FAMILY NEST BEFORE TOUR: KITCHEN

It's been more than a year now that Alex and I finished the renovations. We had a great experience and realized that what attracted us to fixer-uppers is working with constraints. We liked the challenge of dealing with existing structural and aesthetic constraints and finding a creative solution to create a functional and pretty space. We learned so much about renovations, but also on how we worked as a team and our individual and complementary strengths.

For me personally, it's a little like Cher in the movie Clueless. Makeovers 'gave her a sense of control in a world full of chaos.' Perfect project for my type A personality.

So here we go with our nest makeover, the first of many hopefully.

First up on the Before Tour is the kitchen, la pièce de résistance for any busy family.

This was the only counter space available in the kitchen and half of it was taken up by the microwave. The cabinets were falling apart, but the natural light from the big windows was amazing.

This area was located at the end of the kitchen and had outlets setup for a washer and a dryer.

Most of the cabinets didn't have doors so we could say it was an open-shelves concept. Only problem is I couldn't reach the ones above the fridge easily. 

Next to the fridge was the tiny pantry with greasy lined shelves. Yummy.

This was the wall between the living room and the kitchen. A cozy little dining space with a suspended light that we kept bumping our head into. I think we could have funded the entire kitchen renos if we had collected a dollar for each swear caused by that light.

This was the area leading to the dining room. The linoleum floor was in a beige color that always seemed dirty no matter how many times we cleaned it. That swinging door was fun but took up valuable space.

Our vision:

- A grown-up kitchen where we could prepare family meals, get kids ready for school and hosts friends and families without stepping on each other;

- Open up the kitchen to the living and dining rooms;

- More counter space, maybe an island;

- Brand-new appliances, including our first-ever dishwasher and a wine cellar;

- New walls and cabinets in pure white, not the yellowish-white shade;

- An efficient layout with more storage and doors that don't fall apart;

- New lighting and new floors Mr. Clean would be proud of!