Our Dream Kitchen - Phase II

The home we chose to live in was a foreclosed home that was flipped. Because of this we reaped the benefits of an updated kitchen and bathrooms, new carpet and work done in the basement. This worked for us in a major way since we wanted a home that was not only one we could grow and raise a family in but was also move-in ready. We wanted to be able to make the changes we wanted to. When this house came on the market we jumped on it and put in an offer only four days or so after it was listed. We were blessed to be able to get it.

There were two things that we knew we wanted to do when we first moved in. One was to put in central air as there was only an attic fan for cooling. The other was to open up the kitchen which was currently closed off from the living room and dining room. Since the former owner, the one who flipped the house, bought the counter tops and cabinets from a kitchen outlet and we had moved in during the winter we decided to do the kitchen first.

Kitchen Before

We really like an open floor plan and wanted that for our home. In order to achieve this we had to remove the two walls that separated the kitchen from the living room and the dining room. Since we were doing renovations that involved the kitchen I wanted to add cabinets and counter space. I am all about having lots of room, I'm a messy cook and need it. Plus there was no formal pantry so I knew the extra cabinets would be a huge help as well.

Living Room Before - The Kitchen is behind the wall on the right.

Dining Room Before - The Kitchen is behind the wall on the left.

The solution was to the cut the walls in half. On the bottom half of the wall in the kitchen we put in new cabinets and then added a counter top. We now have an island in our kitchen. This gave us everything we wanted. An open floor plan, extra cabinets and counter space.This also made the kitchen feel a lot larger than it was.

Renovation Phase I Plan

Now after living in our home for some time we were ready to continue the kitchen renovations. We chose a paint color, Valspar's Twilight Jungle, which is an olive green color. Dustin did the painting in record time. He also installed lights for underneath the cabinets and put in new switch plate covers. We had considered a backsplash, had even gone and bought it along with the needed supplies, but in the end decided against it. While we love the way it looked we felt that we'd rather have the rest of the living area painted as well than to have an awesome kitchen that didn't "match" the rest of the living space. In the end we decided we didn't miss the backsplash as much as we thought we would.

After Renovation Phase I

The plan is to complete our dream kitchen in phases with the painting and cabinet lights being phase two. Phase III, which will happen eventually, will be replacing the linoleum floor with either hardwood or tile. We might even add that backsplash we like. For now the focus was about adding some color to our formerly neutral home.

After Renovation Phase II

 Once the kitchen was finished Dustin started on painting the rest of the living areas. We chose to go with a gold color also known as Valspar's Sandy Cove.

We also found and purchased a new to us dining set from Dustin's co-worker. We use to have a round dining set and I will never purchase one again. Unlike a rectangular table where you can squish more in, a round table is very hard to seat more than four. With this set we now have room when we invite family and friends over. Though the biggest bonus according to Dustin is that he can now sit at the head of the table. ;-)


Now that the main areas are done we are slowly making headway on Reid's room. His room has been painted, the crib set up and the curtains hung. Just a few more things and the room is complete and thankfully, our current decorating binge is done.