The Kitchen: We can rebuild it. We have the technology.

Steve and I decided several months ago to radically alter the layout of our kitchen. Other projects and events arose keeping us from making much progress toward that goal. When my parents visited in late August, my dad helped me take the first step by removing our only upper cabinet.

Unsurprisingly, the wall behind the cabinet wasn't in perfect shape. That mattered little, as we planned to reconfigure some of the kitchen wiring, which would result in two outlet boxes being removed from the area (requiring patching).

Steve gets working on the electrical (don't worry about the concerned look, he assures me he knows what he's doing):

The reason we were pulling wires, patching walls and cutting holes for new outlet boxes is that we are moving our refrigerator from one corner of the room into the strange little pantry/cupboard/closet near our stove (yes, there is adequate ventilation above and behind the fridge). By recessing the fridge, we'll have enough space to carve out a little dining area in our kitchen. There's lots of other arranging being done, but more to come on that another time.

Steve connecting the new circuit he ran for the fridge:

Steve works in the new refrigerator closet:

Because the floor in the refrigerator closet needs repair, we have not yet settled the fridge back into the space (aside from a short trial period to be sure we liked the arrangement). This made working on the wall a bit of a tight squeeze, but manageable.

I scrape plaster off of the lath to allow for a drywall patch:

Patched and painted, the wall awaits our next project (hint: foreshadowing in the foreground):

We're trying to have as few kitchen cabinets as possible. Kitchen cabinets tend to accumulate junk, and I want to be sure we're not enabling that tendency. We've decided to have no upper cabinets at all. We won't have many base cabinets either, so we needed a solution for storing bulky pots and pans. On the wall they go!

Steve uses blocks made of scrap wood (and a level to verify) to place the "rails":

The rails are made of walnut and have small block spacers sandwiched between them and the wall at the studs (pushing the rails off of the wall allowing the attachment of hooks for hanging pots).

Steve oils the rails for a somewhat water-resistant and attractive finish:

Finished product:

I'm thrilled. It'll look more impressive when there isn't a fridge in the way, but we're making progress toward that end. We've hired someone to patch and refinish the hardwood floors in the kitchen and living room. Work should begin next week.