About that kitchen renovation we keep hearing about… Narya takes us through it with her.
Original Kitchen
So this is what the kitchen looked like to start.
It was time…
The things that weren’t very functional included the cabinets, which did not go to the ceiling (meaning there were opportunities for stuff on top to collect crud) and which were kind of . . . janky. They weren’t very well-constructed, so they disintegrated with use, and all of the handles and pulls had scrollwork and crevices. I went to pastry school 15 years ago (though I only earned my living that way for two years), and I still bake a lot, and crevices collect flour. It was basically impossible to get the cabinets clean.
It was basically impossible to get the cabinets clean. Second, though you can’t see it here, the backsplash for the whole kitchen was beadboard, which is possibly the most dysfunctional choice ever for areas that get splashed and floured regularly; it was not possible to clean it.
The dishwasher never worked all that well, so I hadn’t used in in 8 or 9 years. The sink is just out of sight, but you can see that it’s not an undermount, AND that counter was butcher block, so it was slowly rotting, especially as the faucet started to leak. The window only stayed open if you propped it open. The cork tile was hard to clean (and hard to tell when it was dirty), and just darkened the whole space.
However, I loved the long butcher block counter (and have kept that), and the basic layout is actually functional; I did not want to move plumbing or gas. What finally pushed this project onto the Do It Now list is that the oven failed in late January. I did not want to repair something I intended to replace, and I’ve been saving up for this for years, and the faucet leak was getting worse, and the fridge was starting to make noises, so . . . it was time.
The First Change, 2018
I did the window two years ago: I had the whole thing rehung and refinished, and I had them reinstall a transom. (That made an unbelievable difference in the summer. I don’t use air conditioning, and the transom dropped the summer temps in there by 10 degrees or more.) I did the window project separately; I knew it needed to be done, and I’d found someone who specialized in restoring windows in old buildings.
History!
Historical note: the area closest to the window actually had a doorway in that wall, to a butler’s pantry. All owners in the building save one have walled that off so that the pantry area is now part of the back/second bedroom (what would have been the maid’s room when the building was built). There was also a doorway directly into the maid’s room where the fridge now is, so the maid could be segregated from the dining room. That bedroom also has the spot where the ice came in; I now have a built-in (and cedar-lined) closet there, and I found maple flooring from the butler’s pantry when I tore up the rug.
That bedroom also has the spot where the ice came in; I now have a built-in (and cedar-lined) closet there, and I found maple flooring from the butler’s pantry when I tore up the rug.
Construction begins…
This is the gutted kitchen, down to the lath and masonry. We got lucky here: there wasn’t any of the original plaster still in place, so it didn’t have to be removed or replaced.
Messy electrical gets cleaned up
Here you can see how the electrician (the contractor’s son, actually) cleaned up the old wires and conduit he found. There was a disturbingly impressive amount of stuff like that in the walls.
.
More electric.
Starting to take shape…
Here are the walls—just sheetrock. The electric isn’t done yet, but all of the boxes and conduit are in place.
We have walls!
Walls, taped and painted.
And a beautiful maple floor!
This is the floor, as of a couple of days ago. As I noted, this was another area where we got lucky—better than lucky, actually. I was hoping that the maple flooring was still more or less intact, but the contractor warned me that it might not be in great shape.
They started the cabinets today, but you will all have to wait for the “after” pics to see those.
Stay tuned!
Rand Careaga
My own kitchen renovation was by comparison pretty minor, although it did involve a lot of exposed lath-and-plaster, as well an an earthen trench where half the floor had been, but the monthlong process persuaded me that I wouldn’t do well in a refugee camp.
Kristine
Congratulations on floor luck–it’s gorgeous.
Looking forward to seeing the rest!
Tdjr
So excited to see these pictures! I’d love to do my kitchen over.
Elizabelle
Look forward to seeing more of the renovation. Wonderful old building. FWIW, I liked your first kitchen, too — lot of personality — although can see where improved functionality will be worth the $$$ and effort.
Glad you are doing “to the ceiling” cabinets. Storage is always good. I laugh when I see the minimal open shelving on so many design sites now. Do those people mostly do takeout, or do they have a butler’s pantry that no one is copping to?
Bake on.
Cermet
Nice kitchen remod!
I just finished constructing a small building next to my house so I can continue my advance research projects – cement foudation, full environmental, electrical, ceramic tiled floor and water; a mini-house (very mini.) Almost too nice for what I want it for. I intend (this Fall) to continue my thesis research work – I developed a revolutionary cermet laminate. My den & garage were too limited in power and not really safe for the furnaces and high voltage systems – I also do some nuclear research.
