Bitchin' Kitchen

Yes, we are still alive. No, we didn't forget to finish the house. We saved the biggest project for last, no surprise. But it is now done. I can't believe it, but we have a kitchen. With cabinets. And a counter. There are some drawers too... It's great to not have to dust off the silverware anymore.

Let me start with a shout out to Corey Pollock of I and C Craftsmanship. If you are thinking about custom cabinetry, give them a call. They're super easy to work with and completely get the aesthetic. And when we thought about the quality/price comparison against something like Ikea... it was a pretty easy decision for us to spend a bit more and get custom fabrication, with way better materials, and exactly what we want. No regrets there.

Originally I didn't think I was going to have to completely open this wall. I guess I should have known better at this point. Opening the wall revealed we needed to call in the pros, both electrical and plumbing, to get us set first.


The old kitchen island. I made this out of scrap when we tore down a wall - I think about three years ago. I had no idea we'd use it for so long.


Knowing the cabinetry was getting installed in a couple days was a great motivator for getting the drywall up and primed.


Corey and crew, doing their thing.


Island and pantry cabinets in. I am still finishing priming the drywall on the sink wall at this point...


The four photos below show the progression.





And, done.


We went with storage instead of the bar counter.



Big, deep drawers fit all the pots and pans.


We went with 2x4" ceramic tile from Heath.


We've shuffled the house around a bit. The kitchen bump-out is now our dining room. This is because the old dining room is now the living room. That's because the old living room is now the office. That's because the old office is now the guest room. That's because the old guest room is now the... drum roll... babies room! (We still have 20 weeks to go).


Thus wraps up the great Cliff May Rancho Rehab of our last 4 years. I'll be back, as I have a couple ideas in the works - but major renovations on the rancho are now complete. Thanks to everyone who followed along as we tackled project after project. It was a lot longer ride than we bargained for, but no regrets. We are enjoying the ranch more than ever these days.