Sometimes I struggle to explain to people: JUST how awesome my blog is.
I think this about sums it up.
Who is this woman Pilar Guzman? How did she steal my DREAM KITCHEN?
Let’s get back to planning our kitchen remodel… as a reminder, here is what we are starting with... our previous owner’s DIY masterpiece.
Paul and I have been in this house for three and a half years… By now, I’d expected the kitchen layout to have defined itself.
You know? How if you live with some design-puzzle long enough, eventually the ideal arrangement reveals itself?
Well, the kitchen refuses to cooperate.
In fact, when I look at the kitchen? I’m actually staring into the abyss of my soul.
Frightening, no?
I love a high-concept idea. I love something big and wild and fancy and shiny and possibly covered in gold leaf… I love anything oversized or ornate or weird or unusual, or marble, or unexpected.
Which is why I need Pilar Guzman’s kitchen.
I cannot WAIT to show you my BEST find ever.
PEOPLE! My People!
It is I! Your feckless leader!
I am so excited, I cannot contain myself.
You. Have. No. Idea.
I got something. When you see it, you will be so incredibly jealous.
It is the BEST something EVER.
It took Paul six hours, from start to finish, to bring it home.
The most triumphant six hours of my life.
We needed a MOVING truck.
And? The most glorious part? It is TOTALLY useless.
One year of blogging – Tech tips, advice… things I did horribly wrong, Part 1.
In mid-April, I will have been blogging for an entire year…
An entire year of staring at my computer and thinking of YOU.
My readers.
You strangers…
Everyday, all the time… thinking how I can entertain you.
Thinking of how I can make sure you NEVER LEAVE ME.
And? Frankly?
That’s been pretty exhausting.
I had planned for the one-year mark to be the point at which I could STOP thinking about you… And instead, think about the fact that now I was famous.
Yet another plan, gone awry.
Kitchen and Addition — layout and footprint.
Because I said mean things about our previous owner’s kitchen design, I inadvertently gave you the idea that I am against reclaimed, or do-it-yourself cabinets and islands…
But I’m not… I’m only against OTHER people’s hack jobs that they think are beautiful.
My own ideas for re-using stuff are totally awesome.
And? Paul and I DID talk about keeping this kitchen.
We considered just painting the cabinets. And making some kind of magical improvement to the island… it would be FAR cheaper. Not to mention faster. Not to mention, did I say cheaper?
However, it won’t change the limited storage. Or the weird layout. And Paul feels very strongly that he made the rest of the house nice… to leave the kitchen, as a crap facsimile of a well-designed workspace… is just wrong.
Plus, if we’re going to have a “creative” kitchen, then I want my own version.
My OWN crazy ideas… not someone else’s.
And? I have LOTS of good ideas.
Paul hates all of them.
Anyway, before I can tell you all my questionably-good ideas, you have to see what my options are.
The Addition — meet our kitchen, Part 2
Incase you missed Part 1, where I introduced the kitchen.
We have a small addition off the kitchen. It’s the same width as the kitchen itself, so in some ways it’s an extension of the room… But as you’ll see, there are a number of design-issues that make the layout less than ideal.
Standing in the addition, looking at the kitchen. (Two photos pasted together.)