"Before" Photos of the Kitchen

From Before and After Photos of the Kitchen

The good news is that we're getting most of the kitchen re-done. The bad news is that the cabinets won't come in for another three weeks or so. In the meantime, I've taken a few "before" photos to remember how things have been for the last five years (with the exceptions of the stove, dishwasher, and kitchen island/bookshelf area).

The photo above shows the view of the kitchen walking in from the living room. You can see our (ehem) wonderful cabinets (gag), new stove, and old fridge. Our most-used appliances are there as well -- the toaster oven, which we use at least once a day; the microwave, which John uses more often than I do; and the rice cooker (on top of the fridge), which we probably use every other week.

From Before and After Photos of the Kitchen

This photo shows the sink and relatively new dishwasher. The sink also will be replaced with a larger, deeper model. Ours is only 7 inches deep, which leads to a lot of spill-overs when cleaning lots of dishes, deep pots, and cookie sheets. We will be glad to be rid of it. Freecyclers, keep your eyes open for it.

You can also see that we enjoy a half-wall between the kitchen and the tiny dining room. To the left is the doorway to the living room. On the empty wee wall between the living room and the kitchen is where the new spice cabinet will go. Can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to that! Right now, they eat up space sitting on a lazy Susan in the corner and in a drawer in the dining room.

Above the green dish drain, you can see the bag dryer that John made for me with his own two hands! I'm always impressed by his handiness. That comes in handy if you're like me and re-use ziplock bags.

From Before and After Photos of the Kitchen

This is how pitiful it is. I have to stack some of my favorite cooking items in a bookshelf in the dining room. Gotta love the slow-cooker! Some of John's fly-fishing stuff is on the bottom shelf because he has even less room for his items in the desk he made himself. He'll be getting lots more space when the new kitchen cabinets come!

What I really should have done was take photos of all the boxes in the garage and in storage of all the kitchen stuff I'm not using because we don't have room for it. I'm sure Mom would chime in that there are some boxes in her attic with my Grandmother's china in them as well.

From Before and After Photos of the Kitchen

Finally, here's the dining room, with the half-wall to the kitchen on the right. On the cabinet, I keep the AeroGarden (which is now growing delicious Italian herbs), snacks, and boxes of cereal and mac and cheese. Inside the Ikea cabinet is my pantry. I keep canned goods; jars of nut butters; bags of pastas, rices, and beans; John's favorite soups and snacks; baking ingredients that don't need refrigeration for long-term storage; spices; and teas.

To the left of the cabinet is a half-sized refrigerator that I used to use for all the Deb's Delectables ingredients that weren't chocolate. These days, it holds bags of flours, nuts, seeds, dried fruits, and other baking ingredients.

I'd like to have a full-sized extra fridge or freezer (especially an energy-star-rated one), but that will have to wait. Most likely for the second house.

Now that you've seen the before photos, you'll have to wait with me until next month for the afters. In the meantime, please show me your kitchen!