The Pantry is Complete.

Functionally complete. We've got some other things that we're doing that will add some finishing touches. But for now, the project as we currently had it planned is complete.

There used to be a washer and drier area in the kitchen. The previous owners had a great laundry area built in the basement. They had plans for the area of the kitchen but never got around to making their ideas a reality. Once we realized we wouldn't ever use this area for its intended purpose, we knew right away that it would make an amazing pantry. (we have left everything needed to convert this area back to a washer and drier area just in case we ever NEED to move it, or we sell and the next owners want it to be on the main level).

This was our first real house project, and it sorta took a detour. The stud finder we used (and contrary to what our friends think, even though they were helping they weren't the studs) picked up a drainage pipe as a stud. The pipe is tight against the wall, this is the only reason we think this happened.

The drilling started, and after nine holes the walls cried their tiny tears.

The project immediately came to a screeching halt while we formed a plan, (a few plans too, just in case). We had to cut out the portion of the pipe that had been drilled into (by we I mean my dear husband, and two of our friends. The wee one doesn't know much about DIY and so her and I played in the living room during all of this).

The guys worked for MANY hours that night to get everything repaired so that the pipe was back in working order and the wall would be ready to be fixed the following day.

The next day the number of people working on the project went from three to two as one of our friends had to return back to Georgia after being a house guest for a few weeks (it was really helpful to have him here to help while moving, we really appreciate him!!
The second day of the project resulted in this:

Finally on Day Three....the sanding and priming and painting was complete on the repair. And we could get to installing the pantry!

Now that it is complete I am SO happy with how it turned out. It didn't take a few hours like we originally planned for it to. But it turned out great and in the end that's what matters most!

"Why are the holes you just drilled in the wall crying?"

The answer? The holes were drilled into a drainage pipe, a toilet was flushed...and tears formed.

Yes, we used a stud finder (I'll spare you all the stud jokes that get told during the use of a stud finder). The pipe is actually pressed against the dry wall. They probably figured it didn't matter because it was a laundry room. Well Mister Builder Man...it does matter when a handful of years later a sweet couple want to make your laundry room into a pantry. IT MATTERS!

So as I type this there are three guys in the one-day-pantry (ok not that dramatic, tomorrow the pantry SHOULD be finished). They are cutting out the dry wall and the pipe. Tomorrow morning we are going to replace the piece of pipe with new pipe and fix the dry wall, and then finish the pantry instillation.

So our first DIY house project isn't exactly going as planned.

Kitchen aka Biggest Project

Ok well the Kitchen is the biggest project of 2010. In the next couple of years when we renovate the bathroom, that will likely be THE biggest project of the house. But for now, the kitchen is our big task. The big dream. The task that we face with excitement and a little bit of dread.

The Kitchen.

Here are some pictures at different angles of the kitchen (and it's attached dining area). Yes I took TOO MANY pictures of it. But because we do have big plans I wanted to be able to look at the pictures as many times as I needed (and I would say that these are some of the most viewed pictures we took that day!).











I can give you some definite inspiration pictures for the kitchen. I had decided almost right away on what I wanted to do with it. All Mr. C really wanted to see was some pictures, he needs to SEE something in front of him to get an idea of what I'm describing.

Our plan goes a little something like this:

-Repaint the walls. This will probably be done VERY soon as I really do NOT like the color that it's in there right now. It's the color the owners before the current owners painted it, and it is just not our style at all.

-Pantry. It appears that there is already a pantry in the kitchen. And to a certain extent there is. The accordion doors in the kitchen used to be where the washer and drier were. They were moved downstairs to the basement. We've decided to stay with that plan and make the space in the kitchen into an awesome pantry. We finally won't be filling all the cabinets to the brim! Finally -- A Pantry!!

-Refinish the Cabinets. This is the step that causes my to get a little weak in the stomach. It's a big job. Even though there aren't A LOT of cabinets. It is still a big job. They will go from the current finish to white. With refinishing the cabinets we are going to make window cabinets (probably not the technical term of what those sort of cabinets are, but you get the idea) out of all the upper cabinets. We are also replacing the hardware on the cabinets.

-New Countertops. We are going down the granite path. Since these days granite seems to be the standard. We are going with a black or very dark gray color for the countertops.

-Tile back splash. we haven't picked the tile. I am really liking the idea of a light gray glass tile. But I know there is always something classic and clean about white subway tile.

-Hardwood Floors. This step was complicated almost instantly. After talking to the current owners we found out that the floors need some sort of re-leveling or something or other. They had plans of putting in hardwood and didn't want to deal with re-leveling so never bothered. We are set on it so we are currently in talks with some contractors to see how much and how long of a process that is. Once that part is done we'll be putting in dark hardwood.


Like I said, HUGE project! huge HUGE huge!

We are excited. There will be a lot of DIY here (pretty much everything except the countertops and re-leveling the floor). Mr. C's brother just recently put in hardwood floors with a contractor friend of theirs, we will be utilizing their services during this big old project. So hopefully it all doesn't drag out forever! I just can't wait to see the finished product!!

Here are a couple of pictures we're using to draw inspiration:

Kitchen

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