Sep 10 2012

Ch-Ch-Changes

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There was only one room in our entire house that my husband, Marc, and I didn’t love… our kitchen. Unlike the rest of the house, that features big open and airy rooms, our kitchen, by comparison is very small. It was almost like when they designed the houses in our development they figured no one would use their kitchens much, so why waste the space…. For the majority of my neighbors, they were right on! However, Marc and I are the exception… we both love to cook!

For years we discussed renovating the kitchen and removing the wall that separate it from our dining room. While we loved the idea of doing this, we didn’t love the idea of the massive construction that would follow. And besides, there was a furry creature that wouldn’t have been happy either. So we left as is….

But now it is time for a change. And we are preceding full speed ahead!

As with most renovations, our little project took a life of its own…. What started out as just removing a wall in the dining room led to us deciding to move our front door (from the side of the house to the front), changing the driveway and entrance way (which of course includes changing all the landscaping), removing upper cabinets to make way for additional windows, adding an island, and well, you get the point..

Marc, who missed his calling in life, planned the entire project. Check out the blue tape. That is the layout for the side wall.

When he came up with the idea of moving the interior garage door to make room for the refrigerator, I couldn’t imagine how it would fit. But it did! And the room looks bigger even though we did actually make it smaller by building out…

While we have only just begun I have already noticed a huge change. The main work doesn’t start for another few weeks….and I can’t wait!

Is there any project you are dreaming of?

Tags: another day in paradise, construction, home renovations, husbands and wives, life, the kitchen project

42 comments

Trooppetrie

September 10, 2012 at 6:20 am (UTC -4)

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My husband and I did a kitchen make over a few years ago. We did it together and it was awesome to work together. We did not remove walls. i cannot wait to see the final kitchen.
1. hilaryg
  
  September 11, 2012 at 1:12 pm (UTC -4)
  
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  Pam – working together doing repairs is the best. Marc and I have been doing it for years. Not only is there a huge sense of satisfaction when you finish the project, you make so many great memories!
Marg

September 10, 2012 at 7:34 am (UTC -4)

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Oh my gosh, that is one huge project. I am exhausted just thinking about all the work but good for you two for doing it. It will be so rewarding for you to have done it yourselves. That is just terrific. And Alex is watching you the whole way. Take care.
1. hilaryg
  
  September 11, 2012 at 1:16 pm (UTC -4)
  
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  Marg – I am exhausted thinking about it too! It will be quite the project… Marc and I are having a lot of fun planning and doing some of the work…. We can’t do all of it I know Alex is looking down at us the whole way… It is strange seeing the house transform – especially around where his food dish was…
Old Kitty

September 10, 2012 at 7:44 am (UTC -4)

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Oh wow!!! It’s going to be beautiful!!! I mean look at that wonderful shiny fridge!! Can’t wait to see the finished design – so so so so exciting!! Take care
x
1. hilaryg
  
  September 11, 2012 at 1:17 pm (UTC -4)
  
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  Old Kitty – I think it will be wonderful. Especially with the addition of new windows. The natural light will be amazing!
Beth Ann Chiles

September 10, 2012 at 7:56 am (UTC -4)

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Wow! I mean WOW!!! What a massive project!!! It is going to be so fabulous when it is done but WOW! I am not very good at living in construction zones so we have never really done major renovations in any of our homes after we have moved in. A few projects we did prior to moving in but nothing major post move in! When we lived in Chris’s dad’s house and had 3 bathrooms rennovated it about did me in—guys in and out–out and in—cats locked in a bedroom—-sharing facilities—oh the agony of it all! But we survived and they did a great job just like we wanted. We have thought about doing some counter change outs in our kitchen and bathroom here but haven’t taken the jump yet. Maybe I will wait and see how yours turns out……:-)
1. hilaryg
  
  September 11, 2012 at 1:19 pm (UTC -4)
  
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  Beth Ann – wow is right.. This is MAJOR! Marc and I love doing remodeling. He is very handy and most times we do the work ourselves. This time, the project is too big, but we are doing a lot of it! When the major work starts it will be very hard to live in my house. We will not be able to use the kitchen for about a month. We are lucky that my next door neighbors don’t live at the beach all year round so we will be able to use their kitchen a little so we don’t have to eat every meal out…
Brian

September 10, 2012 at 9:05 am (UTC -4)

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Oh my, that is going to be so amazing!
1. hilaryg
  
  September 11, 2012 at 1:19 pm (UTC -4)
  
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  Brian – I sure hope so!
caren gittleman

September 10, 2012 at 10:01 am (UTC -4)

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OMG I can’t wait to watch how this progresses!!!

