DH and I bought this very traditional house about 4 years ago largely due to the hidden-in-the-woods neighborhood and the fantastic, nearly-one-acre lot. The kitchen was 90s blah and did not function very well for one cook, let alone the both of us. We've tackled a lot of non-sexy changes: mold mitigation and waterproofing in the crawlspace, blowing insulation into the attic, replacing the water heater with a tankless.

But it was finally time to take down our kitchen. We talked to several kitchen designers and several reno companies, but ultimately went with my own design (tweaked and approved by our rep from Wolf Cabinets) for layout. And despite hiring a crew of contractors, it's been nearly six months in the making, but we finally have a functional and beautiful kitchen that reflects our taste (and not the 90s).

We went from too-small windows in the "eat-in" nook and five (FIVE) doorways to beautiful sliding glass doors and only the entrance from the garage, the front hall and the dining room, converting what used to be a small formal dining into an office for my husband.

And before I hear from the White Kitchen Crew: yes, I understand my kitchen may not be the best for resale. Yes, we plan on staying here a long while. Yes, I could've gone with a more stylish, marble-look quartz (my original plan) for the counters but it would have been several thousands more and 13 weeks lead time instead of six. I love our new kitchen and if nothing else, I hope it inspires someone else to make an unorthodox choice for themselves now!

BEFORE:

Complete with 90s desk!:

Temporary extra cabinets over the drywalled-over-doorway when we had friends move in temporarily just in time for the COVID lockdown:

AFTER:

Shaker-style cabinets from Wolf in SW Sea Salt (uppers) and SW Blue Peacock, LVP flooring in Slate and a cheerful geometric and brass marble backsplash from Floor & Decor (Nova Dolomite).

You'll notice the missing slide-out pantry door there on the far side. No one seems to know how they got missed or why it's taken them an additional five months to fabricate. We're told the colorant is on backorder and they'll be here next week. But we were told they were being shipped in the first week of February so....

Anyway, we are largely very happy with our results, if not the process. Here's to surviving kitchen renovations!