The Kitchen Tracker

It seems that ever since we moved into our home I have been excited about modernizing the kitchen. However, it has been so structurally sound that it has always been on the bottom of the "Needs Attention Immediately" list - even when I tried to burn it down. (As evidenced by the large burn marks on the floor.)

Anyhow, I was finally fired up and ready to really get it going. I have always wanted a white kitchen, I love the clean, crisp, happy feel and found the perfect "template" to follow when I was playing on Pinterest one day. It was exactly what I wanted:

(here is the Pinterest link)

Finally I had some direction and motivation and it sounded like a great way to keep myself busy this winter. I wasn't sure about the counter tops ... that is a pretty big move and everything I really like was out of my budget for this little transformation I was itching to do. But I figured I would just get going and when we found the right stuff, we'd find a way.

Lo and behold the radio was the answer. I was driving along one day listening to my usual dose of talk radio (I am my father's daughter - and my mother's, too - of course, but I did inherit a compulsive attachment to talk radio somewhere in the process of being raised by them) and there was a commercial for a contest where the grand prize was NEW COUNTER TOPS! All I had to do was send in a photo of my needy kitchen and then vote, vote and vote AND get my friends to do the same. When the contest opened I found there were only 8 entries!!! I couldn't believe it - I was already feeling the cool granite under my fingertips, talk about visualizing good things - those counter tops were practically mine, as far as I thought! The contest ran for about 2 weeks and I bugged my Facebook Friends to vote every single day. And miracle of miracles ... no one dropped me from Facebook during those 2 weeks (ha ha) AND I totally won the grand prize.

Two words sum it up ... Gid Dy!!!!!
(seriously - who ever wins stuff like this???)

So, now the ball is officially rolling and a few amazing things have happened. I am going to keep track here of all the good things that happen along the way. The list is long, and for the most part we are tackling this on our  own, since our budget is still pretty tight. So, this won't be happening FAST ... but it IS happening and I am thrilled beyond belief. And on that note, here is our motivation board and our to do list:

One step at a time:

1. Knock out corner cubbie and scallop thing above sink.2. Knock out soffit above sink, re-work walls and wiring to accommodate light fixture.
3. Pull out old range and CLEAN up well and find it a new home.
4. Purchase wall oven and drop in stove cook top.
5. Install a gas line to kitchen.
6. Wire electric line to kitchen for new stove cook top.
7. Building casing for new oven.
8. Install new oven and stove.
9. Build shelves in corner cupboards.
10. Call the guy to get counter tops and sink/faucet installed. (this is my FAVORITE step - ha ha)
11. Use wood filler to fix up cupboards where needed.
12. Clean, sand, prime, paint and glaze cupboards. (this should take a while)
13. Cut out panels in two doors and replace with glass.
14. Replace stained glass panels with something else.
15. Add new hardware and hinges.
16. Figure out what to do with sacrificial drawer (so we could install the bigger cook top).
17. Scrape ceiling texture down, patch where needed, remove 2 old lights and patch where they were.
18. Call the other guy to come install the new lighting. (this is my second-favorite step)
19. Replace electrical outlets and switches and make them conducive to a new layer of tile.
20. Tile the back splash and around the window by the sink.
21. Build built-in bench.
22. Frame in big kitchen window (with a slight ledge).
23. Paint window trim.
24. Paint kitchen walls.
25. Paint and install crown molding.
26. Rip out old burnt linoleum.
27. Tile the floor!
28. Oh, and get a new microwave somewhere in there.

29. Eventually get a new fridge.

30. And even more eventually - knock out wall by stairs and open up that space. We'll get to that someday!

And there you have it. I felt a little overwhelmed when I first made the list, but the more I looked at it the more I realized how grateful I was that we have the skills and tools and friends to make this happen. Just seeing little bits and pieces of this outdated kitchen go out is also a HUGE dose of motivation, just knowing what is waiting to replace it.

We have already had 2 wonderfully kind people come and help with a few things that were beyond our skill set (installing a gas line and creating a casing for the new oven). That was so amazing to knock out both of those to-do's this weekend, leaving the door open for the counter tops to come.

And we are on our way - there's no going back now!