Do you ever watch HGTV? One of my favorite shows is The Property Brothers, twins…one is a contractor and the other is a realtor. They convince people to buy homes that need renovating in order to get their “dream home” The renovations are AMAZING! Another great show is “Love It Or List It” where a family has a “wish” list, a designer renovates part of their home while a realtor tries to get them to move instead. Some fabulous renovations are on that show too.

We have a small kitchen in our condo and I would love to have the wall separating the kitchen and dining room knocked out to make it one open large space but I am not sure if our building code here would allow us to do that. I will live vicariously through you!
1. hilaryg
  
  September 11, 2012 at 1:21 pm (UTC -4)
  
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  Caren – I dont watch those shows, but they sound right up Marc & my alley. We have done a lot of work at the house over the years, but nothing this big. It is amazing how much you can do to transform space if you understand construction (I don’t but he does!). Live vicariously through me…
  1. caren gittleman
    
    September 11, 2012 at 1:57 pm (UTC -4)
    
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    You MUST check them out if you get a chance
    
    I fully intend to live vicariously through you! Can’t wait to see the progress!
    1. hilaryg
      
      September 12, 2012 at 11:06 am (UTC -4)
      
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      Caren – I can’t wait to share it… We are doing a little bit at a time but the major work will start in a few weeks and will take about a month…
Brenda

September 10, 2012 at 10:04 am (UTC -4)

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HOLY ……. when you say remodel you really mean re’move’ —- good luck.
Personally I can’t stand living through construction on my house… if I want to do that again I’m just going to move!
1. hilaryg
  
  September 11, 2012 at 1:21 pm (UTC -4)
  
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  Brenda I know.. remodel is an understatement – so is saying we are redoing our kitchen… It will be a rough month or so, but the results are going to be worth it. As will suffering through the mess!
Denise

September 10, 2012 at 10:25 am (UTC -4)

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Ow! That looks like quite a project! Good luck! We redid our bath a few years ago, and quite honestly, I’d have to gulp hard and close my eyes to go through that again. But…I sure wouldn’t mind a kitchen complete redo over.
1. hilaryg
  
  September 11, 2012 at 1:22 pm (UTC -4)
  
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  Denise – doing the actual construction is never fun – especially the dust that ends up everywhere… but the end result is worth it, I think…
silverneurotic

September 10, 2012 at 1:14 pm (UTC -4)

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I’m dreaming small…as in, I’m dreaming of cutting down on the clutter by 75%. Of course S.D. will NEVER let go of his stuff so I don’t think that that’s ever going to happen.
1. hilaryg
  
  September 11, 2012 at 1:22 pm (UTC -4)
  
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  Silver – you never know.. Start out small and slowly make some clutter disapear…
Shawn Becker

September 10, 2012 at 1:22 pm (UTC -4)

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Wow, is right!!
I can not wait to watch your progress!!!
We are toying with the idea of MOVING!!! We have been looking at homes with 2-5 acres..YIKES, so far we haven’t found our dream home. If we love the land, the house is beyond repair and would need to be gutted. At our ripe old ages, I do not know if that is the best option!
1. hilaryg
  
  September 11, 2012 at 1:24 pm (UTC -4)
  
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  Shawn – I can’t wait to be able to share the progress. I am so excited aobut the project… Moving – wow! 2-5 acres sounds amazing, but I think finding the right location is better than finding your dream house. Gutting is a lot of work, but you end up with exactly what you want….
jen @ grown in southern ground

September 10, 2012 at 8:52 pm (UTC -4)

