That and one year later the death of my mom and the next 18 months of back and forth travel to keep my dad on track, which turned into a fiasco later, upsetting me and destroying all the hard work I'd done for him. Well, that's water under the bridge, along with Marty's 9-month layoff before finding work, my health issues too, and then the "I'm just not ready to get to it" issues, but finally, here we are. We had the contractor in the week before Thanksgiving, and received his estimate after. Oh boy, have costs gone up in those years, especially on cabinetry. We've been sitting on the funds so we're ok even at the higher cost, but that doesn't make it any the less painful to have to shell out those dollars. The contractor is the same who did our beautiful bathrooms, he's not 'cheap' and his work is quality, and we trust him. Any others are big unknowns, and we are at the point we just want, and need to get, this done, so aren't even getting another bid.
When we did the bathrooms, we put in a shower downstairs where none existed which in turned moved the toilet over to the space where the wall oven enclosure had been, so I've lived with no full-size oven, limping along with my large capacity toaster/counter-top oven. It's been fine, and I've been able to make most things as I would have in a standard oven (recall my Toaster Oven Tuesday posts), but it has also taken over half of my precious little counter-space, so I'll be happy to regain that space!
Our kitchen hasn't been updated since we've been here (I came in 1996, Marty ca.1992). The kitchen is tiny, out-dated, worn, and literally falling apart. A small drawer is entirely gone, the facing board below the range top is gone, the stain is completely worn off. After a water leak in 1997, we did replace the floor, removing the linoleum and carpet from the dining room and using tile. We lack cupboard storage place (little space was required in 1966 when the house was built) and outlets. The lighting is four fluorescent tubes under a pull-away plastic shield. The faucet is lifting from the sink, the sink has chips and stains that no amount of cleanser or bleach will remove, the counter has chips, the stovetop burner pans are worn, the knobs are yellowed, the enamel has painted repairs where it's been chipped, and one knob is entirely missing. The hood is harvest brown while the rangetop is white (the oven was harvest brown with an avocado handle!).
A couple old posts that concern the kitchen are this one and this one showing the old oven.
I have mixed feelings, and am feeling a lot of anxiety. I'm not good with decision making when I don't really know my 'style' other than if this were an old farmhouse in the country, it'd be a snap. A mid-60s house in a California suburb, well...it's not a farmhouse. Some of my preferences, like white appliances which are not currently in vogue, will have limited selection. And all of our appliances need to be replaced, none are less than 16 or 17 years old and all have issues - other than the toaster oven, nothing is salvageable. That adds to the cost, and there are some unknowns that could cost a pretty penny too. My only hopes are that we will live long enough to really enjoy the new kitchen and if we should sell within a few years, that the home's value will sustain the cost of the upgrade. Kitchen and baths, the two most important rooms of the house, right?
Pray for me as I go through this. Demolition, once we sign, won't start until February or even March due to contractor's availability and other jobs he has going.
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