The Goal: Complete kitchen remodel of the cabin in four days!
Initial Task breakdown:
1) Tear out most of the old cabinets – Done
2) Repaint remaining cabinets, add appliques and new hardware – Done
3) New floor – Done after four restarts (see below)
4) New counter-top – Done without chipping!!!!!!!
5) Create sink base out of 150 year old dresser and 1923 vintage sink – Done – Previous owner of dresser would cry. She was so proud of her refinish job. Sorry.
6) Rebuild 1920’s vintage faucet – Done – Try to find seats and washers that fit!
7) Add wainscoting to walls and paint – Done – Crooked walls and sagging ceiling made for no straight lines
Additional tasks due to age and condition of cabin:
1) Replace sub-flooring – Done – See comments below
2) Try to lay straight flooring over warped floor with walls that are not square – Arrrgh! Done!!!
The domestic CEO and I decided to convert a 1980’s style kitchen with more cabinets than floor space into a more open and lighter kitchen from the…say 1940’s. When we bought the cabin a year ago, it had been neglected for several years and needed a LOT of work. We spent last fall and winter making it weather tight.
That meant the kitchen was next. At 140 square feet, this is not a big space and the existing layout left no room for two people to move around. So, the CEO/Architect/subcontractor got busy locating the pieces we would need. that left the General Contractor (Me) to come up with the work plan. When we told friends the plan was to complete the project in four days they ALL laughed hysterically. The nerve. \
In the end they were right. it actually took us six days. The delays were found in two places. First the sub-floor under the fridge and existing sink base was so rotted that we had to replace it. Interestingly we found three floor surfaces below the vinyl flooring we planned to cover. The second major delay came with trying to lay wood laminate floor in an old house. There were no straight corners and the floor was warped and sagging in spots. I had to restart the new floor three times before I finally got the hang of it on the fourth try.
We are thrilled with the results and keep reminding ourselves that it is a cabin. Below are the before and after pics.
Old fridge position – note the room between fridge and opposite counter
New position with ‘new’ sink
Previous sink and corner counter
‘New” Sink and Corner
‘New’ cabinets and counter – Note the high-end commercial-grade stove. It makes great pies.
TaDa! Complete with floor.
Now two people can live and cook in the kitchen. It just works. For the record, the punched tin chandelier was hand-made by my mother, the true artist of the family.
Tales From The Hare 