Why

Lessons from the Kitchen continued

Now that there is no turning back, I have been reflecting on the reasons we decided to remodel the kitchen.  It came down to four things:  (1) paint chips (2) broken counter top (3) impossible corner and (4) move over.


When I bought my house 16 years ago, the kitchen cabinets were still the almost black-brown stained wood that was the rage when the house was built in the '70's.  Dark, dreary and not my style.  So during my first year in the house I took on a painting project.  I sanded and painted the cabinets white.  They looked clean, new and bright.  Over the course of time, fingernails and belt buckles have chipped or scratched the paint.  The cabinets began to look worn and badly in need of refreshing.  I wasn't about to paint them again.

The broken counter top happened three  years ago when we replaced a window.  The installers had to chip away at the tile counter top in order to take out the old and install the new.  It was the beginning of maybe we need a new kitchen thoughts.  We never did replace those tiles.

We have a corner cabinet that is impossible to see into, let  alone reach into.  Stuff gets put back there and disappears into a black hole.  What were they thinking when they designed this thing?  About once a year I would empty it out and was amazed at what I would find.  Obviously, I didn't need that stuff very much, but that's not the point.
 
And finally, counter top space.  Whenever my husband and I cook together we are always jockeying for space.  Move over!  I need room to work!  I mean it's wonderful that we like to cook together but it's also annoying to share the counter top.


And so we come to the present.  It took three years to decide that we would not spend our money on our annual big vacation and do the kitchen instead.  I would rather go on adventures but it was time to focus on the home front.  Really.