Today I had planned to talk about demo, but realized I want to share the design and demolition plans I had for the kitchen. When I work on a project one motto that comes to mind is 'begin with the end in mind'. If I know what the end goal is, that guides and shapes all of my design, carpentry, and demo decisions. It also helps me map out an order of projects.
Design Plans
The end goal of design scheme for the kitchen was white painted cabinets, natural wood, gold hardware and fixtures, black windows, and PLANTS! I walked around the house with samples trying to envision how it would all work together.
I also ordered most of my materials before work began to coordinate finishes and so that the project wouldn't be held up for the trades I did hire. ( Like this sink that was on back order for months because there had been a fire at the plant.)
I'm going to do another post about all of the design selections, but before getting to the pretty finishes and fixtures, I wanted to reconfigure some areas of the kitchen to help it function better and update it aesthetically. I had three major areas that I wanted to demo and three major carpentry projects that would help accomplish those goals.
Demo and Carpentry Plans
First, I wanted to remove the cabinets over the window. I thought it dated the kitchen and blocked a lot of the natural light. Removing them would allow me to add sconces, tile the wall, and add floating shelves.
Second, I wanted remove the existing peninsula walls. It wasn't an actual cabinet, just two pieces of plywood. So by rebuilding it, I could add actual cabinetry on the side, in the picture below, to hold a microwave and create extra storage.
And finally, I wanted remove the half-depth refrigerator surround. This was a challenge to different contractors because these cabinets are not individual boxes. The framing runs across the entire length of the upper cabinets all the way over to the oven cabinet. I will walk thru how I dismantled it. But ultimately, I wanted to create a full-depth refrigerator surround. I didn't want to see the side of the fridge!
Below are the other pictures and sketches that helped to get my plans finalized.
So these are the decisions and plans leading up to pulling out a crowbar and beginning demolition on my kitchen. I believe DIY is possible for most of us. But it works best for me when I have a plan. So I take time to plan out what is the end result I'm hoping for. I search for inspiration on Pinterest, Instagram, and in magazines. I can't tell you how many photos I've saved and how many boards I've created, but that helps me narrow down the look I'm going for! Once you've got a plan, you're ready to get to work. So tomorrow, I promise, we're going to delve into Demo Day! Let me know if you have any questions.
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