Good Bye 1970’s say hello to today!

​We have taken the giant leap, and after scrimping and saving, have decided to renovate our kitchen!

We live in New England where split level ranches were all the rage back in the 60’s to 80’s. Our house was built in the 70’s and it’s a typical cookie cutter home. Our entire block was done at the same time and are all variations of the same blueprint. Some have garages, some have extra bathrooms, or a walk out basement- but for the most part they are very similar. Kitchens in the 70’s were closed off and designed to be contained and behind closed doors. Because seriously isn’t it easier to close a door than have unexpected company see the pile of dirty dishes in the sink?

1970’s kitchen with some 80’s design. Small and cramped...

The 90’s came and everything was about open concept and creating light throughout the house and this trend has continued to today.

So open and spacious! But where have all the cabinets gone? 

We have lived in our house for less than a handful of years and have made some minor additions but never such a huge undertaking like renovating an entire room down to the studs. We have found out our house, and kitchen especially, has been altered multiple time and with each new owner they wanted more open concept and were less concerned about storage.

Our kitchen is usable for the average family but when the love of baking and allergies are involved, limited cabinets are not the ideal. I have multiples of most of my baking items to limit cross contamination and storing it all is more like a game of Tetris than it should be.

Our kitchen today. We removed the door to add more countertops and future cabinets! 

We replaced the double windows in the dining room for glass sliding doors. Amazing natural light but not great for storage. 

Now making the decision to renovate our kitchen was huge but what do you do from there? We met with a designer who was recommended to us and started the initial design stage. It seemed like things were really coming together and quickly. But then things came to a screeching halt once we started talking about cost for my dream 10 x 10 kitchen (like I said the 70’s weren’t big on kitchens- pun intended). We and the designer were on completely separate idea for pricing. We wanted a kitchen that would fit into our house and neighborhood. The designer wanted a grandiose design with a matching price tag.

We quickly decided to part ways and were back to square one.

After some time to really think of what we wanted in the kitchen and design, on a whim, we walked into a design center and happened upon a nice woman who put us at ease and not only worked with my design ideas but my husband’s budget goals. The renovation was back on track!

We now have a great design with some flair (my artist heart is squealing with glee) and lots and lots of storage! We are almost doubling our cabinets. Oh did I mention we are also getting an oven that will be strictly for top 8 allergen free baking? Yep you heard that right, we will have two ovens!

Cabinet design. Peninsula will almost double with the added oven.

Well the design stage is complete but I will continue updating the trials and tribulations of our kitchen renovation. It is very exciting and scary all at the same time. Anyone else make the huge decision to gut their kitchen? Anything you learned along the way? Do you have any words of wisdom regarding a kitchen remodel?