Kitchen - Phase 3

Phase 1: New light fixture and painting (see the original and updated pictures here)

Phase 2: New fridge (took out cupboards above and next to it to make it fit, but by golly we got it in there!  Just getting it through the doorways was an ordeal!)

Phase 3: Install dishwasher and add an "island" (or is it a peninsula?)

I've been really really REALLY wanting a dishwasher this past year!  With Kevin's long days and having three kids, it's such a draining chore to keep up with dishes.  We get finally get the kids in bed after a long day, and all we want to do is sit down and breathe.  But there waits a kitchen full of dirty pots and pans and plates and cups.  *sigh*

For quite some time we've had a spot picked out in the kitchen for where a dishwasher would go.  Someday.  But before doing that we needed to figure out how that would work with well water and if our house had enough water pressure  and electrical power to handle a dishwasher.  And then we had to figure where that cupboard full of pans would then go.  We brainstormed about adding a cupboard system in the dining room.  But after getting a price quote about it, we really started considering some other options and how we might rearrange the kitchen instead.

We still need a backing for the cupboards.  It's not a pretty view from here but I like how the "island" separates our shoe/coat area from the rest of the kitchen.

Phase 4: Install new cupboards to the left of the stove. But we're waiting until we put a hood microwave and smaller cabinet above the stove. And new stove??

Phase 5: New flooring and countertops.

And then it will be complete! Someday.  =)

But for now I love LOVE my dishwasher!  I feel like we can clean up quickly and then actually have time to actually wipe down the counters and tables well instead of just struggling on the basics.  Yippee!  Kevin is so awesomely talented that he could do all this on his own!!  AND I'm LOVING the "island" and the fact that the microwave isn't there anymore!  (we moved my potholders and mitts to the big drawer in the island, my cookbooks are where the mitts used to be, and the microwave is now where the cookbooks used to be) It's so nice  to grab milk or something out of the fridge and turn around right to the "island" for a counter to work at.  Love it!