Randy, destroying our kitchen
Kitchen remodeling, day 1!
February 4, 2008
Our kitchen got demolished today! Good riddance! We have a nice house with a tragic kitchen that I’ve always wanted to rip up. After three and a half years in this house, we can finally afford the kitchen we really want. Today is the first day of the two-week process of remodeling!
We hired a team of contractors to do the whole project. Today they did the complete demolition. Later this week they’ll install our new custom cabinets. Next week they’ll add the tile, counters, and lighting. I am so completely excited.
Here’s the “before” photo. Note the dingy floor tiles, grainy country-style cabinets, splotchy blue paint, and bizarrely shaped counter. A couple years ago we removed most of the cabinet doors in preparation of painting the cabinets white. We decided that we hated the cabinets so much that it wasn’t worth painting them. We never bothered to put the doors back on, so we’ve lived without cabinet doors ever since.
This morning Randy and Michael arrived and opened a trailer full of our new maple cabinets! This was our first glimpse of them.
It was a beautiful, sunny morning. A big snowstorm hit a couple hours later. That’s Colorado for you.
It was great to watch the old cabinets disappear throughout the day.
Ally wasn’t sure what to make of the cleared out dining room.
Allowing strangers to come into the house and destroy it must be completely against a dog’s nature. She was confused.
Hooray! Ugly countertops are gone!
The patio doors were masked off, so the poor kitties were stuck outside without a view of the action.
At the end of the day, the cabinets, counters, and tile are all gone!
Nice quote
The use of money is all the advantage there is to having money.
— B. Franklin
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http://blurty.com/users/dwightmercerdq
yay! granite! my parents put in granite for that reno, too, and it definitely spoiled me for anything else. There’s is black and green (can you see it in my userpic?) and on a sunny day, it’s like looking through trees, or into a lake.
Hi Kristi!
80s floral tiles sound almost retro-fabulous! OK, not really. I hope you get your dream kitchen soon!
We’re using granite that is a pretty mix of black and tan. It’s not a full granite slab, but not a granite tile, either. They are large tiles that almost look like slab. I’m not sure how to describe them, but I’ll take pictures when they’re ready.
My parents redid their kitchen a few years ago, too, and I agree–cooking is so much more fun in a nice kitchen!
Re: Beginner
Hi Aisha! It’s great to meet a fellow Northern Virginian. I’m from Annandale and Arlington!
That’s great that you got a new camera for your birthday. I hope you love it! I’m afraid that I’m not very familiar with photography books for beginners, but I did a quick search on Amazon and found several that looked like they might be helpful for you:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/103-1227617-7414262?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=photography beginner&x=0&y=0
Good luck, and let me know if you have any questions!
Ha! That’s how I’ve been cooking for the last three years. 😉
We just got lazy and never bothered to put the cabinet doors back on. 😉 We were going to paint the cabinets, but then decided to replace them completely. It just took longer than we expected to be able to do the whole kitchen project.
How cool! I hope you’ll get your dream kitchen soon!
These guys are great so far! I’d definitely recommend them to anyone. 🙂
The splotchy blue paint is 100% gone now, yay!
Oh yeah, definitely are eager to replace that dingy old kitchen with a new, more contemporary one. It’s a lot of effort, though, and I’m not even doing most of the work.
Oh no! Fortunately our guys are excellent and really fun to work with.
It was so fun to watch a kitchen I hated get torn up!
It’s encouraging to hear how much your parents love their new kitchen after all that work. I’m trying to be patient! I think it will definitely be worth it all.
That blue soffit had to go! It’s totally gone now. 🙂
This is exciting! I have to admit, I’m a bit jealous! Our plans for our kitchen remodel is still a few years down the road. Can’t wait to get rid of the 80’s floral tiles we have (they’re lovely)!! I’m looking forward to seeing the progress with your kitchen!
~ Kristi
what material have you selected for the counters?
my parents redid their kitchen a almost three years ago. It was such a joy to cook in during the time I lived at home.
Beginner
Hey Charlotte,
My name is Aisha and I’m finally de-lurking myself. I’ve been following your blog and amazing photos for a few years now. 🙂
I actually found you through the weddingplans community. I live in Northern Virginia, and I hope to meet you for photos, one day in the future! 🙂
I have a question for you. I received a digital camera for my birthday, and I’ve been taking many photos, with it. Do you know or can suggest any books for beginners? The camera is a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ10, if that helps.
Any help would be amazing 🙂
Aisha
Beginner
Hey Charlotte,
My name is Aisha and I’m finally de-lurking myself. I’ve been following your blog and amazing photos for a few years now. 🙂
I actually found you through the weddingplans community. I live in Northern Virginia, and I hope to meet you for photos, one day in the future! 🙂
I have a question for you. I received a digital camera for my birthday, and I’ve been taking many photos, with it. Do you know or can suggest any books for beginners? The camera is a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ10, if that helps.
