Dear cabinets: I think I’m gonna marry you

The kitchen is probably the room I’m most excited about in the new house.

In our last two houses, the kitchen was totally separate from the rest of the home. Which isn’t ideal. It’s not ideal for an extrovert cooking dinner (torture). It’s not ideal for a mom trying to keep an eye on a child (who took a Sharpie to the sofa). It’s not ideal for entertaining (too spread out).

So, at the risk of sounding like all the HGTV couples I make fun of, an open-concept living space was a MUST-HAVE in this house. And the kitchen will also going to be incredibly lovely, if I do say so myself.

The footprint of the kitchen isn’t large, but we were able to eke out every inch for storage and functionality. And I’m a happy happy little happy camper.

After lots of designing and drawings and Pinteresting (totally a verb), we had a layout. Our friend Dave (and his wife Pam) offered to build the cabinets for us – which is essentially the biggest gift we would have NEVER expected. It’s just incredible. It basically allows us to stay well below a normal kitchen budget (and even below something from IKEA or off-the-shelf). Plus, it gives us options and quality that we’d never be able to afford. And then some.

And since Dave’s a perfectionist, the kitchen will be more beautiful and timeless and incredible than I ever could have imagined.

Dave has been building the boxes to our specifications, and stopping out for clarification over the past few months. The boxes were being stored in our garage until the floors were all oiled.

And last weekend, Ryan and Dave were finally able to set the cabinet boxes in place. The way these cabinets will be installed is not typical – Dave built the boxes first and the guys custom built the toe kicks in place before installing the boxes. Now that they are placed, they will work on framing out all the cabinetry in place before finally building the custom inset doors.

Then, we’ll finish everything in place – painting and staining cabinetry and poly-ing the inside of the cabinetry.

So while we are still a ways off from a finished space, I just cannot stop happy dancing. And I really really really needed something in my life that caused a happy dance. Seeing the kitchen come together feels like a dream come true. It’s just insane to see something come to life like this.

Let’s talk about that helluva island first. Because I want to kiss it. With tongue.

The space is probably a little too tight for an island with seating, and I didn’t want to risk it to be a hazard to the main traffic flow. Plus, I mostly like the idea of an island for prepping and entertaining. So, we went with a simple, narrow island with a pull-out waste bin (DREAMS) and deep drawers (DREAMSx2). Then, Dave asked if we’d be interested in adding some antique car siding to the island (DREAMSx10000).

I LITERALLY CANNOT EVEN when it comes to this island, you guys. The car siding makes me feel faint. And after seeing it, I agree with my mother-in-law. I simply couldn’t begin to imagine painting the car siding. So, back to the drawing board.

On the opposite side of the island is what I like to call the wall-o-cabinets. This is a 10-foot section of cabinetry that is going to make my life complete.

Because I don’t have space in our dining area for a hutch, this will serve as a hutch and storage. It will also give me ample room for all of our small appliances (as well as a hidden nook for the microwave on the far end). The middle uppers will be glass for display. The bottoms will likely become storage for linens and servingware. And there will be counter space in the middle to serve as a pseudo-buffet.

And finally, the other hard-working side. This wall will house (from front to back): the fridge (in place of the ladder), dishwasher (in the place of the vacuum), sink (centered to the window) and stove.  There will also be a full pantry next to the fridge. We’re planning to include a custom hood vent and no other uppers.

At this point, I think we’ll also leave the cabinet above the fridge open for display. In addition to all this cabinetry, we have a rather large pantry at stage left. So, I don’t think storage will be an issue.

Can you visualize it? Do you love it? Will you come over with a paint brush and wine to help me paint?