The Big Reveal

It’s been a long time in the making, but it’s finally here: The Big REVEAL…

Remember when I said we had a few delays?  The very DAY after I announced we were only ‘one week’ from being finished, we got a call from the kitchen installer telling us that our doors and drawers would not be ready until mid-January.  Thankfully, Kenny knows how to twist an arm like a pro, and he got the installer to agree to put up temporary doors and drawers in the interim so that we could go through the holidays feeling somewhat normal.  We spent the last month being ‘almost-but not quite-finished.’  But now, I can happily say that we are really, finally, DONE (and without fear that the universe is going to make me regret making such an announcement).

Let me start by showing you a layout of the house before we began the metamorphosis.

Before

The whole purpose of this project was to move Kenny’s father in with us. For a little while, we tossed around the idea of buying a totally new house for the three of us to live in. We wanted a split plan layout, with two master bedrooms on opposite sides of the house, all on one floor. Needless to say, this was practically impossible to find in an acceptable price range.

We finally decided it would make much more sense just to build onto our house, and we had the perfect spot to do it. Our backyard was plenty big enough to build Pops a huge master bedroom, with the entrance to his room right off the kitchen.  The kitchen was extremely small for this house to begin with, and Kenny and I had always wanted to expand it anyway.  So we went to work on redesigning the kitchen in a way that would allow Pops the easiest flow and access to his room.

We decided to enclose the patio, making the inside of the house bigger, and move the sink over 90 degrees, creating two wide paths for Pops to easily get through the kitchen. We also tore down the pantry which was right in the middle of everything, allowing us to put in an ‘island’ with lowered bar seating. Finally, we decided to knock down the wall between Kenny’s office and the living room to make a ‘Great Room’ that would give us enough space for a pool table. With the dining room in its new spot, Kenny moved his office into the former dining room area.

The final design ended up like this:

After

I can’t tell you what a difference this renovation has made to the house – the kitchen is enormous, and the house just feels so open, spacious, and relaxed. Here are some “Before” and “After” shots.

Pop’s wing from the outside:

Pops Room – Before and After

The patio:

Outside – (with my gorgeous niece Megan) Before and After

The Living Room:

The Living Room – Before and After

And FINALLY, The Kitchen:

The Kitchen – Before and After

I LOVE the new kitchen! Here is one more before:

Me and Kenny being photo-bombed by Trevor in our old, tiny kitchen

And some more after shots:

We LOVE the crown moldings on the cabinets

The new sink ‘island’

The wet bar area with built in wine fridge – of course

The New Dining Room

And finally, the reason we would go through all of this again and again without a second thought.

This Guy

All worth it