Childhood Memoirs: Kitchen/ Dining Originals

looking at these pictures, i kinda can't believe what the house first looked like.
i knew right away this house was perfect.
it was a short sale, heading into foreclosure.
the house was built in 1973, and not much had been updated aesthetically, unless you count adding carpet in the den and kitchen...

would i love to rip this kitchen out and start over??
why yes, however, that's not going to happen anytime this decade.
make note of that lovely berber in the kitchen and under the fridge area.

the counters are white tile with white grout.
the light fixture keeps burning bulbs...literally they smoke.
we try not to use it, and it's getting replaced, you know...soon.
like everything else.

this is the den, but we've made it our dining room and moved the chandelier in there.

there are sliders to the back over there on the right.

a couple days after we bought the house, when i finally had time to go see it, i ripped all the fake flowers and lace curtains off.
that felt gooooood.
i quickly followed that up by taking a hammer to that wood bit over the window and unscrewing those shutters.
ahhhhhh....breathe house, breathe.

the mantel easily pulled off, and jon unscrewed that screen covering the fireplace.
ok, i WISH i would have taken a picture of allllllll the junk hiding in that fireplace!
fake plug-in logs, pinecones, pine scented air fresheners, greenery, fake flowers, MOSS, dirt, dust, spiders....

jon headed over one night early on and ripped out the carpet, pulled all the tack strips and staples, filled all the holes.
it's not real wood, but much better than the carpet.

dream??
rip out soffit, take out all cabinets, insert island, start over :) right?

i did take off all the dated hardware and upper cabinet doors.

the bank of cabinets over the peninsula were boogers to get down.
it looks so much bigger it's incredible.
brighter too.

now begins a look at the pain of beauty.
it might be due in part to starting about 15 projects all at the same time.
i guess i like the thrill of starting.
the brick took quite awhile, and quite a few stages, and really hurt my hand.

it's a good thing jon was out of town all month.
he came home to it all done.

primer and 3 coats of paint on all drawers, doors and cabinets...

...in the dining room.

did you know that kids can eat corn dogs and chicken nuggets EVERY dinner and not care?
did you know you can still use your refridgerator, even when it's pulled out?
did you know it's really fun to use zoo pals paper plates and bowls in the summer time and not wash dishes?