.

Kidding.

One HAS to view BEFORE pictures to appreciate the AFTER pictures even more, right?

Kitchen Beginnings

The last room reveal I shared with you was the dining room and right through those two doors was the kitchen.

Through those doors, behind the “green wall” was a small tiny galley kitchen.

The walls and ceiling were covered with not only dirt and filth, but decked out with dark knotty pine planks.  And, I have to point out that the cabinets were made of stinky plywood ???? and the countertops were littered with a healthy layer of mouse shit!  ????  We shan’t forget that part.????

A Big Expensive Surprise!

Believe it or not, I was pretty excited about the pine boarded walls because, come on,  I could throw a little white paint on them and they would have looked fabulous.  Those types of rooms are all over Pinterest.

BUT, things can’t be that easy, now can they?

In the midst of the remodel, it was confirmed that the house was not insulated AT ALL.  Therefore, all of this knotty pine had to be removed.  We did our best to remove them without damage, because I had plans to re-use them.

Green Wall Be Gone

Removing this “green wall” between the dining room and kitchen was a must, in order to give the house a semi-open concept feel.

That “green wall” in the dining room is the same wall that is behind this refrigerator.

By removing this wall, it would not only give that open concept feeling that we wanted, but it would make the kitchen over 4′ wider.

Behind these two appliances was a very wide, enclosed hallway.   A door in the main hallway pictured below provided access to that hallway, which led to the basement.

To give you an idea of where I am standing in the planning stages of the kitchen layout, the area to the right in the above picture is looking from the kitchen now to the entryway and family room.  The yellow wall to the left was that wide hallway to the basement.  So, all of the green section in the middle of the picture was removed to become part of the kitchen.

I was actually standing in the doorway below looking toward the wall we were removing.

Whew… we got through the nasties.  I hate that.  ????

I struggle with even pushing the PUBLISH button on these posts.  It’s overwhelming showing everyone those pictures and it really makes me sad.  And, I’m afraid someone new is going to stumble on my blog and say, “WHAT THE HELL?  Who would even follow her?” ????

BUT…… you know me and my true fashion.  I cannot share a post with only the uglies, so I included a picture of one area of the kitchen just to give you all some hope that the future is bright.

I shared the picture yesterday on Facebook and Instagram just as a little sneak peek.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Let me know what you think in the comments section.  There will be a “middle” stage to the kitchen because I HAVE to tell you where our pantry came into play and you’ve already seen pictures of that!

I pledge my love to each and every one of you.  You are the bestest of the bests!

Buh bye now.

Danelle

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