We survived week 1!

It's been awhile since we've had a home project going on.  For awhile there we were just living amongst a construction zone.  It seemed completely normal to have at least one area of our home completely ripped to shreds.  The last DIY related thing I tackled was an art center in the basement playroom and before that the nursery, neither of which were major, or for that matter dusty.

Almost two years have passed since we've had anything completely gutted.  And really, the only two areas left inside were the kitchen and master bath - two of the most expensive rooms in the house.  So we put those on hold to get a chance to really enjoy our house (and get some more $$$ stowed away) before we could tackle those.  But we (ok I) have gotten antsy and so begins our life in a construction zone....this time with TWO kids not just one.

We've got a lengthy list of projects for the house this summer, we're tackling the kitchen first...and I'm keeping my fingers crossed my sanity doesn't fly out the front door (which is on the list to be replaced).  So far I'm doing ok - I've only had to do the dishes in the bathroom for two days and I've vacuumed once.  I think Mike might be the first one to crack.  He's been spending a lot of time outside...our flowerbeds are starting to look in decent shape (I know - there's a first time for everything) so stay tuned as we journey through!

In short, the plans for the kitchen are all new cupboards, countertops, backsplash, appliances, flooring, removal of the bulkhead, and most notably taking the walls around the staircase down to a half wall opening up our kitchen into the living room.  The overall goal is to gain as much light as possible and I can't wait to see the river while we cook!

 Here's a quick look as we emptied out cupboards and setup a new home base for the kitchen in the dining room - note the essentials on our card table.

Progress after day one

End of the week - somehow it actually looks smaller!