Christy’s back again! This time she’s sharing how she kicked-off her kitchen makeover. I’m amazed at her progress already! I’ll let her take it from here…

Oh my. So, I’m writing this post because I couldn’t stand the thought of working on this project for one more minute tonight. I’m extremely tired and will continue tomorrow. Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow?

So, I took the plunge and decided that 2012 would be The Year of the Kitchen. Woot woot! Very exciting until you write down what all needs to happen to get a new kitchen.

This is how it’s looked for a few years.

Ever realize how a home project in one room can spiral into the adjoining rooms? UGH. There are two types of flooring in the dining room/kitchen/laundry areas. I knew that I wanted to all be tile. So, once I ordered the cabinets and countertops (I ended up going with Lowes’ Shendoah Cabinetry line), I wasted no time suckering talking my guy into scraping out the old parquet flooring. Thank goodness he helped. It would have taken me triple the amount of time that it took him.

Walking on the bare concrete was gross and I’m looking forward to the whole room being tiled. Notice the paneling in this room (dining room)? Well, it kinda just ends at the current cabinets. So, I needed to get this room drywalled so it would make sense with the new cabinets and open shelving I have planned. This part I had done by a pro. It’s totally worth paying someone to mud/tape and hang drywall. They’re so much quicker and better at it! See, project continues to spiral…

So, I had to rip out the cabinets first. That took about a week of ripping out and taking breaks. Then, I found a guy on Craigslist that would haul away the materials from demo for only $125! Sweet. Less than a dumpster and what I had wouldn’t have fit in a Bagster. Score.

All my cabinets were built in place back in 1965 so they were a bear to tear out!

Pretty right? One of the holes was from a laundry chute that dropped into the kitchen. And the others were from old leaks. Creepy. Enter the drywall guy…

In addition to tearing out the paneling, they had to tear out the scrap drywall pieces that was placed as filler behind the paneling.

Add some primer and it’s really looking nice. I still need to caulk the ends of the beams where there’s now a gap from the paneling not being there.

Getting ready for tile now! My mom offered to help (and she’s a worker bee) so I definitely took her up on her offer. I got her help for 7 hours. She’s a master tile cutter and mortar mixer. Definitely a handy lady to have around during a project like this. And, my guy helped us out by carrying in tile, mortar, and running to get tools we forgot or lunch. Everyone was exhausted at the end of the 7 hours. BUT, it was totally worth it to knock out a major chunk of the tiling.

This is us getting our layout correct and snapping our chalk lines.

My guy had pity on me and helped by taking out all the spacers. I probably would have cried if I had to do it before grouting. My body was soooooooo tired.

A series of pictures makes it look so quick. Ha! Is it easy? Yes. But, it’s time consuming and you will definitely be sore and tired. It’s all sealed and helped us spread out some of the sore muscles,

Lowes installers are coming this week to install the cabinets so we’re making a mad dash this weekend to finish up prep work for them. We have to remove the linoleum in the kitchen, would like to paint the walls and ceiling in the kitchen. I just think it will be so much easier to do that before the cabinets are in. So, back to a little couch recovery so I have a little energy in the morning!

-Christy

How GREAT does that tile look?  Uh-mazeballs right?!  I wish I had a fireplace in my dining room. How cozy. Who am I kidding… I wish I had a fireplace in ANY room. #MantleEnvy

Stay tuned for the next update… this one is going to be GOOD!

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