Young House Love

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Our Kitchen Renovation To Do List

We’re back with a quick kitchen update since we promised to share every step of the process, just like we did 4+ years ago with our first kitchen makeover (which ended up taking 113 days from start to finish). So the latest news is that the electricians came by as we mentioned last week. We’re definitely DIYers who aren’t afraid to paint or demo or drywall or build furniture (we’ve even dabbled in a little bit of plumbing) but we’re happy to call in the pros when it comes to risky things like electrical work in an older home that could lead to something major (aka: a house fire). So we hired a two-man electrician team who came highly recommended (two of our friends used and loved them) for a few quick switches to make our kitchen a lot more functional with the new layout. Here’s what they did:

  • Solved the case of the mystery wire above the pantry. It was the dedicated line/outlet for the fridge which came out of the wall and went back in to be grounded (so strange, right?)
  • Got the mystery wire back behind the wall and rerouted it to be the plug for the built-in microwave that will hang next to the pantry
  • Converted the hardwired connection behind the cooktop to a plug for the new stove (more on that here)
  • Terminated the hardwired connection for the old wall oven (more on that here)
  • Added a dedicated line/outlet for the fridge’s new location across the room (we were using an extension cord to power it up to that point)

The main takeaway of this process? We forgot that rooms sometimes have to get worse before they get better. Here’s how the room looked before the electricians arrived (after we shuffled the fridge and the pantry around for a new layout – more on that here):

PantryDemo After From Hall

Well, actually we had our new counter depth fridge and oven in place (where the old cooktop and cabinet had been) and some missing granite counters, but we don’t have a wide photo of that stage, so we just had these of the stove and fridge in place (more on that phase here):

Cooktop 11 5 Stove In

Cooktop 12 Cab New Home

And here’s how it looked while the electricians were here doing their thing:

Kitchen Electric1

Kitchen Electric2

Kitchen Electric3

Insanity, right? But after they fixed all the wires and sealed up the wall they opened, everything got pushed back into place and the towels came back off the appliances. Voila, we were left with a working oven/stove, a plug for the microwave (so we can now start building that in), no more wire hanging out from the ceiling above the pantry, no more loose wires from the old wall oven to worry about, and a fridge that ran without an extension cord. Hazzah!

Kitchen After Electric

Kitchen After Electric3

Totally worth the $80-ish an hour fee that we paid for a few hours of work with two guys on the job (first hour was $87, the following ones were $70). Oh and as for who we used for any interested locals, it was S.J. Ryan Electric. Good guys, fair prices, all that good stuff (they don’t even know we’re bloggers, so we didn’t get paid or perked to mention them, we just like to shout out people who do good work).

Admittedly, the kitchen still looks completely crazy, but once the fridge is built in with white wood (no more bulky black sides) and the dingy exposed paneling (and edge of that beam) is painted we’ll inch closer. And when the lighting is redone and the cabinets are painted and the new floors and counters and backsplash and peninsula go in we’ll be well on our way…

We were lucky because all of the electrical in the kitchen was updated pretty recently by the previous owners (we have GFCI protected outlets and stuff). And because we live in a ranch it’s pretty simple for someone to duck into the attic and pull things up and down (instead of dealing with drywall damage that can occur if there’s a second story) – although the electricians did have a bit of a challenge with the mystery wire above the old fridge since that was an area of the attic that was extremely hard to access due to the pitch of the original roof before the addition). Hence having to open and close the wall above the pantry (which usually doesn’t need to happen if there’s attic access).

