Its Been Over a Year...
I know, I know, this site was created for our foundation...but carry on with me a few more months (maybe 6 more?) as we continue to engage in some more remodeling and reminisce on our completed projects. We've continued our hold of fundraising, not due to remodeling anymore, but simply a lack of knowing what we should do. We continue to ponder, but until then lets continue with the house. If you have any inspiration on our behalf please share!
Last October is when all the final touches on our kitchen were completed. That means we have been enjoying our biggest remodel job in #ourhouseinthewoods for over a year now. How is that possible? All the pain of the waiting and remodel are now a distant memory. Mostly...
Before, during and after pictures are long overdue - so, I posted the kitchen ones below. Enjoy! I also love hearing how people like big changes they've made to their houses - So, now seems like a great time to share what we love and what we don't love! Hind site is 20/20 and if you can learn from our mistakes, yay! I plan to share an over all good/bad and a review of all our products. Take it for what its worth - hopefully it can help you in 2024 if you plant to do any house projects.
Overall feeling of our new kitchen? We love it! We wanted a look that was timeless and rustic. We have a super limited floor plan in this house, but we did the best we could with the layout and the functionality. Here's what we did to increase the size and flow: We removed a wall, moved plumbing and ductwork in order to remove the bulkheads, removed a set of bay windows, moved a window, a coat closet that divided the kitchen and the dining room, and the pantry from the mudroom to the kitchen. It made the kitchen feel so much more open and much bigger. Our dining room has 2 sets of patio doors where we can enjoy the view of the woods, opening that up allowed us to get a better view from the kitchen as well. All of it was well worth it.
What we love:
Stone backsplash. It is timeless and is exactly the rustic look we wanted to bring the kitchen all together.
Color of our cabinets. We were really nervous they were too dark. Our designer suggested the color as to tie in the colors from our barn beams in the sitting room off the kitchen. The wood grain is lovely and turns out the color is not too dark at all. They hide dirty smudges really well.
Chandelier over the island. I wanted a focal point in the kitchen. I knew this was it when I found it. We love it! It unique and rustic and gives a warm and cozy feel when the lights are on.
Our Floors. We love hardwood floors and fits the cabin feel we want in the house. We chose hickory wood as we love the contrast of the dark and light streaks.
What we don't love (or challenges we didn't expect):
Our refrigerator, microwave, and garbage are all in one area and it gets pretty crowded when we are all up and getting ready for school. Honestly, I don't know if would know of better placement, but definitely is annoying at times.
Our refrigerator water line freezes when the temps get below 10 degrees and we can't get the filtered water until the temps get warmer. We have not figured out a solution to that yet. We re-insulated the entire kitchen and would not have expected this. Just a thought if you remodel bathrooms or kitchens - pay attention to plumbing on exterior walls. Avoid it if you can and if you can't, install plumbing through the floor and you can never insulate enough.
Our floors...yes we love the look but maybe not the quality of the wood we chose. We chose to buy our hardwoods from "Floors to Your Home" in Noblesville. We chose engineered wide planks by Mohawk (Homestead Charm Hickory, discontinued). We find chips and scratches all over already. It still looks amazing, but if you look close you can find wear and tear. We expect wear and tear and a weathered look to be a part of owning hard wood floors in a home, just not so quickly I guess.
If anyone is interested in costs of our project and any product we used, please message me personally. I don't want to share specifics via the website but happy to share specifics on a one on one basis.
Next week I will go into reviews of products, appliances and our designer and contractor. We have A LOT to say about all of them.
Until then, appreciate your loved ones and the warmth of a roof over your head.
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