The Kitchen - In progress

I wanted to share one of the first rooms in the house where we really made big changes. My two options were the kitchen and master bath. You see, lately we've had a lot of issues with this renovation. I will try to keep my disappointment with those issues to a minimum. We have literally turned into those people you see on HGTV, or DIY that have problem after problem. Some are with the house, and some, unfortunately are with the work we've already had done on the house. 

I decided NOT to post about the master bathroom - because today my brand new shower was torn out while I wrote this post. I listened to hammering and banging all day, and the poor guys re-doing my shower felt so bad for me. They kept telling me they expected me to cry at any second over how bad our problem really was every time they updated me on their progress.... Needless to say, and I'll post more about that problem later - the key is to make sure you hire someone that knows Exactly what they're doing; and that they do it right the first time!

As for the kitchen, its not nearly as bad of shape, we started the remodel and began kitchen demolition in March, let me show you the kitchen before-

Yes, 1980's all the way! What you're seeing is indoor/outdoor carpet with sponge painted wallpaper. Everything still worked, but we just couldn't see ourselves living in this kitchen. (Actually I told Brian, the only way we were even going to consider buying the house, was if the kitchen was the first thing to go!)

Unfortunately for us, the demo came while we were (I was) planning a wedding. So you can see Exactly what we were doing (while) planning a wedding, here's the demo underway...

That was not fun....

As you can see, we took a wall down and opened that bad boy up. Of all the things we've done in the house, this was by far the BEST decision we've made. And trust me, we've made a few, Very Bad decisions while working on this house. But hey, that's only making us stronger right?

People come over and comment on the amazing new kitchen, and while yes, it IS amazing, it's not finished. It's August and only Brian and are fully aware of what (doesn't work) and still needs to be done. 

A few details about the kitchen, we put in hardwoods to match the rest of the house. Our friend Kyle and his crew did such amazing work and we are so thankful that he suggested these floors. And Thankfully I have a Really sweet husband, he let us get new Viking appliances! We had custom cabinets made, those are still a work in progress. The guy who made them did a really amazing job, but there were a few hiccups that we're still trying to address. (I need a new piece for over my range, it was too small for our hood) and the hardware is not on yet. 
However, Unfortunately the biggest problem we've had has been electrical and plumbing issues (I won't go into the details, as I said earlier, I have to keep some of the frustrations to myself) But...if you could just imagine having a brand new Viking range and not being able to use it...well...that's where we are. It's actually been okay, we've taught ourselves to Grill this summer!  And we are really Really getting good at using the grill! And we also have to be careful with our sink these days as the pipes will bust loose at any moment. But again, its all part of making sure you have it done right the first time. If you read by first post, you'll know I mentioned I have a plumber here once a week. 

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed a small peak into the renovation of our kitchen! I don't mean to write any of this to bog you down with our problems, rather I am sharing these posts to let our friends and family in on our lives these days. And hey, we LOVE our kitchen, its where we spend ALL of our time (besides the deck)!

Up next, I might take you into my living room - the bathroom will need a lot more work before I can share that room! Again, we feel very blessed, not only to have each other but that we are able to go through this journey because we are learning a lot from each other, and learning to trust that we'll get through this - together. 
We're just praying the renovation will pick up soon..and by pick up, I mean not be so heartbreaking to deal with every day. 
Have a great weekend, I'm off to start the grill :)