Home Sweet Home | Things | The Kitchen

The Kitchen

A Project From 2017-2018

THE LONGEST and most difficult project — remodeling the kitchen — took about a year and a half, working evenings and weekends. It probably took at least that much off my lifespan, too. Not to mention that it was a genuine strain on our marriage. I dragged my feet on starting it for years becauce I really didn’t want to do it, but I also didn’t want to pay someone else to do it for us.

I’ll admit, it wasn’t a solid 18 months of work. There was a fair amount of procrastination on my part throughout the project. Many aspects were difficult to face, either because of the effort involved, or becasue I lacked of confidence in my own skills. Or becasue I was lazy. But one thing’s for sure: Karen had to wash dishes in the bathroom sink for a solid 18 months.

We bought ready-to-assemble cabinets to save money. Our one requirement was plywood. We wanted to avoid particle board, so IKEA cabinets were out. The “relatively inexpensive” cabinets we ended up ordering did meet the plywood requirement, but once I started assembling them, it became clear that their quality was not exactly stellar. All plywood is not created equal. Quite a bit of work was involved addressing defects and shortcomings.

I think Karen probably helped a lot during the project and she was certainly patient, but honestly, I’ve repressed many of the memories. In the end, it turned out okay. We were happy enough with the results. Here are some before and after pictures for your critical analysis.