tales of a very ugly kitchen: it's bad

The kitchen in our new old house was so ugly–old appliances, stained coutertops, dingy laminate flooring, faded cabinets all illuminated by a ginormous flourescent ceiling fixture, but we were still smitten, and  our home inspector assured us that everything was in working condition.  “Whew, that’ll save us some cash,” we thought, and give us time to save some dough for what I like to call a big honkin’ kitchen renovation.  So we figured we’d live with the uninspiring culinary digs for a few years before tearing down walls, replacing appliances and updating cabinets and countertops.  Right.

{The vintage Tappan Fabulous 400 and fridge.}

On the big move-in day, the fridge started to emit a mysterious chemical smell and was fit for storing only our celebratory six-pack and the jar of pickles we managed to gingerly trek across town. Only a few days later, we discovered that the one shining star in the kitchen, the amazingly cool, vintage Tappan Fabulous 400 oven/cooktop, made it tricky even to boil water for mac ‘n cheese.  To make matters worse, the floor and sink never seemed to get clean, scrub as we might.  Talk about uninspired.  Would we ever be able to serve anything beyond Triscuits and Cheez-whiz?

So, we hatched a new five year plan called the “get this kitchen in stylish working order on the cheap–pronto!” so that we can save up for the “big honking kitchen renovation” someday down the road.  Stay tuned to see how it all panned out…

my old georgian...a labor of love

Gosh, I love this house, and miss it too.  A labor of love, to be sure, this Georgian beauty was my first experience in home ownership.  It wooed me away from our urban digs in Chicago into a life of simple pleasures in suburbia.  On the day we drove out to look at the house, I said to my husband, “Over my dead body will we be moving to the suburbs.”  By 5:00 that evening, we were cracking open beers and toasting to the contract we had just written up with our realtor on this gem.  

Diamond in the rough is actually more like it, if the rough means covered in juniper bushes.  We ripped them out, did our first landscaping projects, updated the single bathroom, painted, wallpapered, refinished the basement just in time to discover I was pregnant. How do kids know not to show their tiny faces until the work is done?  Is this all part of a grander labor and love connection?  When we were found out twins were on their way less than two years later, we started our big renovation over doubling the size of the house and adding the side porch.  Has an impending birth motivated you to renovate?  Do tell!

cook street: home inspection pics

Home inspection day is almost like the first day of school. The excitement, the nerves, the anticipation for things to come, the new ideas brimming and brewing. And then, like school, reality sets in. What we have is a 3200 square foot to do list. Where do we even begin?

Here are some highlights from our home inspection. I remember the possibilities we discussed that day. The good bones, the big yard, the renovation potential; it all added up to a great home for our family. (The previous owners, the delightful Gus and Lucille, were in the midst of packing up and moving to their retirement community when we took these pictures.) All projects start from here!