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love the green! i just painted one wall in my bedroom “asparagus”.
1. hilaryg
  
  September 11, 2012 at 1:25 pm (UTC -4)
  
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  Jen – asparagus sounds pretty. Our house is very colorful!
Yvonne

September 10, 2012 at 9:32 pm (UTC -4)

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What a project! I’m sure it will be lovely.
1. hilaryg
  
  September 11, 2012 at 1:25 pm (UTC -4)
  
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  Yvonne – i sure hope so.. I am very excited about it!
Irene

September 10, 2012 at 9:59 pm (UTC -4)

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This is exciting! I hope things go smoothly and don’t snow ball! Looking forward to the end result!
1. hilaryg
  
  September 11, 2012 at 1:26 pm (UTC -4)
  
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  Irene – from your mouth to God’s ears.. We are prepared for things to snowball – especially finding water damage & leaks when they do the windows. Our contractor already built that into the price – so if we get lucky, we will get very lucky!
claire

September 11, 2012 at 9:28 am (UTC -4)

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Looks like it’ll be nice! We need to rearrange the other 3 bedrooms in the house: Elliot’s room will become our office, Isac’s room will become the play room and our old office with be their bedroom. We just have to get new carpet down ad start moving furniture!
1. hilaryg
  
  September 11, 2012 at 1:26 pm (UTC -4)
  
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  Claire – sounds like fun. I love moving furniture around and swaping rooms!
Lucy

September 11, 2012 at 11:49 am (UTC -4)

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Wow, it sounds exciting Our home is over 30 years old and we have a ton to do. The kitchen has been completed. We gutted it. Head to toe. Next is the master bath, a complete gut and hopefully starting in February!!! While I am gone,which is how we did the kitchen. I don’t do well with mess and it is best if I am not living in a construction mess,for all involved LOL. And then the list goes on and on. It will take a few years but we will get there!!
1. hilaryg
  
  September 11, 2012 at 1:28 pm (UTC -4)
  
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  Lucy – I think doing it slowly is the best way to do it. That is how we did our house. This is the biggest project we are doing at one time…. You are smart to have done your kitchen when you were away.. living through it will be hard – especially not being about to cook for a month..
Ryker's Boyz 'n' Allie

September 11, 2012 at 12:21 pm (UTC -4)

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Maxwell: *raises paw* Can I come help? I loooove playing with wires!
1. hilaryg
  
  September 11, 2012 at 1:28 pm (UTC -4)
  
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  Rykers Boyz n Allie – Tell maxwell to come on over!
William Kendall

September 14, 2012 at 1:57 pm (UTC -4)

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My word, you’ll be busy!
1. hilaryg
  
  September 17, 2012 at 6:39 pm (UTC -4)
  
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  Willima – you can say that again… it will be one BIG project!
Hilary

September 14, 2012 at 4:05 pm (UTC -4)

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Can I borrow Mark????????

Seriously, great job and can’t wait for the next installment!
1. hilaryg
  
  September 17, 2012 at 6:46 pm (UTC -4)
  
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  Hilary – you can borrow him, but only for a little while….
Deborah

September 19, 2012 at 5:30 pm (UTC -4)

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Can’t wait to see the changes however your kitchen is really pretty already but I understand wanting more space.
1. hilaryg
  
  September 20, 2012 at 6:32 am (UTC -4)
  
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  Deborah – I can’t wait to see it either… Thanks… I know our kitchen was nice before, and many people don’t understand why we are doing this, but the addition of the “dead” space is going to make a huge difference. Even now, with the kitchen a semi-construction zone missing walls it feels so much roomier and easier to use… and we cook and entertain a lot!
Jennifer

September 22, 2012 at 1:06 pm (UTC -4)

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The only thing I want to do is move into a bigger house so I can do projects like these! I love my house, I really do, but I want something that I can actually remodel here and there if I want to.
1. hilaryg
  
  September 23, 2012 at 8:05 am (UTC -4)
  
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  Jennifer – remodeling is fun – but it is amazing how much you can do with out adding additional space.. We live in a town house so we can’t build out – but taking away / moving walls makes a huge difference!