~~~~I'M DREAMING OF A WHITE KITCHEN~~~~ Mr. AGPMan, Tear Down This Wall

My Mr. AGPMan and I woke up this morning with sore bones and pounding headaches.  Such is to be expected when a weekend is spent ripping out a very dated 1970's kitchen and some of her surrounding walls.  We are both very tired so I know today is going to be a slow motion day.  I'm going to escape the construction site (which thankfully has been cleaned up) and burrow my way back into my studio.

I'm thankful for work that calls my name.  

~SIMPLE and TINY~

(Drawers Removed)

Today I'm going to show you pics my UGLY kitchen...or rather what is left of it.  I've never really shown photos of it before because, well, quite frankly I hate it.  Galley style kitchens are totally non-functional in my opinion and it was the single thing (aside from the dated baths) that ALMOST kept us from purchasing our La Chaumière de Briarwood nearly twenty years ago.  I hated it that much.  But, because I loved the rest of the house (and she had great bones) we signed on the dotted line in July of 1992.

 ~DOORWAY BEING ENLARGED~

(Water Pipes Behind This Wall)

If someone had told me then it would take years and years before we could see our way through to a total makeover I wouldn't have believed it.  But...raising kids, schooling, college, weddings, etc., do take a priority and our children came first...I love that.  They always will.  Now that they are grown and on their own our time (and ca$h) have been freed up just a little bit.  That brings us to where we are today...

~NEW KITCHEN ENTRY~

This is a fairly good shot of the entry into our kitchen.  At the back of the photo and to the right you can see the exit to our garage (white door).  This door will be removed  (closed up) and a new exit will be made that will lead to a new bathroom and laundry room with doors to the outside and garage.  Our new kitchen will be made up of what was once our existing kitchen, downstairs bath and laundry room and will be roughly double the size of the old one.  Everything has now been removed except the cabinetry/sink/fridge on the left.

They will be the last to go...

 ~FOUND SOMEWHERE ONLINE~

(Love This Look)

The reason our remodel is going to take so long (I've had some emails about me saying it was going to be a year-long project) is because each updating step must follow the one before.  Flooring can't be put in until doorways are enlarged and pipes moved.  Each step has led to something else needing to be done first.  Plus,  #1) we aren't made of money and remodeling is expensive #2) my Mr. AGPMan is a hands-on guy and he will only hire out what he can't do.  Since he's still in school (out in November) his time is limited between classes and study-time.  And finally #3) we are going slow with the re-design because we will live with our decisions for the balance of our lives.  That said, we hope to do it right, not fast!

 ~ALSO FOUND ONLINE~

(Love This One, too!)

As you can see I am favoring something cottage with just a hint of rustic charm.  I'm not crazy about the black in the tiles or the seating at the island, but that's all stuff that can be changed.

~ANOTHER ON-LINE BEAUTY~

Except for the super-big sink I love this layout as well.  Even with our kitchen being enlarged it's still not going to be huge.  So everything will need to be scaled down to look and feel functional and inviting!

And there you have it!  Where we are at present!  It's all exciting, but as I shared with you yesterday it's easy to feel overwhelmed.  All the more reason to stay focused on only what can be done today and nothing more.  The remodel will be finished when it's finished.

Hope your Monday is wonderful.  I'm off to work.

Love to you...