KITCHEN : PHASE 1

I think we can officially say phase one of the kitchen is done.. or at least close enough. We still want to switch out the lights, especially the terrible track lights above the sink, and need to figure out something to do with the front side of the bar (paint? wood?) but all in all, I'm super happy with the results so far. Taking that half wall down opened up the kitchen to the living room so much, and just look at that beam! The open shelving is just enough storage, don't miss the cabinets at all. In fact anyone want them? They are currently sitting in one giant piece in the garage.

I had every intention of documenting the process of the shelves and beam, but life happened and documentation did not. Know that it all went fairly smoothly though, minus the fact that we measured the bottom piece wrong and ended up at Home Depot a few times in one day. I'm starting to find that to be pretty standard with these projects, and am getting quite fast at navigating that place. 

All the wood is reclaimed, which we then sanded and stained. Can't recommend doing that enough, it's a fraction of the cost and adds so much more character. If it's a little too rough around the edges, some sanding and stain changes the look of the wood completely. I realize this is not a revolutionary concept, but I was surprised by how different they looked. Again, no photo evidence of this, opps.

In case you need a little reminder of what was torn down, here is a little before and after:

Next up: Countertops, hood, tile.... oh man.

ps- excuse the terribly grainy photos.