The kitchen in Wisteria Cottage was definitely not my idea of a dream kitchen. It was a dark, narrow, corridor kitchen in a double-wide from the early 80s. The pressboard cabinets, showing years of water damage, had been painted a boring shade of blue and were in terrible condition. The drawers had no guides and hung precariously in their openings, while upper cabinets in a variety of useless sizes looked as if they would fall right off the wall if one dared put any weight in them. Two short counter tops were both a cheap imitation of wood grain, but did not match except for various dings and chips that exposed crumbling insides. The old gas stove was directly across from the fridge and the two were separated by a very tight 30 inches. Cooking was difficult. The heat produced by the gas stove turned the narrow space into a stifling hot box. Add more than one person and it was very uncomfortable.
As we planned to gut the interior of the house, I was undaunted by the ugly, claustrophobic space. My design was beautiful on paper. I would tear the wall out between the kitchen and the den and open up the vaulted ceiling onto one space creating a large living room. The kitchen would be moved to the existing living room addition. The small, nondescript front porch would be turned into a laundry and storage room.
The upper cabinets were the first to go. My original assessment was correct and they literally fell apart as they were removed. I then covered everything with a clean white coat of paint. I thought it would do until major work could be done. Alas, the dream kitchen was not meant to be. Gradually, I have managed to make small changes like removing the wall, tearing out a useless furnace to make room for open shelving, buying stock unfinished oak cabinets, and new appliances. Three years later I still have not painted the cabinets. I did create a six-foot center island. You can see the counter top I created on My Home and Garden page.
I have not given up on the idea of swapping the kitchen and living room around. I guess after ten years, I should have changed my mind, but it does look good on paper.
As we planned to gut the interior of the house, I was undaunted by the ugly, claustrophobic space. My design was beautiful on paper. I would tear the wall out between the kitchen and the den and open up the vaulted ceiling onto one space creating a large living room. The kitchen would be moved to the existing living room addition. The small, nondescript front porch would be turned into a laundry and storage room.
The upper cabinets were the first to go. My original assessment was correct and they literally fell apart as they were removed. I then covered everything with a clean white coat of paint. I thought it would do until major work could be done. Alas, the dream kitchen was not meant to be. Gradually, I have managed to make small changes like removing the wall, tearing out a useless furnace to make room for open shelving, buying stock unfinished oak cabinets, and new appliances. Three years later I still have not painted the cabinets. I did create a six-foot center island. You can see the counter top I created on My Home and Garden page.
I have not given up on the idea of swapping the kitchen and living room around. I guess after ten years, I should have changed my mind, but it does look good on paper.