Last week I asked if you’d be interested in seeing the messy middle of our kitchen remodel–instead of just the pretty before and afters. The response was overwhelmingly positive. So today I’ve got all the dirty details for you. I’ll try not to be too wordy and let the photos speak for themselves.
Before We Even Started
Sept 13-Oct 25, 2019
When we bought Acorn House, we knew a kitchen remodel was in our future. However, the “plan” was to wait to remodel until after we’d renovated the second floor (which had been turned into apartments in the 1950’s.) The idea was that the kitchen was functional–if not practical and using the space well. The bedrooms, and entire second floor were unlivable. We would address that first–and get our bedroom moved out of the laundry room.
Then, one October day I heard a crash in the kitchen during nap time and all our plans changed. The cabinets had fallen off the wall. (Read all about it here.) Now a kitchen redo (which would also touch the living room and dining room) was priority.
During this time God showed me how to loosen my grip on “my plans.” He taught me to be flexible and hopeful, even when things get toppled upside down.
Planning A Better Kitchen
Oct 30-Dec 1, 2019
We hadn’t anticipated renovating the kitchen so soon, so we didn’t have plans drawn up or ready. And, in all the years we’ve worked on old houses, we’ve never created a kitchen from scratch.
Even though we were anxious to get a better, functional, safer, intact kitchen built–we didn’t want to rush it. We looked at all (and I do mean all) of our cabinet options. We sat down with lots of reps. I looked at books and drew our plan to scale on the walls. Derek ran numbers. We discussed and prayed over how we could best steward our time, money and skills–while balancing work and family. You can read all about our cabinet buying options and process here. (Our cabinets are from Medallion, ordered from Minot Lumber & Hardware.)
During this time, God showed to live, thrive and be joyful without excess. What we had in the kitchen was sparse, but we ate dinner as a family and had peace that we weren’t rushing the process.
Demolition
Dec 19-Dec 20, 2019
By the time we actually started cutting into walls and tearing things apart it was Christmas time. (We waited to start demo until closer to the time cabinets would arrive.)
I cut rough openings in the drywall one afternoon while Gideon’s favorite babysitter was at the house with us. (We could never have completed this project without her help to supervise Gideon while I did big, messy work.) I’ll never forget how excited he was to see me peek through the walls as the pieces fell away.
Removing the walls exposed an unexpected duct running through a section of wall we had planned to open. That would need to be moved.
This ushered in a very dirty portion of the project. Drywall dust was everywhere. No matter how much I swept and moped and wiped, things were chronically dusty.
During this time, God showed me that decor and glitz is not what makes Christmas special. Christmas 2019 didn’t look how I had imagined, but it was plenty sweet and special. We made cookies. Friends came for dinner. We put up decorations and soaked in the season. Without the pressure of having a “perfect” home for the holiday, our hearts were more fully aligned with the True Reason to celebrate.
Floors and Ducting
Jan 6-Jan 15, 2020
Next there was a bit of waiting to do. Waiting for cabinets to arrive. Waiting for an HVAC contractor to come move the duct. But that was okay, because we were busy enjoying Christmas.
As soon as we returned from holiday travel we got back to work. I took out the tile flooring. Although it was in good shape, we knew it was wise to extend hard flooring into the carpeted dining room while we remodeled.
Once the flooring was out, we needed to level some very uneven spaces. Derek and I did this during nap time one day. This season of the project was really hard. There was a week or two when we had nothing in the kitchen. I used the uprooted dishwasher as my old counter space. The water was turned off. So to clean up, I did dishes upstairs in the old apartment kitchen–which also doubled as our workshop.
During this time, God taught me about perseverance. He taught me to be joyful, even happy while the heart of our home was in chaos. I learned about teamwork in marriage and taking things step by step.
Header, Drywall, and Cabinets
Jan 18-Jan 29, 2020
There was a weird time when our new cabinets were in, but we hadn’t yet removed the wall that would open up a peninsula. This was nice because we could use some of the cabinets. But once the duct was moved, we had to move the cabinets to finish opening the wall.
Derek and I took Gideon to his babysitter’s house and spent an afternoon building a header to support the load bearing wall between the kitchen and dining room. After the wall was open, we tackled hanging drywall. Then I took over taping, texturing and painting.
Once lower cabinets were all in place, Derek started hanging the uppers, and the countertops were fitted.
During this section of the project we found out Derek would be leaving the country with little notice. We worked hard to get as much done before he left as possible.
During this time, God taught me to keep moving, ask for help and savor time together.
Floors
Feb 7-Feb 12
With Derek gone, I was a bit overwhelmed with what still needed to be done. I started by laying part of the kitchen floor. Then I leveled the dining room floor (which included a lot of prep work). Once the floor was leveled, I continued laying flooring.
Gideon enjoyed all the time I spent on the floor. This was a fun project to work on together. But I do distinctly remember talking to Derek on the phone and bursting into tears while laying flooring. I was overwhelmed and bitter that he needed to be gone.
During this time, God taught me to let go of bitterness and instead, focus on the task at hand. I was caught up in the “poor me’s”, but God wanted me to live in joy–despite the circumstances.
Counters and Finishes
Feb 14-Mar 12
Why did these finishes take so long? Well, shortly after the countertops arrived, I discovered I was pregnant.
This was one more overwhelming news. Exciting, but also overwhelming. I’m not at expert at carrying babies, but with my first pregnancy I had about a week between a positive test and feeling completely sick.
A friend helped (read: did it all) hang the pass through cabinet above the peninsula and crown molding.
With things mostly put back together I hosted a 2nd birthday party for Gideon. My parents arrived shortly after and helped with finishing touches. While I rested and tried to keep my food down, my dad installed handles, a new sink and molding. My mom watched Gideon and spent every evening helping me unload boxes of kitchen supplies I hadn’t seen since leaving our last home in June 2019.
Having my kitchen finally unpacked felt so luxurious. During this time, God taught me to move forward during difficult seasons and appreciate friends and family more deeply. He taught me all things are in His hands, and all gifts are from Him.
Finished {pretty much}
March 15, 2020
Even after the “finishing touches” were in place, there was still some waiting to do. The appliance garage arrived the wrong size, so it took weeks to get a new one. Once it did arrive, it didn’t have finished, white sides. We waited again.
Eventually it all came together. And by the time Derek returned the kitchen remodel chapter was closed.
This wasn’t a quick turn around. From the start, it was well thought out. And time consuming. Tackling projects this way isn’t for everyone. I get it. But for us, it works. (For side by side before and after photos see here.)
Derek and I both work. I care for our son during the day. We cherish time with friends and are dedicated to prioritizing ministry, fellowship and connection above projects. It was so hard living with the heart of our home torn up for so long. But this really was a sweet season, spent working together, learning together and growing closer to God through the process.
