Kitchen Renovation - Before and Demo

Surprise! We are in the middle/end of a kitchen renovation project so I figured now is a good time to actually give you all a tour of the kitchen "before." 

Since the day we moved into this house, I've wanted to give the kitchen a refresh but it just wasn't in the budget and we quickly learned to live with what were essentially just cosmetic flaws. It has functioned well for us these past few years but we are all excited to see some fresh changes happening in the space right now.

Here is how she has looked since we moved in (I took these photos about two weeks ago). Coming from apartment living, the amount of cabinets was such a luxury and more space then we knew what to do with.

Back in November we decided to replace our stove since the one we had was wildly inconsistent at holding temperature. Think burned pizza with a frozen center. When we got the stove installed we realized we needed to adjust the gas line in order for the stove to sit flush against the wall. That was an unexpected additional expense but what are you gonna do? 

When we bought the stove we also purchased an over-the-stove microwave since our $100 countertop microwave was beyond its last leg of life and we wanted to upgrade and clear some counter space. When the microwave was delivered for installation we were told that New Jersey state law requires over-the-stove microwaves to be on their own breakers. Since we didn't have a plug in that location with a dedicated breaker, they couldn't install the appliance. The cost for this type of electrical work was quoted around $2,000. So the microwave stayed in its box and made it's home on the garage floor.

I reached out to the contractor who did our bathroom renovations to see if he could do that project since we enjoy working with him and his team. Since we had his attention we decided to see what the cost would be to take care of some other upgrades since he'd already be tearing into our wall. Initially we didn't think we could justify the cost but then over Christmas break we reconsidered. We'd been saving to renovate the kids bathroom so we had some money saved that could cover a lot of what we wanted. Dan and I agreed it might be better to wait on the kids bathroom anyways since they are enjoying staining the tub with constant use of bath bombs. The kitchen is the most utilized room in our home and the space where a renovation carries the most value. It made sense to bring that project ahead of the bathroom. So, after we returned from Christmas in Kansas, the contractor came back and started the mild demo. 

Here is what the kitchen looked like after they removed our cruddy pressed particle board countertops.

On demo day, they also fixed under the sink which was water damaged and not supported from below. And they added supports to the empty wall for extending the countertop. We are all super excited about this addition.

The contractor is referring to this project as a "swap-out" since we are not changing the layout or removing anything, just upgrading what we already have. The extent of this project is to replace countertops and sink. Install the microwave above the stove (electrical work) and a new dishwasher. We also plan to replace the floor and paint the cabinets. Some other tiny little things around the space but that's pretty much it.

The project is shockingly *almost* finished and I'm excited to show you the finished product soon!