Seriously, I felt like a tornado had ripped though our kitchen! It had been taken down to the studs to undergo renovation only to reveal a very impressive post and bean structure looking more like my barn than my house and created more dust and dirt than I could have ever dreamed. Kitchen renovation is every bit the nightmare people say it is. You hear it ALL before embarking on such a project and I have to say, we felt it ALL to be true. We took on the renovation of this 192 yr old house as part of The Makeover Takeover Project, Country Living Magazine did at our house. It was very challenging to say the least to try to "survive" the living conditions. We set up temporary camp in the living room and office area and actually went to the camping section at Walmart to do so. We had no running water on our first floor for 3 months and silly me in the middle of it all got a very large puppy to add to the chaos. We were doing dishes out of the upstairs bath and at one point my daughter asked, "How much Panera can you eat in a week?" When I would complain, my family and friends would encourage me to 'Hold on because it would all be worth it" and in my times of disbelief, now coming out on the other side, I must say I agree.
I never imagined that my kitchen could be so great and look the way it does. Even though I can easily go into someone else's house and give advice for design change, when it comes to my own house, I get stuck and can't move past what is there already. Especially, when thinking of such an old house. Country Living brought on Cindy Black, an architect and designer from Hello Kitchen in Austin, Texas and I cannot say enough nice things about her and her design. She worked with me and the editors of Country Living to create a kitchen in which I did have some say as to how it would feel. The results for me are so pleasing and almost everyday since the renovations have been complete, I feel grateful and blessed to have such a beautiful space and to have been selected to participate in the project. My pictures are less than pretty here and I apologize in advance for that. I am learning life on an Apple computer. If you would like to enjoy more photos, please visit Homegirl Shop Pintrest page under Makeover Takeover for much prettier images!
