the kitchen

Before I dive into kitchen details, I just have to tell you:

Yesterday, I stood up at church and sprained my ankle.

No, I didn't trip on anything. No, I wasn't wearing heels. Yes, I was in the front row.

I went to stand and my ankle just gave out. You see... I'm just that talented.

I'm resting and icing and doing all the right first-48-hour things in a desperate attempt to be ready to don my 3" heels for my sister's wedding this Saturday. Because the show must go on!

Anyway. About the kitchen.

Much of the 1850s farmhouse is full of the unadulterated quirks and idiosyncrasies of an old house that I absolutely love and can't imagine living without. The kitchen was no exception: a quirky built-in cabinet above the refrigerator, a lovely old window that overlooks the mudroom, uneven walls and floors (yes, I really do love uneven walls and floors), etc. But while having those things and offering a bigger footprint than what I'd previously had, it also lacked a lot of the practical functionality an updated kitchen like the one I was leaving provides.

Our previous kitchen was bright and cheerful and wonderfully updated, but it lacked the space to include many eager hands in meal preparation, and so that was one of the things I was really, really hoping for if we were to move to a new house. Maybe it's because the past 12 years of motherhood have flown by, but I can't help but think ahead to days when I will have grown sons, daughters, children-in-law, and grandchildren all crowding in to help finish the turkey, cook the veggies, mash the potatoes, whip the cream. I want to have space for them all!

The good news with the bigger footprint of the new kitchen is that it has the potential to be both functional and large enough to readily accommodate a big family.

But not without some work!

The original footprint of the kitchen was an L-shape, with the mudroom in back and the front porch in front (go figure), the dining room on one side and the family room on the other. On top of all those doorways, there is also a little nook (right in the corner of the L) that leads to the basement and provides a nice bit of additional kitchen storage. While both "legs" of the L are a generous 19 feet long, the multitude of doorways makes the room a little hard to use efficiently.

The mudroom was originally a back porch that was enclosed, thus the window that looks out into the mudroom. I love the bit of natural light that window provides (along with just plain old loving old windows!) and so we'll be leaving it exactly as is.

The above window and door are along the front of the house. The dining room door is just to the right (doorway hidden by refrigerator). The family room is along the left; there is a doorway into to the left of the front window, as well as one on the bottom of the lefthand wall (not in the picture).

The first time we looked at the house, I wasn't sure if there would be a way to have the kitchen more functional for a handful of chefs while also providing some space for those who might like to just congregate and visit while cooking is taking place (because, let's be honest, everyone always wants to be in the kitchen!), but within a few days of having looked at the house for the first time, the wheels in my brain were turning and I began to wonder if we couldn't remove the wall between the kitchen and family room. Another trip back to see the house and a little investigating left us confident that we could do it and that it would be a worthwhile change. Not only would it open up the kitchen tremendously, but the second staircase in the house that was previously located along that wall could come out and make the family room also feel more spacious.

Those two doorways on either side of that second staircase lead into the kitchen.

Looking into the kitchen (that line in the floor is where the wall-- which ended up NOT being a supporting wall-- YAY!-- used to be). We ended up gutting the entire kitchen in order to reconfigure electrical, plumbing, and propane lines. The front porch is to the left, the dining room ahead, and the mudroom on the right.

In addition to reconfiguring the layout of items along the walls, we'll be adding a 42"x78" island right in the center of that space.

I've had fun dreaming and sketching and looking forward to this thing coming to life, but I rely heavily on those who actually know what they're doing to make it all happen. Thank goodness for an amazing cabinet maker who happens to be a friend and fellow church member, in addition to a husband who has spent almost every waking moment of his Christmas vacation gutting, framing, running electrical, and more!

Hopefully at the end of it all, our new construction will do justice to the history of this home, merging both modern function with the old style of the house that I so love.