A Dishwasher + Counter Space = A Happy Sewbot

I think I mentioned before that our house did not come with a dishwasher.  The kitchen also had very limited usable counter space.  Well, Jason and I developed a plan to remedy these problems and we've finished up the project (minus a couple of knobs and one custom door) and are ready to share. 

A little project background:
Our kitchen plan started out as an "L" shape.  A previous owner had moved the range to the other side of the kitchen, leaving an awkward void under the upper cabinets.  Back in 1956, this kitchen would have been an eat-in, but somebody who lived in this house before us kind of killed that by putting in an opening and counter between the kitchen and dining room.  We always eat in the dining room and weren't planning on turning this kitchen back into an eat-in space, so we concerned ourselves with making a better functioning place to work. 

The photograph below is our solution.  The cabinets coming from the left are the original 1956 cabinets.  We turned the existing "L" shaped floor plan into a "U" shape by adding the cabinetry that you see coming into the space in the photo. 


We hired an electrician to run a new circuit for the dishwasher.  Jason and our friend Andy changed a bit of the plumbing under the sink to hook in the dishwasher.  We purchased a pre-made cabinet and painted it to match the existing cabinets.  On the back side, we are adding a door to the void just past the dishwasher where we keep the cat stuff and bird seed.  We laminated the countertop ourselves (phew!!!!) and were able to find a laminate that was close (but not exact) to the original countertop. 
We learned a lot from this project and are really pleased with it.  We've at least doubled the usuable counterspace in this kitchen, installed a dishwasher, and have given ourselves a great place for a trash can.  It was fun to do this project together and make something that we'll use every day. 

Favorite Things - September 5, 2010

This week my favorite thing is my new house.  :)  I love our neighborhood.  I love our house.  I love living here way more than I thought I would.  It's become very obvious to us since we've moved in that this is the right house for us.  A few of you have been asking for photos, so here they are...


Yep, you did hear me correctly. Yes, our address is just #5.


We live on a bit of a hill...


Kind of cute isn't it?  I have big plans for it that I'm sure I'll share with you at some point.


My new neighbor, Sunny, told me she had been coming over and watering my flowers so they'd still be pretty when we moved in.  Isn't that sweet of her?


Something that's falling off this tree is attracting deer.  We've been here a little under two weeks and have seen 2 does and 3 fawns right in this spot. 


See my clothesline?  I'm totally excited to have one I can leave up all the time.

I'm not going to show you much of the inside of our house because it is still a little messy. I've been VERY busy since we moved in, so the majority of my studio is still in the living room. Anybody have any suggestions for shelves that have doors to protect my fabric, but isn't too expensive? I've decided it's going in the basement, so I'd like it to be covered. I'm also going to be making some of these puppies... It will be like going fabric shopping in my own mini store!


Jason found this trio for us for $45 at a garage sale up the street.  They're a little worn, but very comfortable.  I think they have a lot of potential and could be easily recovered.  I do kind of like the fabric they are now, though.


Lily likes them, too.  She hangs out here a lot.


What do you think?  I like this; Jason says it's growing on him, but hated it in the beginning.  It's something that seems to be either a stern "Yes!  I love it!" or "Oh my gosh why do you still have that hanging there?"  What do you think?


Our pretty much original 1956 kitchen.  No dishwasher, but we'll most likely be buying one this weekend to "ghetto-rig" in. 


This is a new addition to the kitchen.  The pantry is on the left, broom closet on the right.  I love our fridge, too.  I just wish it had an ice maker, because Jason has already figured out my strategy for not making ice.  The strategy goes like this: 2 ice cubes left in the box.  If I only take 1, that means I didn't take the last one and he'll have to do it.  How did he already figure me out?!  I thought I had him tricked. 

So, that's our new place.  We like it quite a bit.