When we moved into our house, we painted the cabinets mint, and updated the hardware, sink and lighting, but that was kind of the extent of phase one. Slowly appliances have been replaced, but we knew the counters needed a complete overhaul. However, the budget was tight, we weren't sure what we wanted. There was also the uncertainty of not knowing what can of worms we were opening by digging into a real renovation. A few months ago, I convinced Danny to simply swap the counters for real butcher block. Our counters were tongue and grove boards made to look like butcher block, and coffee grounds and spills had been falling between the cracks in the boards ever since we moved in. Nothing was level anymore, and the polyurethane sealer was pealing up making the counters impossible to clean. I told Danny if he could just build me a basic table with a butcher block counter on top and a hole cut for the sink, I could be content. He finally agreed, and that very night the faucet started making a weird sound. Within a week, it went from creaking, to very hard to turn on, to too lose, to completely broken and we had to use a screwdriver to turn it on and off. After a week of the screwdriver getting harder and harder to use, we just began shutting the water off at the shutoff valve under the sink. The dishwasher had already been broken for about a month, so losing my working sink wasn't easy. Now we clearly needed to address the kitchen issues and there was no turning back. Thanks to the shortages and supply chain issues, what we thought would be a 2 week minor annoyance, was a little over 6 weeks of no sink and dishwasher. By the time everything arrived, I really didn't care what it would look like, as long as things got fixed. My kids' allergies make it impossible for us to eat out, so no matter how tidy we tried to be, there were still 3 meals each day that had to be prepared in the house. Danny was convinced he could have the whole thing up in running within a day, and he managed to do exactly that on my birthday. He built the table a week in advance and had it waiting in the laundry room. I emptied the cabinets and little Danny helped remove all the hardware, that way when Saturday morning came, demo could immediately start. We knew the cabinets had water damage, so there was no salvaging them, and I was a bit worried about what we would find underneath. In removal of the cabinets a giant hole was uncovered in the floor. Danny was a bit annoyed, but I was just thankful there was nothing like a raccoon nest uncovered. I knew there would be a set back, but this honestly seemed pretty mild. We did find out why there was such a cold draft coming in under the sink. However, that draft is probably why the crawl space and cabinets weren't filled with mold from the water damage, so I thank God for that draft. Danny ran to the store to get some boards to run over the hole, and agreed that come summer, we probably need to just rip out the laminate floor. I've always hated the yellow laminate, so I was trying to keep my excitement down. One thing I insisted on was centering the kitchen. It was all off and wonky, weirdly getting more and more off center as you got towards the oven wall. Everything got a good 4-6 inch adjustment to the left, and now my oven actually sits appropriately under the upper cabinets. In moving things over, I also gained enough space to the right to have some decent storage. Danny added a table leg and leftover piece of butcher block to fill in the space. I approved running the wood grain in the wrong direction for the corner piece. We could have purchased an entire second piece of butcher block for the corner, but that just seemed wasteful for something that may be a temporary fix. It doesn't bother me, and an old farmhouse tends to have weird quirks where people made due when the budget was tight. This wouldn't be the first weird thing in the house. Below is a photo of how far off center the oven was. It used to be over to the white paint. When something is that off center, it is pretty noticable. We sealed the counter with a non-toxic food based butcher block sealer, that way we can cut right on top. We went with a sealer from Green Building Supply, which is also where I get all of our paint. There are no toxins or mineral oil, and it gives the counters a warm honey glow. Yes the counters will mark and stain, but to me that shows a kitchen is well loved and used well. Despite this being dishwasher number five, we finally purchased our first one. All the others were free rejects from friends and family. We didn't mind used or mismatched, but the last one eventually conked out on us. We weren't thrilled about the price of a new one, but we figured it was about time we had to buy our own. Our last one, although very new, didn't really clean the dishes well. I used to tell everyone to think of it as a sanitation machine and the dishes had to be completely spotless going in. My mom and sister both love their dishwashers, so I knew what I wanted. The new machine is very quiet, and the buttons are hidden on top away from curious fingers. It has a stainless steel interior, and most importantly, it has THREE racks. There is so much more space inside! Our model also has a delay time, which is something we use regularly. The previous machine taught us to clean well and use minimal dishes, so the new machine is benefitting of our learned habits. I used to run our old machine every time I left the house and over night. My brother in law got us a great deal on a Ferguson faucet, and despite it not coming in the color I wanted, I love the look. I wanted the lacquered brass look, but I also refused to give up my copper sink. Since the sink already had a predrilled hole, I was limited on my selection of faucets. Unfortunately, everything that would work was $2000+, so I let go of the brass and went with a chrome. Although chrome wouldn't have been traditionally the finish in the home, I stuck with a simple Georgian style shape and I honestly really like it. That gooseneck will be wonderful for hanging cheese to drain. I'm probably the only one who has searched for faucets based on their cheese draining ability, but those are the fun things you get to think about when you take so many years to plan a kitchen. I ordered some commercial restaurant shelving for underneath, and two cheap rugs to hide the weird floor boards. Baby loves to dig dirt out of the cracks in the floor, so I knew I needed something to hide the temptation from those little fingers. I just overlapped the rugs to get them to fit and chose to embrace the imperfection. No one is really looking under there except for the baby. By the end of the day, I had a working sink and dishwasher. I feel like it all seems like such an improvement, even with the exposed pipes and disposal. I'm going to skirt the table so everything will eventually be hidden and we're going to place a second oven to the left. So yes, now there is exposed plaster, old wallpaper remnants, a weird floor under the cabinets, and exposed old wall color, but I am so giddy over the update. To be honest, I'm super impressed with Danny's skills, the precision and detail he put into the work. Home projects are fun, but you can expose everyone to a lot of toxins in the process, and it always leaves me a bit uneasy. Danny was so clean in how he did the whole process, even I was shocked. He mounted the disposal switch back underneath for me, something I hadn't even realized would be an issue, and really took time to think of every detail. When we bought this house we both knew nothing about home maintenance. It is really fun to see how far he's come and what he has learned to do over the years.
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