Next on the never-ending kitchen agenda (the order isn’t finalized, this is just a running list that changes as we go):

  • build in the fridge
  • build in the microwave
  • demo out the old backsplash
  • install the new dishwasher and craigslist the old one
  • build in the new stove so it’s flush with the cabinets
  • create the peninsula with built or bought cabinetry
  • demo out rest of old counters and install new ones
  • add an 8′ doorway between kitchen and dining room (with the help of a contractor)
  • buy & build in a vent hood for over the stove
  • remove upper cabinets along accent wall (the stove wall) and add new counter to ceiling backsplash
  • buy or build floating shelves for the accent wall (hanging them after tiling will make for less tile cuts & a more seamless look)
  • buy/build matching doors for the new cabinetry so they blend right in with the old ones
  • get new hinges/hardware
  • redo kitchen lighting (remove florescent lights & fan, add recessed lighting in work area & pendants over peninsula)
  • install cork floors
  • add crown molding to top of cabinets
  • prime and paint cabinets
  • create cozy corner by the fireplace (chair + rug + side table or ottoman + built in shelves?)

Breaking a huge project down into smaller bite sized pieces = the key for us. Sure, we can still feel a little overwhelmed at times (one of those times being while typing up the list above), but we know from experience that taking it one day and one small project at a time can keep ya sane. And that way we can course-correct as we go instead of rushing into a ton of decisions/projects at once. So slowly and steadily we’ll inch closer to a finished room that we’ll hopefully love for a nice long time.

What did you guys do this weekend? Any electrical updates? Or crazy-long to-do lists? Is anyone else ripping a room apart just in time for the holidays? We have no idea why, but every year around this time we tend to start something major (which usually isn’t resolved until well after Christmas). At the end of 2007 we gutted our first home’s kitchen, then we refinished over 50% of our hardwoods at the end of 2008. At the end of 2009 we gutted the bathroom, and at the end of 2010 we packed up and moved! More on that here. Maybe the reno dust reminds us of snow? How seasonally appropriate of us.

Psst- We were asked to be speakers at Haven (a huge DIY/blogging conference in Atlanta this coming June) and we couldn’t be more excited – and nervous. Here’s hoping we get to meet some of you guys there (and don’t bite the big one on stage!).

Comments

  1. Kaytie @ GardenKitchenHome says

    Um, it looks like insanity at your house! But it’ll all be worth it. I can’t wait to see the “Progress” photos later.

    Also, I just saw you’ll be at Haven. It’s making me consider going… We’ll see if the pre-husband can survive for a weekend without me. ;)

    Reply

  3. Kelly says

    Things always seem to get worse while you’re tackling a project, but I’m glad the electricians made it better-and left the kitchen in better shape. Often our DIY projects turn into huge and expensive messes-so glad that wasn’t the case for you.

    We have some crazy wiring in our house too, I think it’s the previous homeowner’s version of DIY electrical-kinda scary!

    Reply

  6. Laura P. says

    I’m having an electrician come tomorrow to remove the florescent light boxes in my kitchen (mine are worse than yours, if you can imagine!), and I’m SO excited. He’ll be putting in a few recessed lights. Have you guys done recessed lights before? I’m just wondering if there are any tips on placement, etc?

    Reply

  7. Amy @ Lovely Nest says

    I tend to start projects around this time of year too. I think it’s because I know the cold weather is coming and I want to get things done while it’s warmer out, especially projects that require being outside, like spray painting. I did that this weekend, painting some chairs for the kitchen table!

    Reply

  8. Kelli@becomingkelli says

    I’m impressed at the cleanup job the electricians did! I’ve never had a contractor leave our home in even decent condition. I wish I did live in the area so we could use them. You think they’d come to Houston? :)

    Reply

  9. Mary Kate says

    We painted! We were looking for a way to make our bedroom feel more like “us” (which can be hard in a rental) so we added some horizontal stripes for an accent wall. We even used your tutorial from the bathroom in your first house! It turned out great and we couldn’t be more pleased. Thanks for your help.

