DIY KITCHEN REMODEL PLAN

I'm in an awkward phase of home ownership that I'm sure many of you can relate to, we're going to renovate in the near future so I don't want to spend money on remodels that are going to be done again...but not so near in the future that I can live with it how it is.

Our hosue has not been updated since the 1950s, the kitchen is original. After emptying our savings to buy our house, there was nothing left for a remodel. So, I slapped white paint on eveyrthing, made faux counters, put some peel and stick down and called it a day. We could revisit in the future when we had more money.

Well, as the countertop slowly warps in and the cabinets no longer close, we're at a precipice. We're still a few years from a big remodel, but we can't live iwth it how it is. I was going over options one night when it came to me, let's just do it ourselves. I mean the whole thing. I could customize it to fit in the small space, make it functional in the mean time, and if/when we remodel I can use what we made here in our planned in-law. Once again the goal is to do it on a very small budget, so I'm going to layout my plans here and I'll let you know how it all plays out. We had planned this prior to social distancing, so we're going to try to make the best of being quite literally stuck at home and use this time to build as many components of the kitchen as possible. 

Ready to make a kitchen from scratch with me? I have no idea if I can do this, but I'm sure going to try! Here's what we're starting with (it's all getting demo'd):

The only usable counter space is to the left of the sink. To access that little bit to the right I would have to squeeze next to the stove.

My kitchen is very narrow. I'd love to open it up but we actually have a central fireplace which sits between the living room and kitchen. It's a cool feature but it means there's no way to expand the kitchen or open it up completely. Ironically, this was a very "open" floor plan for the 50's.

Our house before we moved in. We painted the cabinets, added peel and stick floors and painted the backsplash and countertops- but it's all the original stuff.

So I am stuck with the measurements as they are. I'd love an island, but it won't fit. Here are a few things I want in this "new" kitchen:

Storage for appliances: We have all the slow cooker/instant pot/airfryer appliciances and we actually use them all. Currently though they are sitting on a metal bakers rack. It's inconvenient and they look awful. So I need storage for all the "things." I need it to be acessible and I need counterspace on which to perch them while we use them.

More food storage: Right now my food is in the same cabinet with my dishes and then spread out in tiny high cabinets throughout the kitchen. I need it more accessible and more space to organize.

I also need somehwere to store bread, we love it, we buy a lot of it. It's currently in my microwave. So you have to take it all out everytime you want to microwave something.

We also have a lot of produce- potatoes, peppers, onions, etc. They're all in a basket piled on top of my microwave. I never know what I have and then it goes bad- it needs to go somewhere that I don't see it all the time but can easily access it. 

Pan storage: My sheet pans are currently in a cabinet that only opens halfway because it bumps into the stove, I need better access and frankly that whole corner to just go away.

​ My pots and pans for cooking are stacked one on top of the other in a cabinet, to take out one you have to take them all out, I need a better solution.

Counters space next to the stove for resting spoons and just general convenience.

Dish storage: Again we currently have half of one cabinet for this, we just need...more.

Seating: It would be nice to have a place to sit at a counter.

Trash/Recycling: It currently just sits out and drives me crazy. 

A wine cabinet/fridge is a want but it would be nice! I'd also like to keep my (or some) coffee bar.

My husband's one request (added after the kitchen was planned out) was butcher block somewhere... that doesn't fit with my design but I'm going to make it work.

So here's what I've come up with:

​An "L-shaped kitchen" with a peninsula since we can't fit an island. The peninsula cabinet will be made up of a corner base and a 15 inch base with drawers. The corner base will have access from both sides so we can house all of our gadgets and have them easy to grab.

The three drawers are more than enough because that's all we have now. The top two will be storage the bottom will be linens.

If it fits we will do a wine rack/fridge next to the dishwasher. 

The gap bewteen the counter and the stove will be a 6" cabinet to house sheet pans and muffin tins.

Toe kick drawers in as many bases as possible to store platters and seasonal plates.
​

 Even though the peninsula is small I think we can fit two stools at it for some extra seating. 

Cabinets: 've decided to build all of the cabinets myself. Why? Well one it's more affordable, but mostly customization. Since it's such an odd size I want the ability to make these cabinets whatever size works best for us. 

Farmhouse Sink: I'm going to try to make it myself, I figure if I'm successful I save a bunch, if not...I didn't waste too much and will concede and buy it. My plan is to make it out of concrete and paint and glaze it. We'll see how it goes, but I'm excited by the idea. 

Floor: I'd like to replace the peel and stick (which is over orange linoleum) with something that looks like the wood that exists in my house already. I did the floor in our camper so I feel pretty confident to do this myself.

Tile: I did the back splash in our camper so again I feel pretty confident to do this. That being said, I've never done this large of an area so time will tell how it works out.

I plan to make a "faux hood" to go over the vent fan. 

Paint: I think it's a no brainer I'll do this myself. 

Hardware/faucet: I'm still looking on Amazon but I'll probably order the faucet from Amazon and the hardware from Lowes.

So here's the working plan in order:
Make all cabinets
Demo current kitchen
Replace floors
Install Cabinets
Back splash
Vent Hood

Can I do it? I have no idea, if you don't hear from me for a while check back friends, or send help...or wine...lots of wine. 

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