The "Before" Kitchen

Today, the last day of May in 2015, our microwave died. This has caused some reflecting on our kitchen, and likely accelerated the remodel.

Let's review the sweet appliances we're working with these days.

Meet our stove. 

One day in the past 21 months, we bought a deep dish deli pizza to cook for dinner. That was the day the oven igniter went out. 45 minutes later, instead of a tasty pizza, we had a lukewarm mess that had to get thrown away. After a dinner recovery, we spent the whole night tearing the oven apart and swapping the broiler igniter with the oven igniter, so we can still cook.  So, we have a semi-functional gas range in a hot almond/black color combination. At least it blends in with the always dirty laminate countertop.

Let's continue our tour of kitchen awesomeness.

Meet the fridge.

This sweet piece actually is a first week replacement. When we moved in, we found out that the fridge that was here didn't keep cold, at all. Fortunately, we caught this flaw before closing so we got just enough credit back to only pay $3 at the used appliance store for this classy piece. The front is ugly enough that we encourage Noah to post lots of art to cover it up! He's willing to make that sacrifice for the good of our kitchen. Note, it's white, so we have a second appliance color going on. 

Now, the interior...

Do you see that strange plastic box half full of water? We keep this custom drip pan in just the right place to catch water that is produced by the compressor(?).

And, the freezer, below, has a funny bulge across the bottom, and is sealed by a thick line of caulk.  There is no shelf, so we keep a box in there for organization.

Continuing our tour, here's today's inspiring microwave.

I haven't really had much to complain about the microwave until today. Yes, it's stainless, the third appliance color in the kitchen. It is now a special kitchen clock, timer, and could function as a nightlight, if necessary.  

Next, the dishwasher. It's the finest appliance in the kitchen. For the most part, it cleans the dishes. It's newer than most of the appliances in the kitchen. And, it's black, so we add another color to our stylin' space.

Notice, the funny wear spots on the floor at the corners of the dishwasher? That's because it leaks. Somewhere around the door it doesn't seal properly. Sigh.

How about the sink?

Since we don't have a working microwave, we put our pack of frozen meat into a warm water bath to thaw. The only way to get the sink to hold water is to use both the standard plug and the rubber ring plug to block the drain. No sprayer, old workhorse faucet.

I almost forgot, the hood.

Sorry about the poor quality photo. The oversized copper piece sucks up lots of light. The fan is loud enough that it is rarely turned on. The slope is covered in kitchen grease and dust. I'm not sure I should have demanded ventilation in my kitchen when we left the yellow house, the pot rack was way classier! I think the backsplash piece is covering a tile backsplash; I'm looking forward to tearing into that and discovering the old finish. Note, copper is yet another appliance color in our space. We've got it all!

We're close to done with the upstairs and stairway work. I think we're going to buy an appliance per month this summer and move right into implementation on the kitchen/dining remodel...

I hope my sarcasm wasn't too much for you this weekend! Now that I made you all feel really good about your kitchen, have a good week!