Kitchen Layout: the Moment of Truth!

To get a general idea of our new kitchen layout (and to make sure all our measurements were correct), we arranged our appliances and new cabinets on the now-vacant kitchen floor. Will they fit?!

Why yes, they will fit, and quite nicely at that. We did have to modify the design slightly, but it all worked out perfectly. 

As you can see above, we moved the fridge to a more convenient location, away from the back door. The window behind it will be coming out (it's a north-facing window, and we have enough other windows nearby that it's not a big loss). We will also have a spacious island with a handmade butcher block top (more on that later). 

Our cabinets are unfinished oak. We really wanted oak, and buying them unfinished made this an affordable option (it also means we have more stain colors to choose from!). 

We didn't bother moving in the sinktop cabinet or any of the upper cabinets, obviously. But this gives you a pretty good idea of how it will look. It's such a better use of the space than what we had before! 

Adventures in Kitchen Remodeling, DIY-Style

I was in love with this house from the first time we walked through it. But even then, I knew that the kitchen was too small. You can see here how tiny it is, constrained by the U-shaped counter. It's really difficult for two people to work in the kitchen at the same time (something that happens frequently around here).

Luckily for us, if you take the kitchen and breakfast nook together, you actually have a pretty big space. We already have a large dining room, so we don't need eating space here. Our plan is to take out the cabinets, remove the nook window, and wrap cabinets along all three walls.

Here's Justin's rough plan for the space. We are also going to build an island with a butcher block top.

I drew this sketch based on Justin's floor plan and a couple of his sketches. 

Another view, sketched by Justin.

And of course, we are going to do everything ourselves (except installing the granite countertops).

Did someone say "granite countertops?" I'll drink to that! 

Digging new garden beds

Now that everything is grown in enough for me to know what I'm working with,  I'm ready to make the garden my own. That means, of course, digging new beds! This first bed, I dug with very little preparation. I kind of did it on a whim, eager to get my hands in some dirt. It worked out perfectly.

This looks like a perfect spot for a garden bed...

Juniper helps dig up sod (with a shovel as big as she is!)

That's more like it! Now all it needs is some plants.

Next up, along the front sidewalk wall. And this pampas grass has GOT to go. I am not looking forward to all that digging; it has extensive roots that will make it quite the chore. 

Unruly pampas grass.

We rented a tiller to dig the bed along the length of the front wall. To get rid of the pampas grass, I first cut it down with a weed whacker, and then Justin went over the stubble with the tiller. This dug up a lot of the root system, although I still had to go in with a shovel to complete the project. 

Justin tills new beds

See all that brown stuff in that overflowing wheelbarrow? That's ALL stubble and roots from the pampas grass. Phew! I think we got most of it. But any bits we missed will continue to sprout, so I will probably be pulling pampas grass all season. 

New bed along wall, and good riddance to pampas grass!

New bed along other side of wall, and another pile of pampas grass roots.