Any help would be amazing 🙂
Aisha
Tore up from the floor up
LOL! That cracked me up!
They did a lot of work in one day – WOW! This is exciting. I’ll be interested to see it as the work progresses. Good luck to you both!
wow cool. I love seeing people’s before/in-progress/after photos of home projects like this!
oooooooooh, a new kitchen! how fun! if you end up spending too much time in this new kitchen and bake too much, i know someone that will take any off of your hands!
Woohoo! So exciting! I’m very jealous – although we rent, so no remolding anything for us, just learning to cook with your eyes closed. 😉
Woohoo! So exciting! I’m very jealous – although we rent, so no remolding anything for us, just learning to cook with your eyes closed. 😉
Wow! Clean slate! Love it! Good Luck!
It was interesting to see your cabinets didn’t have doors!
WOW! that looks awesome!! My husband and I are just starting to think about our kitchen remodel. These pictures absolutely thrilled me! I can’t wait until I get to see our kitchen gutted down to the bones.
Good luck with the rest of the reno! Hope you post some after pics too!
Wow! Clean slate! Love it! Good Luck!
It was interesting to see your cabinets didn’t have doors!
WOW! that looks awesome!! My husband and I are just starting to think about our kitchen remodel. These pictures absolutely thrilled me! I can’t wait until I get to see our kitchen gutted down to the bones.
Good luck with the rest of the reno! Hope you post some after pics too!
Wow – I can’t wait to see it when it’s finished!! And you’re more than welcome to send them my way when they’re done with your kitchen. 😉
you must be bloody happy!! and i agree, the splotchy blue paint has got to go.
i hope you’ll post up photos when the kitchen’s all done!
Tore up from the floor up
I’ve never heard anyone but an ex-boyfriend use that phrase – it’s so funny to hear (see?)!
The new cabinets look beautiful!
Man, I’m glad that your kitchen is being remodeled– it looks very dark in there. You’re obviously very excited.
It looks like someones idea of “sort of but not really an island” – done without a whole lot design skills – or even much common sense 🙂
Aha! What a fun process. Not.
We had our kitchen redone. Luckily, you don’t have who we had, they were slow and dumb.
I’m think the thought process was… honey, I really want an island in the kitchen. We can’t have one. But, I want one. No room. But. Ok, BAM, there’s your island crammed against the counter over there.
I can’t wait to see the results of your new kitchen.
BTW, are you getting an island? 😉
Wow! My parents did a huge remodel of their house a couple of years ago, too. They LOVE their new cabinets and are so happy they did it – I’m sure you and Mike will love yours, too. (And, ick, I can see why you don’t like the blue near the ceiling. I’m not a fan of that.)
Hope it goes well and I can’t wait to see it all finished.
I love demo! 🙂
So satifying to see the bad things get torn into pieces, and cleared out of a room. It’s a cliche “blank slate”. Hahaha.
Good luck with the remodel!
Thanks! We were nervous when we saw the cabinets for the first time today, because we ordered them out of a catalog, and weren’t entirely sure what we were going to get. They are really nice, though!
That counter was the strangest thing! I’ve never seen anything like it either. The cabinets above it were a weird trapezoid shape to match the counter… I have no idea what any of that was all about. All I know is that I’m glad it’s gone!
Whoa! At that rate they really WILL be done in no time.
And that is one of the weirdest looking counters I’ve ever seen. What is the point of that funny peninsula thing? =p
Those cabinets are gorgeous!! It’s going to be a beautiful kitchen!
wow!
Eight weeks? Yikes! I hope they loved the results after all that time. We have set up the microwave and George Foreman grill in the basement, and the refrigerator in the garage. I hope not to have to do it for more than two weeks!
Thanks! I’m so excited.
Thanks for asking… actually I’m still feeling pretty rough. I’m taking it very easy, though, and I hope to be better soon!
My parents did a remodel that took 8 weeks so I feel for you. They lived off the microwave, bbq grill, and a fridge in thier garage.
Thanks! It’s going to be a long two weeks, but totally worth it.
Mike had to rip up tiles like those when he installed our hardwood floors a couple years ago. He couldn’t believe how quickly the guys removed them today!
I hope not! 🙂
OOH how fun! I love new!!! and maple is awesome.
How are you feeling? better I hope?
Good luck with the remodeling!
Ok, when I first read it would be completed in two weeks, I was like, “ha, ha, ha – no way!”
But then I kept reading and they did all that in a day?!?! We need some Colorado quality contractors up here in Ohio!
wow, that really is totally demolished! i bet it’s not going to look anything like it did before!
Whoa! At that rate they really WILL be done in no time.
And that is one of the weirdest looking counters I’ve ever seen. What is the point of that funny peninsula thing? =p