This morning my dining room looked like this.
The art and trim was down already but still a functional room.
Right now the same view (from the old kitchen doorway) looks like this.
The new kitchen will be on the far side and the dining room will remain in the front room.
It’s going to be ridiculous. This is my 8th home as an adult (or whatever) and this will be the first truly great kitchen I’ve ever had. (It better be truly great at least!)
One, of many, decisions to be made is regarding lighting.
We are leaving the kitchen ceiling tall and open.
We’ll paint it white and maybe put wainscoting between the beams. Any advice for lights? We are thinking some sort of track system but we’ve heard complaints that they get dirty really quick and burn out often.
Thank goodness our ‘old’ kitchen is still functioning! Right now we have to go out the front door and through the yard to get to it but at least it’s still available. Especially with all the garden goodies that are coming in right now, it would be very sad (and kind of gross) to be washing lettuce in the bathroom sink.
Have you ever done renovation on your house? Was it a dream or a nightmare? So far, so good here. I get a little anxious because the house is in disarray but the light at the end of this tunnel is shining on me!
Wow! I am seriously impressed by your vision to do such a major renovation. I can’t wait to see the outcome! How exciting!
COOL! I need to come visit!
We did some renos right before we moved into our current house, but nothing as intense was what you guys are doing. We placed the flooring on our main floor with hardwood, had the carpeting upstairs replaced, redid the main floor bathroom, had some tile placed in our mudroom, replaced all the trim, and painted throughout. We had the basement finished last summer, but didn’t do it ourselves. Later this summer, we’re having our mudroom overhauled with custom cabinetry placed. Again, not a do-it-yourself project, but it’ll be nice to have it done. Can’t wait to see your results!
I don’t know Joanne, that sounds like a lot to me!
I don’t know how this would work with a more “open” ceiling plan, but have you considered recessed lighting? It really provides the flexibility of track lighting, i.e., you can pretty much put them anywhere, with a large array of options, while avoiding the dirt/dust capture of track lighting. Just something to ponder. Looking forward to getting my hands dirty soon. Although, I must say, you should have left some of the demo work for me, since I am far better at taking things apart than putting them back together.
We are doing recessed in the dining room but I don’t think it’s possible in the kitchen, you’ll see tomorrow!
You were still living in the Farmhouse when Ken and I tore open the North side of the kitchen and bumped out 7 feet. For months we did dishes in the bathrooms, cooking was diminished and the dust and noise constant. The results were worth it, with a small dark kitchen now having windows in three directions, two skylights, an adjoining covered porch and open deck. Check out the safety about leaving the chipboard exposed, as there may be some outgassing and fire issues.
Oh yes, I was still there.
I like direct (under the counter)lights in work areas and indirect or ambient lighting else wise Wall sconces that direct light up to a light ceiling and bounce back. I also suggest some built in infra red lighting you can expose your cutting boards etc to. personally I like the new style of drop lights where the change of globe is doable even by season and easily accessible o cleaning. LOOKS GREAT been thinking about you