Kitchen Plans

So Scott and I recently went to Home Depot and walked around almost the whole store and started making plans for when we renovate our kitchen. We want to start when we have enough cash to pay for half of all the costs up front, put the other half on credit, and still have lots of moneys in the bank.

So we looked at so many different things, it was almost dizzying, but we decided we want to do a darker color for our countertops, probably black or dark gray. I saw some granite that was almost black with little silver flecks in it and I LOVED it.

We want very simplistic cabinets with simple hardware. Less is more. We saw some cabinet handles that match the handles on the appliances we want perfectly. We can't agree on a type/color of wood yet, but we both agree that it should match the laminate wood floors we end up putting in. We're leaning toward a darker wood. I like cherryish woods, with a little bit of a red tone in them, but Scott doesn't like those at all. We have to be careful. We're opening up the whole room, making it look much bigger, but if the wood we choose is too dark it will make everything look smaller. I think we will have to find a good balance between paint colors and wood colors as well.

We want to put an island in where the wall used to be. We will move the pantry (well, build a new one that matches everything) where the door to the backyard is, and instead put a large double door in the back leading out onto a deck. It will be so nice to have a deck. Right now we have a teeny tiny little one with a teeny tiny little barbecue...it's sad, and pretty useless.

The best part?

We're going to do a lot of the work ourselves. Lots of quality AnnaScott time. Saves a zillion dollars on labor costs, too. We got a quote for a simple deck in the backyard, and it was going to be $5000! We figure we can do it ourselves for just the cost of materials, probably under $1000.

We want all new stainless steel appliances. I want one of those stoves where the coils are under glass so it's a completely smooth top-so much easier to keep clean! Also, no knobs. I hate cleaning knobs on the stove! Also a must is a refrigerator with a water filter.

I know I've said some of this more than once, but I'm just so excited!