Farmhouse Kitchen // Remodel update: What's Working and What's Not
THE FARMHOUSE
Does it feel like we’ve been working on this kitchen remodel for eons? Yeah, for me, too. Ha! I wish I could say we’re almost done, but we’re really not. There’s still an entire pantry to build out and the laundry room to finish. We’re targeting a Thanksgiving deadline…just in time to host the holiday here.
Despite the far-away completion date, we have been busy over here and I have a big juicy update for you! This post is full of what’s working for us and what’s not. Sometimes ‘making it up as you go’ means not liking what you thought you would. But it also means getting to try things on before compounding issues.
Let’s get into it!
Video Update
Garrett put together another video update with lots of behind-the-scenes peeks at building the island, installing the hood vent, and the gas-line saga.
Lots has changed since our last update, right?! It’s fun to see the progress!
Here’s what’s working
I was going to make a bulleted list of everything that’s working for us in this kitchen, but I’d end up writing down almost everything. We’re really happy with the direction of this space! The paneling, the countertops, the lighting, the appliances, the adjacent pantry…this kitchen is really coming together and it feels like a natural extension of the house.
the island/seating
There are a couple of things that aren’t quite clicking yet, mainly the island. This space is plenty big enough for an island, but not for a big island. The butcher block top is 74'“x44” and overhangs on two sides. It’s the overhand that bothers me visually, which would be solved by adding posts on the corners of the island. But the posts would interfere with stools. We’re trying to get seating for 5 around the 2 sides, but also want cozy stools that are a wee-bit bigger than the ones shown here (we borrowed these from Garrett’s mom). So we’re wresting with the age old aesthetics vs. function dilemma.
microwave placement
We’re also not 100% sure about the microwave/oven/proofing-oven placement, which is currently right across from the sink. We’re hoping it doesn’t end up seeing too much traffic right there. Time will tell…
the gas line saga
The last thing that’s not working for us is the gas line. Well that’s not entirely fair. The gas line is working (finally!)…but it’s been a comedy of errors. It seems everything that can go wrong has gone wrong. I’ll let you watch the video to see just what a cluster it’s been, but suffice it to say, we’re allllmost out of the woods and are excited to cook inside again (it’s been months!)!!!
What’s left to do?
In the kitchen, we have to finalize the island, bring in the pantry cabinet, add pendant lighting (SELECT the pendant lighting!), build the shelves on either side of the range, and install sky lights. But after our Labor Day guests leave, we’ll actually be turning our attention to the laundry room. While technically not part of the kitchen, the laundry room is part of this renovation. The new exterior door that we ordered this Spring is now sitting in our basement and ready to install. We’re beyond excited to put an exterior door back in this side of the house (I say ‘back in’ because it obviously had an exterior door at one point)!
The pantry also has a long way to go - paneling, cabinets, countertop, shelves, sink, lighting, etc. Yeah, it’ll definitely take us until Thanksgiving 🤪
That’s all I have this week! You can catch up on previous updates below.
