Knotty pine...nope, nodda, NOT!!!!

I know I have a before photo somewhere but until then, you'll have to trust me when I say...."this looks better than before the demo". No really...it does.

This is the current state of our kitchen at "The Gear".

I love knotty pine...........NOT!!!!!!!

This is our current project, removal of the many layers of ceiling in the kitchen. Originally the ceiling was plaster and at some time was covered in 1/2" drywall. On top of the plaster is blown cellulose insulation, half eaten walnuts, straw, twigs, and the most awful smelly dust in the world. No matter what kind of respirator you wear, you still end up inhaling the dust.

Ok, so what kind of ceiling are you putting up after this comes down???

Thank you for asking. I'm thinking bead board. The plan is to paint all the knotty pine white, lay absolute black granite tile for counter tops, and use stainless appliances. The kitchen faces the south but the dark knotty pine soaks up all the light. My plan is to get the kitchen brighter without spending a lot of $$$$$. I would like to eventually gut the entire kitchen. Walls...floor...everything, and rewire, reconfigure, and re everything....in 5 years. Currently the working triangle is more of a parallelogram or a rhombus (I get those confused) and the floor is pine not oak and it has seen better days.

By exposing the studs, floor joists, and ceiling we can rewire properly and make certain that there is no KNOB and TUBE wiring. We have already found one spot of knob and tube where the wire is melted. I would estimate that at least 80% of the house is new wiring. I really won't feel safe until it is 100% new wiring.

We decided last Sunday to remove the small section of upper cabinets on each side of the sink. Neither cabinet was wide enough for a full size dinner plate. We are going to use open shelves with thick brackets. I'll use these to display my vase collection (white pottery and black amethyst) and my dinnerware which is white and pink Fiesta ware. That will give me a reason to buy a 4 piece place setting in black. I know....did I really need a reason????

Here's Roger.......posing with his trusty hammer and standing on an aluminum ladder that someone threw in the trash just because the paint tray was bent. Hey....works for us and the price was right. We'll probably recycle it after we wear it out doing this restoration.


Roger....I think you missed a spot!!!