Sab
I can’t wait to see what you do with the on top of cabinets space. My current house has the same. I thought it was great when I moved in to have that space available. Twenty years later it is kind of disgusting up there when I don’t get around to cleaning it. But of course I still use the space for storage because it is space available for storage.
narya
@Elizabelle: My contractor said that the fancier the renovation he does, the less likely it seems to be that any of the things that he installs get used–whereas I am making lists in my head of the things I’m going to bake.
narya
@Sab: Stacked cabinets! 24″ on top of 30″, so we could use stock sizes
cain
I’m starting to do my kitchen remodel – working through contractors. It’s gonna cost me though – I’m doing other things as well. But for me, I’m knocking out a wall and replacing the wall with a large island with a stove. I’m super excited about it as it will open up the space and make it more modern.
I’m refinishing my bamboo flooring.
But for now, I bought some appliances, but my range is too big to fit into the countertop – I didn’t measure it correctly. So in the end, I’m waiting on a contractor to cut it again so they can fit it in. It’s wasted money because I’m going to demo the whole thing anyways. Oh well
I will take some before and after pics so that people see what it looked like prior.
JPL
@narya: It’s wonderful and the floor is gorgeous. I can’t wait until we see more.
JPL
@cain: Reading about others projects is a healthy form of escapism. Good luck on your remodel.
Spanky
We’ve got fake brick. Checkmate!
geg6
The floor looks fabulous. Love it.
In 1998, my ex and I bought a 1905 four-square (3 stories, four bedrooms, fabulous original woodwork) and took it down to the studs, from the attic all the way down. I lived in dust (especially coal dust, which was how the house was heated when it was built) and half completed electric and other construction for over 2 years before it really started coming together. It was so big, we decided to make it into a duplex where we would have the top two floors and the tenant would have the ground floor. The only room we never touched (except the electric) was the original kitchen on the ground floor. We really wanted to, but it was so retro with the pine walls and cabinets that it seemed a shame to change it. We also kept the big old gas stove, which was in perfect working order and so unblemished as to look new. It was a big job, but he did most of the work himself (with help from his fellow vo-tech teachers in electric, carpentry, HVAC and plumbing), so the cost was mostly just for materials. It turned out beautifully and he still lives there to this day (along with our second ever tenant for the ground floor apartment) after over 20 years. But what horrible mess we lived through to get it that way.
Di
This is an inspiration. Your floor is beautiful. My kitchen was supposed to be redone this spring but has been postponed until early August, for obvious reasons. The (new-to-me) house was built in 1970 and the kitchen was never redone – original cabinets, countertop, and flooring, all of which have served their purpose and deserve a rest. I Googled the oven because I’d never heard of the brand and the first thing that came up was “antique stoves.” Can’t wait to bring it all into the 21st century.
narya
@Spanky: oh. my. god. that truly did make me laught out loud. I had PAINTED brick in the sunroom, but . . . FAKE brick? as a backsplash? yeah, you definitely win on that one.
narya
@geg6: (shudder) Yeah, I planned for this, a lot, and not just by saving up for it, and doing the window as a separate project. I cooked a TON of beans, grains, etc. (I have a chest freezer), bought an induction burner, etc., and am so grateful to be able to do it. Still don’t like washing dishes in the bathroom sink, though, and two years would be crazypants.
pamelabrown53
@narya:
Fantastic job so far! Love the maple floors and transom window. Can’t wait to see the finished product! Congrats.
JeanneT
I’ve been putting off renovating my kitchen – I think your project may inspire me to take the plunge!
Dorothy A. Winsor
That floor is beautiful, but what really surprised me was the difference the window replacement made. That whole end of the room looked more put together.
Ruckus
I remodeled my last house, which wasn’t that old but was designed by someone who had never actually lived in one of their designs. Tore out walls for the kitchen and built an island, ended up with more space, more light and surprise, more storage. So much of the house looked like someone without any skill had attempted to finish the place, with cheap wood, cheap finish, and cheap workmanship. The bones weren’t bad, just the visible, unfinished touches, like sprayed on bubble finish ceilings.
