3/20/2013: My builder was a cheapskate. There was no doorbell. Really. He installed no light fixtures in any of the rooms in my home except for the dining room chandelier. Ridiculous. As a new home buyer, I never thought to ask about light fixtures. I ASSUMED they would be installed. Big mistake. Before I installed lamps in all the rooms, my home was a cave. But the lamps are like beacons…no way to control the light to differentiate between TV viewing, mood lighting for a party, and reading. Not to mention the tangle of extension cords connecting lights. At least, I am able to turn on the lamps with the flip of a switch.
4/8/2024: Over time, I got used to the tangle of cords…and lamps. The tightness of the kitchen. The fact that I had to move a kitchen chair to open the fridge. The overstuffed cabinets. The stained countertops. The makeshift pantry in the coat closet. The scuffed and scratched flooring. Honestly, we needed a change.
So just about 10 years after building the house, we made the decision to make a change. Lots of changes actually. We began researching what we wanted. My idea of moving the location of the kitchen closer to the backdoor, was just too much money. Ugh. Do you know how much it costs to move plumbing? So it was back to the drawing board. We started looking at the kitchen from every different angle. Experimented with moving the fridge and then the oven. What would we do with the weird counter that jutted out? Where should we put the fridge? The possibilities were endless, but our coffers were limited. With two kids in college and one in high school, we were on a barebones budget.
Slowly a vision began to emerge. A plan. A blueprint. After looking at a couple of neighbor’s renovated kitchens, we knew what we wanted, what we didn’t want, and what was just not in the budget. Harsh reality. Once we settled on a contractor, the vision really began to take shape.
The contractor suggested knocking down the wall between the kitchen and dining room. I’d always hated the lack of space in the kitchen. Knocking down the wall. Could that be a solution? Whoa. This was a bit dramatic. Could we do it? Took me a bit to come to terms, but once I did it was the best idea. Without that wretched wall, the kitchen and dining room became one big room. Plenty of cabinet space. An island for eating. Lots of counter space.
