The Whole Story

This is the original kitchen. I look at this picture and think "Oh, it actually looks good". But do not be fooled by it's deceptive veneer. The cabinets were falling apart, painted with layers of aged, peeling (most likely lead) paint, the drawer fronts often pulled off the drawers when I went for something as simple as a spoon, and the counter top and back splash were cracking laminate that looked like a smoker's coffee stained teeth. The microwave outlet didn't work and the only other counter top outlet was wired with the bathroom light (ie: bathroom light off, outlet off).

Pretty? Sure. It is only a facade people! Behind this sink was a festering cancer-causing black mold issue that kicked me and the kids out of the house for a week and Billy many, many more hours of labor.

This was the dining room. The doorway to the left led to the kitchen. The north wall is the one we knocked out.

This is the other side of the pre-knocked out wall. I think Billy had ripped off some of the paint, but I hurried in to take a "before" shot. The purpose of the wall-ectomy was to create more open, roomy feel to our old, cloistered house.

Here is the ceiling. Take note of the supporting beam. This beam would eventually cause us (BILLY) many hours of blood, sweat, and tears.

Yes, we're cute (Ang, Steph, Me), but thats not why I'm showing you this picture. Look behind us. See the exposed ceiling and beam, and the makeshift post holding it all up? We lived with this post for awhile, delaying the inevitable, hoping one morning we would wake up and find a new kind of Santa Claus midnight delivery.
It never happened.

When we tore down the wall, and connected the dining room to the kitchen we discovered the two ceilings were at different heights. The dining room was about 3/4 inch lower and the slanted ceiling in front of you shows yet another hiccup in the plan. We had three ceiling sections, all at different heights. Somehow, we had to make all three a flat plane.

s This is the north wall in the kitchen. We tore out the craptacular bead board, and the odd (not cool) built-in book shelf was eventually covered with a 5/8 inch piece of drywall (that I did all by myself, thank you very much). I normally love built-ins and old house character, but this bookshelf had shelves ever 4 or so inches. Nothing decorative or practical could fit into this space, so it ended up being a vertical and very visible junk drawer.

This just shows how we had to live in and operate in this kitchen during the remodel. It was very interesting. I think I did a pretty good job being patient, but I know Billy was amazingly patient with me. I liked to relocate, or hide, his tools during the week. Things always got lost and disheveled and one time he even found an empty birth control pack with all of his "stuff". He wasn't too happy about that!

More "in process" pictures.

I found four boxes of American Olean tile on Craigslist for 20 bucks. I knew we had to pounce of the deal, so we did. Eight hours later we had a tile back splash.
This picture doesn't do what I am trying to show justice. I'll just tell you. About a month ago my Dad, Scott, Ross, and Shannon spent an entire Saturday helping up out. I cannot come close to expressing how grateful I am for their help! My Dad and Billy worked exclusively on the beam and post problem, while Shannon, Ross, and I drywalled an entire room and ceiling. Shannon and I were quite the team. Ross was good too. Scott had a bad broken toe and was the babysitter. He held Isla the whole time and now they are intimate lovers. I think she may love Scott more than the Grandmas (sorry Mom).

Again, crappy picture. But this is new dry wall. Yeah.

OKAY..........


So, here is the new ceiling. Thanks to Billy and my Dad, it looks awesome.


Now, we aren't done yet. We spent the last four days painting the family room, dining room, hallway, kitchen, and all ceilings. Grandpa Bill slaved away for two days, and he and Connie picked the kids and dropped them off on Saturday so we could prostitute our souls to the paint job. Jessica also surprised us and came by to help out. I woke up Saturday morning and saw her standing above my bed, dressed in grungy Saturday attire and a bandanna. I felt like all would be okay and I would survive the chaos. It was a Christmas miracle, as they say.

Our house is a disaster after the past few days, but it is painted! All we have left now is:

1. Sand and stain Kitchen hardwood floors.
2. Put up dining room and kitchen trim.
3. Misc. finish work
4. I think the microwave and disposal need to be wired in, but that only takes a few minutes apparently.
5. Oh yeah, and the upper cabinets need their handles.

I think that is it?? (crossing my fingers)