A Tale of Two Kitchens

SO.

This is our kitchen.

You like it? Well, I do! ...especially when I think about how much better it looks/smells than when we first moved in. I wish I could find a good "before" picture for you so you could see them side by side, but alas... I never thought to take one. (Can you believe me?) But if you can picture poorly-made white cabinets with egg-yolk yellow countertops and disgusting low-end linoleum, you might get an idea. OH...and carpet in the dining room! Ugh!

Anyway, it really wasn't how the kitchen looked that inspired the kitchen makeover. It was the smell.... We knew it smelled bad when we bought the home, but we had no idea just how overpowering and hard to get rid of it would be. It got to where I would load up the kids and go ANYWHERE I could think of that would keep us out of the house. Something had to change.

So, one fine day as I sat at the park watching my boys play and thinking of ways to avoid going home, I decided to call my mom. I basically broke down and cried about how miserable we were in our own home.

And you know what?

My amazing parents dropped EVERYTHING they were doing, grabbed a few supplies, got into the car and drove down. And then proceeded to tear apart my kitchen.
They were there all day, pulling out old, smelly cabinets. Tearing out linoleum. Removing the 50 yr. old oven that we couldn't use because it smelled like someone had broiled a dead cat in it. And guess what we found hiding in basically EVERY CORNER OF THE ENTIRE KITCHEN?

Mouse droppings...

piles and piles... 3 inches deep in places!

Well...at least that explained the smell!
Long story short, my parents (have I mentioned how amazing they are?) cleaned it all up. We disinfected everything and painted the walls and floor with Kilz to kill the odor. We found a killer deal on kitchen cabinets at Chris and Dicks, and knowing we couldn't afford it, they bought them for us. (I almost get teary-eyed as I write this- thinking about how much our parents did to help us.) Bryan and I assembled them, and our dads came over and spent hours helping us install them. Bryan and his dad built and installed the countertops. My parents got a new oven and dishwasher, and gave us their old set.

And there you have it! A brand spankin' new kitchen! So- why, you ask, am I telling this story?

First- because I'm convinced that I have the most amazing parents/in laws in the world. I think they deserve some recognition. This is only ONE of the many stories I have to tell about their endless kindness and generosity.

Second-I am about to embark on an exciting building adventure! [insert cool theme music here]

I am going to tackle....

THE WALL.

Does this picture make you shudder too? Our problem is... we didn't ever replace the pantry that was here before. We just couldn't fork out the $800 or more it would have cost to buy the matching maple ones. And, well....we still can't. BUT after much thought/debate, Bryan and I have come up with what we think is a good solution. It will look a little something like this:

Um.... if you can't tell what it is, cock your head to the left. There ya go. That is the basic idea anyway :) It includes a narrow pantry on the right that will hold the garbage/recycle cans, broom, mop, etc. The part I'm most excited about is the drawer/cabinet/console table thingy. (Anyone have a good name for it?) I drew up the plans and bought the lumber today.

SO EXCITED!

Here is a closer look...


For this one you have to cock your head to the right. Sorry.

Well, that's about all for tonight. Thanks for sticking with me through this crazy-long post! Updates on the table/cabinet/drawer thingy to follow!