    Reply

  10. Jen says

    Sometimes the most important things cannot be seen at a first glance. Now you don’t have that roadblock in your way! Love seeing the real-time progress. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

  11. Stephanie Phillips says

    Ripping a room apart just in time for the holidays? Why yes, yes we are. We’ve all but gutted our addition (an old converted carport) to add a half bath, some storage, and laundry space. It’s been two months without use of a washer and dryer but, after a weekend of non-stop work, we might just be nearing the end! Our new flooring is installed on Thursday, so we have a bit more of a push to finish left, but we’re making it!

    Reply

  12. Tracey says

    You guys got into my head last week. I spent a few days eyeballing my kitchen wondering, “Would the fridge go better over there?” “It would be awesome to have more counter space if we moved that over there…” I don’t know why, but I’ve always thought that the way a kitchen was laid out was just “it” – What you were stuck with. (I think because of all the wiring/plumbing.) We still have to update ours, so maybe some day when we’re feeling brave (and rich) we’ll get on that. For now… I’ll just marvel at all the work you’re doing! ;)

    Reply

  14. AarthiD says

    Woot! Electrical work still totally freaks me out; I’m happy to, if asked, take a swing at wood or plumbing, but electricity? Count me out!

    Aside from working an event this weekend, I finally put up my wall lamp! Since we have metal studs in our apartment (yeaaaaah commercial construction!) I used those 3M Command strips to mount it. Works amazingly so far, and the hold is super strong and tight for now. Here’s to hoping my glass lamp and the very expensive LED bulb inside don’t, well, fall down while I’m at work!

    Reply

  15. Maureen @ This (Kinda) Old House says

    This weekend I did something that changed my life forever – I visited my EXTREMELY local ReStore. Holy Moly, am I in love! Why have I never done this before? There are about a million things in there that I need for my home. All at insanely great prices! I never would have even know about it if it wasn’t for you guys. We will be purchasing shutters from there as well some cabinetry for our laundry area (eventually). I will also be donating items we are getting rid of. I also went and priced out material for my upcoming bathroom project. Great weekend all around!

    Reply

    • Renee says

      My only advice is if you see something you have to have…buy it right away because it might be gone on the next trip. I’ve only had semi good luck at our local store (Fresno/Clovis, CA). I needed the old fashioned “Cake Dome” style of light shades for my 1950’s kitchen and I found the 2 I needed, and a glass shade for my ceiling fan for $10. Everything else they have seems to be old 80’s fixtures. But, I keep checking in hoping to find that “bargain”…LOL

  17. Andrea says

    Ah, what a relief to get the electrical stuff done huh? I also had a weekend of I’m-overwhelmed-by-the-to-do-list! At various points, I thought we were going to buy a new sectional we found, completely redo our side entryway with storage items and paint (although, what color?!), visit IKEA to get said storage solutions (a project enough for one day!), switch out my summer and winter clothes, do all the usual weekend cleaning/washing clothes/grocery shopping, and DIY an anniversary gift for my hubby. At least I got the last two done… I need to write “one day at a time” on scraps of paper and leave them everywhere, or I will lose it! Thanks for the reminder, YHL!

    Reply

  20. Deb Ramsthaler says

    OMG that image was so crazy!!!

    This weekend, inspired by your so happy and bright sunny yellow door, I painted mine a very happy pumpkin orange. I LOVE IT!!!

    Reply

  22. Jessie SP says

    What a coincidence – we’ve been gutting our kitchen too. We made a few discoveries that will force a change of plans, like realizing that all the upstairs bathroom plumbing is where we hoped our new vent ductwork would go. And you think you have electrical problems! Like you, we always seem to gut things in the fall. Something about the smell in the air makes us want to rip down walls, or something like that. I swear it’s not just us trying to get out of hosting Thanksgiving.

    Here’s the evidence:
    http://53masonstreet.blogspot.com/2011/10/kitchen-demolished.html
    http://53masonstreet.blogspot.com/2011/10/why-we-need-new-kitchen.html

    Reply

  24. Nikki says

    Are you guys planning to do the lighting revamp yourselves or will you have the electrician(s) come back when you’re closer to getting around to that project?