Of course after it was done, I sold the place and moved.
narya
Thank you all for your comments! I will note that one of the other things that’s relevant (to me) is that I actually USED the kitchen before planning this thing, so I had a good sense of what worked and what did not, and how I used the space. The basic layout was fine–the fridge sticks out, because when the building was built there was ice through the butler’s pantry, but I need a fridge that can hold a half sheet pan, and the counter-depth ones do not. And I decided to NOT replace the cabinets closest to the window–you can’t tell from the pics, but the end cabinet actually juts into the window frame. Instead, I’m going to have two barnwood shelves w/ hooks on the bottom, so I can hang some pans there. It will let more light in, I think.
narya
@Dorothy A. Winsor: I know! that surprised me, too!
mrmoshpotato
Very nice. My parents pulled up their linoleum kitchen floor a few years ago when they repainted their kitchen, and BOOM! – wonderful maple floor beneath.
catclub
is it version 1776? does it have 13 layers?
StringOnAStick
@narya: Two words and an acronym: undercabinet LED lighting. We did our kitchen two years ago and that by far is the thing I constantly tell myself was the single best thing about the remodel. It’s cheaper to do it now when you’ve got contractors doing everything else.
ziggy
Very fun to see a remodeling thread, thank you for the photos and progress info!
OzarkHillbilly
Good job on the window and especially the transom. I think I only had one apartment with working transoms and it made a big difference.
I’m a little surprised whoever removed the plaster left the lath, we never did.
The floor of course is gorgeous.
Definitely looking good.
Cathie from Canada
@narya: What a fascinating project, and I love the idea of a pegboard wall.
I have wanted one of these ever since I saw Julia Child’s in the Julie and Julia movie, but never had a wall where it would work.
J R in WV
Floor is wonderful, how sweet to discover an antique maple floor that comes out looking so swell!
Will second under counter LED lighting. I put that in our solar-powered cabin in AZ, and it makes a huge difference in the light in the kitchen. Inexpensive to install, uses next to no power.
narya
@StringOnAStick: @J R in WV: It was installed yesterday! That was definitely on the must-have list; the ceiling light is nothing special, and I’m going to keep it, but the lighting overall was crap. I just hope my lapis and yellow tile looks okay . . .
narya
@Cathie from Canada: I actually changed my mind on the pegboard. The contractor pointed out that it would need to be hung a little away from the wall so the hooks could go in, and then I saw Tom Colicchio’s kitchen and realized i could do shelves with hooks under them; I’m using reclaimed barn wood–two shelves, staggered, not very deep.
planetjanet
Did you do new trim on the windows? Or were you able to restore it from under the old paint. It is just gorgeous.
narya
@planetjanet: It’s a combo of new and restored. The major part of the frame is new (and a separate person stained it for me), and wasn’t actually part of the original quote, but once the transom was in and we realized what the original framing likely had been–e.g., across the whole top)–I asked the guy to do the whole thing and make it look nice. It cost more, but I was very happy w/ the result–and he seemed to enjoy it, as it was outside what he was usually asked to do, and therefore more interesting.
John Revolta
I love remodeling projects, and I love the floor and the MOULDING! Gorgeous.
WOOD, by God!!
Miki
Really love the new transom and wood – amazing that the transom cools the room that much.
And that floor – wow! What a wonderful gift! I found some similarly wonderful maple floors in my 1925 house under 1965 olive green sculptured carpet. A few areas needed some boards replaced but the floor guy was able to find salvaged boards so you can’t tell they’re fixes.
Looking forward to your next installment!
narya
I should have noted: in the “more electric” photo above, you can see what would have been the doorway to the butler’s pantry, next to the window, and you can see the chunk of window framing that had to be cut out to accomodate the cabinet. When I did the window, I specifically asked for an extra piece, w/o the cutout (because I knew I wouldn’t replace that cabinet), and had my stain guy stain the extra piece, too. The current carpenters will just replace those two pieces with the one piece and it’ll be awesome.
scribbler
Thank you for documenting. My daughter lives in a Chicago walk-up that has a very similar kitchen layout, so it’s so fun to see your pictures. You must have done something right in a previous life to find those beautiful maple floors!
Laura Too
This is so awesome to see! Our house was built in 1903, the bathroom is in the kitchen because they retro’d the plumbing in. We actually found the area where the outhouse was when we did some work by the garage. I don’t think we will be so lucky as to find maple on the floor when we redo our kitchen which I hope will be someday. We both love to cook and spend a great deal of time there.
Laura Too
@Cermet: had to Google cermet laminate. Very cool!
NotMax
The Birkenstocks add a nice touch.
;)
A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)
Love the reworked window and transom and the maple floor is fabulous! Thanks for the pictures and I look forward to the next installment.
Mai naem mobile
Love the flooring. Second whoever said undercabinet lighting. You’re going to love the remodel. The thing we wished we had done was some kind of closed set up on the counter where you could slide in and hide the blender/mixer/toaster/small electrical appliances.