Today I'm going to give you a little update on the kitchen. I have gone through about 30 different scenarios regarding what to do with this space and I'm really excited about what we finally are doing.
In the first few weeks after buying the house I had a lot of people come through to give me bids on various jobs. Everyone had an opinion on what I should do. Even though it was like drinking from a fire hose, it was really good because I got a ton of ideas. Some unfortunately just didn't end up being feasible at the present time. They would have taken a lot more money and time then I could afford to spend right now. The big idea that many wanted me to do was to knock down the wall holding the pantry and refrigerator.
The doorway to the right of the refrigerator space is the one that leads to the study.
Close up of the door.
Inside the study.
It would have been a nice space to have. It would have made the whole room seem so much bigger. I was planning on make it into a sitting area where my kids could play and watch TV while I made dinner and cooked in the kitchen. By opening the wall up I would have had to find a place for the fridge. The only realistic space would have been to the left of the sink which would have required me to remove my peninsula and turn it to make an island.
Can you picture it?
I know it would have worked and it would have been fun. I was ready to do it until we realized that the beam supporting the loft that is above didn't run the entire span of the kitchen, meaning the walls of the pantry and refrigerator were supporting. I could have had a structural engineer come in, things moved to have made it work, but it just would have been too much. At the height of all of this, I had a guy in who has done several kitchen remodels and flips and he said that a kitchen remodel of this extent was a "want" and not a "need". Since this house has a lot of "needs" he advised me to hold off until I could just focus on the kitchen. It was great advice and I listened to him.
However, by not knocking out the wall I was able to do a project I had intended on all along. I did end up deciding to take down the pantry doors and push back the back side of the pantry about 20 inches to create what I'm calling a "Baking Center". I'm so excited!!!
I'm able to do this because in the study is a closet space just on the other side of the pantry. We started work on it this week and her is the progress so far.
The view from the kitchen side with the wall knocked out looking into the study.
The view from the study looking into the kitchen.
Unfortunately there was venting in the wall, but it was fairly easy to move back with the wall.
The new wall up and ready to have the venting moved.
New wall in with sheet rock from kitchen side.
New wall in with sheet rock on study side.
I'm so excited for this space and have some great ideas in my head on what it's going to look like. Hopefully they come together.
Are you wondering what I'm going to do with the study? Well I lost my little pantry by doing this so the study is now going to be my HUGE walk-in pantry!! It's going to be awesome. My husband first thought the space was too big for a pantry. But I don't think you can ever have too big of a pantry. Am I right ladies?
There you have one of many of my ideas for this space. I can't wait to show you more. Have a great day friends. Go chase your dreams. It can be amazing!!
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