It's the simple things in life......

Most of the time I am not a hard person to please, but the lack of counterspace in my kitchen has been a problem since I moved into the house almost 2 years ago.

This is how my kitchen looked when I first looked at the house: white walls, tan carpet, lots of knick knacks, etc.

This is what it looked like after some renovations...new tile on the floor, a nice sage green paint with orange accents.

Notice there is very LITTLE counterspace. Just the space between the fridge and the sink, most of which was being used for the microwave. There is also a little space on top the dishwasher, but it is too far from the sink and fridge to be efficient. Earlier this summer, I got the bright idea to take the doors off above the oven and put the microwave in that space. This was a job I needed help, and it was mom to the rescue. There was one small problem....the nearest power outlet was behind the fridge. After a little discussion, we decided that was a relatively easy fix. I already had the microwave plugged in with a heavy guage extension cord. We ended up drilling a hole in between the cabinet and the pantry and another hole in between the pantry and the wall where the fridge is and running the extension cord through the pantry. Also, we put a couple 1x12 shelved above the microwave for a a little added storage. Here is the final result:

 

 



It isn't much, but I thought it turned out great!

 

 

And look at all the counterspace (sarcasm)!!!!! BUT is it more than I had when the microwave was there!

 

About a month after getting that done, I was cleaning behind my fridge and noticed my beast of an old fridge was leaking coolant and stained my grout. I started the search for a new fridge. I wanted a french door fridge with the drawer on the bottom. Boy was I in for a good lesson on wants vs need/afford. My first hurdle was finding a fridge that was skinny enough to fit in my opening. I found a few but not too many. My next hurdle was finding one that was not too tall. IMPOSSIBLE!!! I ended up having to bust out cabinet above for a new fridge to fit. I moved the new fridge in, but missed the storage above and the big gaping hole bugged me. I did some measuring and figured out if I cut about an inch off the bottom of the cabinet door, I could hang them back up :) Shout-out to Harold for helping me trim the doors! So the bf helped me install shelves like above the microwave and hang the doors. TADA! It looks like a normal cabinet again. Here is a shot of the kitchen as it is now!

 

 

 

 

 While this might not be the most exciting post I have ever written, it is the small things in life that make me happy!

 

Later Alligator!

ji