    Love all the progress!!!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We’ll call them back in to do the big stuff (like convert the fluorescents into recessed lights) but will do some of the easier stuff ourselves (like hang a pendant above the sink since it’s already wired for one).

      xo,
      s

  26. Stacie says

    Your kitchen looks like it’s going to be fantastic! I am jealous of how quickly you’re making progress :) We started our kitchen renovation two years ago on December 23rd at 8PM (sawdust and white drop clothes do make great Christmas decor) It’s still not completed. My husband is making the cabinet doors himself, but between his planer breaking/taking 4 months to be repaired, and having to take a break to convert our spare room into a nursery for the baby girl we’re expecting in two weeks, doors just dropped way down on the priority list.

    And thanks for the electrician recommendation! We also live in the Richmond area, and we have a scary bundle of wires in our attic that we need looked at soon. I just haven’t been able to decide if I am more scared of the wires or the electrician fees…

    Reply

  27. Sherry from BC says

    This is so exciting to follow this change in semi real time. I am glad the electricians came. That is always good to get out of the way. I am in the midst of a spare bedroom spruce up which involved repainting and then ripping out the old carpet. That is done but I messed up the bottom of one wall when I pulled the old carpet so have to patch that and then on to laying some cool carpet tiles. Was supposed to get done last week but somehow that didn’t happen. Hope it gets done within the next week as I have friends coming for dinner on Saturday and would like to show it off. Not sure how that will work out though as work Monday to Friday…..will see what I can do at night.

    Reply

  28. Amanda @ Our Humble A{Bowe}d says

    Wowza! At least it’s all back together and you know what’s going on back there. :) Can’t wait to see more happen!

    We’re tearing our kitchen apart, too. http://ourhumbleabowed.wordpress.com/category/our-house/our-kitchen/kitchen-renovation/ I was just thinking, “It has to get worse before it can look better” phrase to myself over the weekend. Fortunately, a lot of our major demo work is done. Sanding all of the newly mudded sheetrock is next on our list. That is going to be a pain in the butt.

    Reply

  29. Nicole B. says

    Curious! 113 days on your other kitchen, but you weren’t blogging full time. Does it take a different amount of time now? More or less than predicted? I know you have your to do list, but do you plan out your days to this list?

    We didn’t do ANY home improvement anything this weekend… Just played, but now, sigh, I have my work piled up.

    Thanks for the update! Love watching your progress!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We used to work 9-6 jobs without a baby – so it’s a little more hectic now that we work longer hours and have a 1.5 year old around all the time (we do most of our work after 8 when the baby’s in bed). As for planning out our days, we just focus on one thing, spend as long as it takes to get that done, and move onto the next thing. So we don’t get ahead of ourselves or really have any idea how long each step will take.

      xo,
      s

  32. Andrea says

    We met with an electrician this weekend, too! We’re finally kicking our giant fluorescent light to the curb and replacing it with recessed lights in our kitchen. So now we’ll actually be able to see what we’re doing when we’re chopping veggies. Super psyched about that. Can’t wait to see what progress yall make this week!!

    Reply

  33. Kristina says

    Electrical work scares me, I would hire a professional soon. Though my brother did electrical in the Marines, he also has that “slap it together it’ll be fine” mentality that scares me. Off topic have you seen http://www.woot.com? They just launched a new home section. I’m pretty stoked.

    Reply

  34. laxsupermom says

    Your kitchen is really coming along. Can’t wait to see more of it.

    So exciting to be the keynote speakers at Haven!!! I’m hoping to make that my first blogging conference so am doubly excited(for you and for me.) That’s my 15yr old’s finals week, so I’m waiting to see the finals schedule before buying my ticket. Hopefully he’ll be done on Wednesday.

    Reply

  35. Libby says

    We started our dining room/living room redo this weekend. The “new” media cabinet (a 60’s era stereo cabinet) is mostly finished and in place. The “new” dining room table (a 50’s era yellow cracked ice formica table and chairs set) is also in place. Can you tell we live in a Mid-century house?

