kitchen closed

We moved into our house 6 years ago, and there were many obvious things that needed to be updated. For the most part it was a matter of choosing a new paint color. The kitchen, however, has been a constant source of annoyance for me. Everything about it screamed in protest against our design sensibilities. The backsplash tile has illustrations of ivy. The counters are faux-wood laminate. The floor is a tile the color of which must be called "constantly dirty", and it also is maybe the fourth floor on a stack of who knows what kind of flooring, which means that the floor is raised 2 inches higher than it should be, so the counter is thusly 2 inches lower. Figure that one out.

BEFORE 

We did what we could to make do with what we had. I applied tile decals to cover the ivy, but the decals were really just as visually offensive as the ivy, just in a different way. I once walked into the kitchen during a party to find a friend looking quizzically at the tile. I rushed to explain that I loathe the tile and that we were planning a renovation the following year, and she said "Yeah...I was just thinking how odd this kitchen is compared to the rest of your house." It was that bad.

this is all going away, to the wasteland of fugly kitchens.

We bought the new appliances that you see above last year in preparation for what is to begin tomorrow. Tomorrow! Tomorrow the floors will be ripped out, the cabinets removed, the counters smashed, the tile –  THE TILE WILL DIE A VIOLENT DEATH.

This is no DIY event. Tom and I have redesigned the space with the help of our builder/friend and we have chosen the materials and we have thrown all our ideas into the mix. Starting tomorrow we will be hands-off and I will be on the edge of my seat as I wait to see how it all turns out. 

Over the next weeks I will share the progress and my next post will be about my inspiration and material choices. Onward!