kitchen talk

Hey y'all. Welcome to September!

By the way, the longer we're in Connecticut, the more I'm painfully aware of how often I say "y'all." I feel like people are JUDGING ME when I use that word. It's too bad, though, because I can never stop.

Anywho. I haven't been so good about keeping you all (Y'ALL) apprised of all the house changes we've made. And we've made a lot of progress since this post:

• The living room is mostly done, with the exception of some decorating updates I want to make. But when does that ever really end? 
• The sunroom is beautiful! It just needs some curtains. 
• Jack's room has been repainted and rearranged and only needs one or two more things. 
• The bathroom is finished, which you saw here. 
• Our bedroom is done except for art on the walls. 
• The den/guest room space downstairs is done for now.
• My studio is as finished as it will ever be, considering the fact that it's also a stash-room for when company is coming over and I need a place to hide things :)

So with all of that, maybe I should update that house tour so you can see where we are? Hey, there's the motivation I've been looking for to clean my house!

But there's one thing noticeably missing from that list. The kitchen. My poor, pitiful, small and outdated kitchen. We've spent a lot of time over the last six months dreaming about that kitchen. Talking about how we can change it. Researching and pricing out and making notes.

And folks. Those dreams are about to become a reality. There's a really good chance that the Castrodales will have a new kitchen by October. Can I get a what-what?!

As of this weekend, we've finalized the budget, mostly finalized our choices of cabinets, countertops and finishes and purchased new appliances. Now we just need to figure out when to take on the reno and whether we're going to hire help or not. But the ball is moving and it makes me super happy.

Here's what we're thinking: white cabinets, butcher block counters, stainless steel appliances and a reconfiguration of the layout that gives us a lot more counter space and a lot more storage space. I'm so excited that I'm actually losing sleep over it. It's that good.

Like I said, we already got the appliances. After lots of research, we snagged a refrigerator, dishwasher and range at really great prices thanks to Lowes' Labor Day sale and our beloved military discount. We also made a trip out to IKEA where we decided, once and for all, that their cabinets are the ones we want. I'll probably dedicate another post to that to talk about how we landed on them, but just know that they are beautiful, they are cheap (but not cheap) and they are SMART. They make the most of small spaces and get so creative with storage solutions. Major points.

Wondering what it's going to look like? Well let me show you. Thanks to their handy 3D Kitchen Planner, we got a visual on what it will be like when we turn this:

into this:

EEEEEEE! I'm so excited.

I'll do my best to keep you informed along the way. We get the appliances next week and I have a feeling it's going to be like Christmas morning up in here.

What about you? Any kitchen renos in your past, present or future? Any tips to share?