Today is the day when I share the really bad photos of our Colonial Farmhouse kitchen before we started tackling this space.
I have been radio silent about the kitchen in our Colonial Farmhouse on purpose.
It’s that bad.
However, just because it is THAT BAD does not mean I’m not grateful for it.
I am.
I’m also not embarrassed by it.
It is what it is and I’m excited about what it can become.
I’ve been radio silent about the kitchen because I needed time to wrap my head around this challenging space before I unleash ALL THE FEELINGS on you.
Also, no one likes a whiner.
Here is a before picture of our Colonial Farmhouse kitchen.
After seeing that picture are you wondering why I had temporary insanity fell madly in love with our Colonial Farmhouse?
Yeah. Me too.
A little explanation will help you understand the method to my madness situation. One that is common with really old homes.
The dates are wishy washy, but our Colonial Farmhouse was built shortly after the American Revolutionary War. This was before electricity and indoor plumbing was a thing.
The kitchen and bathrooms were the the last additions to this house and we guesstimate they were added sometime in the last 75 – 100 years. That means after 1920.
The seller told me the kitchen was so poorly insulated when he bought the house in 1971 that when his wife would mop the floor in the winter the water would freeze on top of the floor. This kitchen might look bad now, but it used to be a lot worse!
Keeping all of that in mind, it is fair to say the kitchen is a complete afterthought in terms of location, size and functionality as it relates to the rest of the house.
It isn’t connected to the main living areas.
It is a long and narrow space with very little cabinetry and, currently, there is no place to sit. If you want to hang out with me in the kitchen (of course you do), you’ll have to stand.
There is one, very strong thing going for this kitchen.
See? I’m not all doom and gloom.
The kitchen has the best view in the house. Now, sure, you can’t see the view because there aren’t enough windows, but it has the potential to be a showstopper.
Now is the part in the story where I break out singing, “If I had a million dollars…”
It won’t take quite that much to fix our kitchen (I hope!), but we do need to save thousands of dollars for it. Part of that money needs to go toward making sure this part of the house has a good roof and sub-floor.
Details, details.
The beneficial thing about pausing plans to save money is that it affords us time to figure out exactly what we want to do to this kitchen. Quite honestly, some days we are in the mood to rip the entire thing off the house and start over. Other days we have a more restrained outlook on how to improve this space. I’m guessing we will land somewhere in the middle, but I’m not willing to bet on it. I need every dollar I can get!
The pictures I’m showing you today are from the day we closed on this house. This is how we found the kitchen. None of the items so prominently featured in any of these photos belong to us.
If it looks like someone might have still been living here, well, we had that thought too. We were 93% certain the seller had moved out. However, there was a niggling of doubt based on what we found: food in the cupboards, aprons on the door, cane by the water cooler, coffee pot on the counter, a cat we had to feed, etc.
To say this real estate transaction was a bit out-of-the-norm is an understatement.
I’ve spent a lot of time in this kitchen over the past six months (usually while waiting for a pot of water to boil) thinking about how this space can be improved.
The plans for a major renovation are in my head. However, I’ve already told you I don’t have a money tree growing in my backyard, so I can’t start renovating anytime soon. Also, I can’t get a contractor to call me back to save my life.
Do you know what that means?
New Jersey contractors are living up to all the stereotypes? No! Yes!
But, seriously.
This means the next best thing is to see what I can do with this kitchen on the cheap.
Can I keep the current layout, flooring, lighting, counter, appliances, sink, and cabinets and make them look decent enough so that my eyes will stop bleeding every time I walk into the kitchen for a snack? And I do like my snacks.
A good creative challenge makes me happy, so we will see.
P.S. Here’s that song, “If I Had a Million Dollars.”
Thank you for sharing a moment with me today. I hope your eyes are fine after seeing all of those Colonial Farmhouse kitchen before photos! If they are and you’d like something else to read, here are some other blog posts you might enjoy.
That Time We Lived on a Lake in Georgia (this was three houses ago)
The Kitchen in our Oregon House (this was so long ago – like five or six houses ago)
Our Kitchen in Ireland (not quite as long ago)