My kitchen reno isn't going to be nearly as baller as the others here, but heck I haven't even lived here a full year yet...so I get pass :P Had some good friends over last week to see the house and stay a couple nights, and when we first walked into the kitchen Anne announced "That wallpaper HAS to go!". Well, she wasn't wrong, it's not exactly "guy in his 30's", but I've had other priorities.
While I made dinner, Anne and Greg got to removing the wallpaper.
The problem with these things, though, is they snowball. After I finished up the wallpaper removal the next day I went to buy the drywall compound to repair the damage. And then I'm going to have to paint. It seems this house thing is a bit like a project car...you know, while I'm in there...
For reference, here's the kitchen in my 90's home after I removed the wallpaper:
Long term, I'd love to have a counter in between the dining room and the kitchen. I'm planning on building a live-edge dining room table, and the cost difference between a 38" wide piece and a 48" wide piece is significant. If I have a counter on one side, and my sideboard on the other, I can get away with a narrower table since the "food" is still close by without being in the middle of the table.
I've talked about knocking out the wall in between the kitchen and dining room, but that's a LONG term plan. I don't have the dollars, or the time, to be dealing with new floors, new ceiling, etc. My house has painted stucco in the kitchen, and california ceilings in the rest of the house...so to do work cutting up either means replacement. Flooring is laminate or engineered wood in the dining room, tile in the kitchen and carpet everywhere else.
BUT, now that I've torn out the wallpaper...I'm going to need to paint. Hmmmmmm....
Love my Dewalt laser level...but it would appear my tripods are all at Warwick's place still, so I had to get creative on the living room side.
I've skipped over the removal of the pocket doors, but lets just say they suck to remove. They will also cause me some issues in the supporting wall, which in this photo is the one on the left.
And, here's the concept with a spare piece of live-edge I've got from another project. This one is only 18" wide, and I'll use at least a piece at least 21" wide for the counter. I think it's going to extend into the living room only enough that the whole edge is "over", so that I have maximum room in the kitchen for shelves underneath and maybe an overhang so I can eat breakfast on a stool.
The pony wall is the main supporting wall for the house. That one is going to be a bit more of a challenge, as the pocket door framing hides the headers and I'm not really sure whats going on there yet. Have to build two supporting walls, and then start cutting out more drywall until I see whats going on.
Also really not sure how I'm going to have the two live edge counters meet at the corner...sort of making it up as I go along :P