    We’re not going for true period style though. Just somewhere between our mid-century house and all our modern furniture. It’s an all new style for us, so thank you for your DIY inspiration. <3 you guys.

    Reply

  36. Allyn says

    It was a weekend of to do lists, including switching out all of my summer clothes for fall/winter, which resulted in a short term chaotic mess in our bedroom. Made me think of being a kid and having to clean out under my bed/all of my closet. I’d get it all out, then sit down and cry because I didn’t know where to start and was totally overwhelmed. Sigh.
    Way to call in a pro though. Electrical work, no matter how minor, always makes me nervous.

    Reply

  37. Emily M says

    Well my weekend undertaking wasn’t quite as gangbusters as yours – I painted baseboards and door casings in our living/dining room and entry vestibule. Seems minimal but all that squatting and kneeling and bending over really wears you out! Just have a quick 2nd coat to do in the entry vestibule after work tonight and it will be finished. Yay! I’ve put this off for 2 years and decided it was finally time to get it off my to do list.

    Reply

  38. Jessika says

    I feel your pain! While not the kitchen (and, thankfully, able to have a door closed and ignore the space when guests arrived), we just 90% finished a massive overhaul of our upstairs. Loud and creaky with industrial carpeting (and then particle board directly on top of old floorboards with no padding in-between), it’s now blissfully quiet with redone walls. But my goodness, what a LONG project!!! http://oregonkaisers.blogspot.com/2011/10/our-new-upstairs.html

    Reply

  39. Melissa says

    Oooo, kitchen progress— so exciting! I went all Sherry this weekend and did some ORB-ing to a few items at my house. We also painted our kitchen cabinets and installed new hardware, and my (electrician) husband dropped in a ceiling fixture in our dining room (we’ve never had a proper hardwired option in that room— crazy!) Love some DIY weekend projects!

    Reply

  40. Amanda K says

    We had an electrician at the house on Saturday to put in some vintage light fixtures on the outside of the garage to help illuminate the backyard. Yesterday afternoon, I was stenciling in the breezeway (thanks for the tutorial)and smelled something burning. Luckily, we didn’t have a fire, but something melted…so, the electrician is coming back out today. Hooray for electricity adventures!

    Reply

  41. Anna says

    You guys are making so much progress on your kitchen so quickly! I can’t wait to see how fabulous it will turn out in the end.

    No major home redo’s this weekend, but I did buy my wedding dress! Woo hoo!

    Reply

  44. Alissa says

    Is your cabinet door and drawer design/model pretty standard so that when you have to add new cabinets for your peninsula they will match? Or are you going to forego matching? Or maybe reuse some upper cabinets as lower cabinets?

    Reply

  45. Ang says

    I love your blog! I’ve been following you guys for several months now. Can’t wait to see how the kitchen turns out! I just built a barn door for my closet this week making my own hardware. I’m also getting ready to gut and redo our master bath. I’m doing it it pieces like you’re doing your kitchen, but I’m starting with the doors. Haha!

    Reply

  47. Jennifer says

    It will be so worth it in the end! I’m in stage 1 of my kitchen renovation. The new vent for my stove area was installed and vented outside (woohoo), bulk head built and my weekend was spent priming. Happy Kitchen Reno’s from Nova Scotia Canada.

    Reply

  48. Keely says

    I have to say, your to-do list kind of gives me panicky feelings. That’s a lot of stuff! Whatever, you guys can do it, and it’s going to look awesome.

    Reply

  49. Crystal says

    I was on the fence about going to Haven but then saw you guys would be keynote speakers! So, I’m thinking about asking for the trip for my upcoming birthday.

    Reply

  50. Becky says

    You guys are inspiring as usual. I put up some stuff on the wall in my kitchen and got some ideas together for a gallery wall in my living room.

    Reply

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