IHeart Kitchen Reno: Checking In

A reader recently asked (and kindly reminded) me about our kitchen and where we are at with things. And honestly, since my last update, not much had changed until very recently. And with no changes, I didn't really know how to approach a kitchen update... In the same respect, I feel so awful that many of you have been waiting on that "final reveal" we all love, and that I have yet to deliver.

It's been awhile since we have sat down together to have a good heart to heart chat. So today I thought I would pop in to say, full renovation updates and photos are coming! I just don't have an exact time frame. Things are finally moving again and I am crossing every last appendage that we are able to finish without any additional snafus.

It has been a little discouraging for me to watch us start out strong and then run into roadblock after roadblock, each one slowing us down or setting us further back. There have been so many beautiful kitchens that have started and finished around blog land, and with each one, I had let myself feel a little smaller. It caused me to stress, lose sleep, lose weight, lose my mind (which looking back is a bit silly but honestly it really wasn't good for my anxiety)... There were a few delays that were not entirely in my control, and I realized that I needed to take a break from worrying about the space and shift to enjoying it. I just should have made sure to update you all, even if that meant letting you know I had no update. Instead, I just let it become a giant elephant in an unfinished room. I am really sorry about that.

We have learned SO much since we began this kitchen, dining and living room renovation. We ripped down a wall, stripped everything back and rebuilt a lovely space with our own hands; everything from installing the cabinets, flooring and moulding to putting in an incredible beamed ceiling. I still plan to share all of those lessons learned in an upcoming post, as I hope we can save others some of the troubles we were faced with along the way. On the flip side, living in an open concept design has impacted our lives for the better in so many ways, and I can't wait to talk more about that as well!

In the meantime, here is the CliffsNotes version of where we are at this very moment...

We ended up needing to have a portion of our island completely reconfigured/redesigned. There was a lot of back and forth over quite a few months, and because the cabinets were custom made, it took some time to receive the updated pieces as well. We also opted to wait quite a few months for a new-to-the-market downdraft ventilation to be released (because two different previous models didn't end up working out as planned). Everything is here now and ready for installation, and our island counters were just sent back to the fabricator to be modified to fit the new changes. I am so happy and relieved to finally have some resolution to a problem we had been troubleshooting for almost a year, and to be moving forward again.

In terms of the remainder of the space, it's been really great for us to just live in it and get a feel for how things have changed with the updated living arrangement. When we revealed the living room for the One Room Challenge, we still hadn't even installed floors or trim just outside of the camera view. We posted live each week, we rushed furniture arrangements, decisions, purchases, and styled shelves still tacky from fresh paint. In the moment, I was just so ridiculously happy to have a partially finished and furnished space, that I think I was blinded by a few choices I had made during the process. And I don't beat myself up for that... I can't go back in time and I am all about learning and moving on. But that is why we haven't done much in the space since, other than move around a few pieces of our furniture to try out some alternative layout options. I know now more than ever that it just isn't worth rushing a finished space for blog content, it doesn't allow me to truly understand our needs or to think as intentionally about my decisions (which ultimately can translate to costly mistakes). And probably why I started to fight the need to always have a room "reveal" vs. just working on spaces organically.

Now that the kitchen side issues are being worked out, we did realize we have enough room to add a second sofa in the living room side (wahoo!) and my dear friend Grace offered some great ideas and advice for me to finish things off while creating harmony within the newly open concept design. I am still nervous to commit to a backsplash decision (thinking bold), but that is my last dilemma at the moment and it feels so great to know that the end is in sight.

I could gab on about this project for hours, but I hope to break up my thoughts into a few posts once the island is re-installed and functioning as it was meant to be from the start. In the meantime, just know that I am endlessly grateful for your encouragement, ideas, support and comments checking in on the progress. It hasn't been easy living in an unfinished space for so long (especially for someone who likes things done quickly, correctly and thrives when everything is in its place), and even harder doing it publicly. But you all are the best support system a gal could ask for. Truly. I hope the final photos of the entire space are worth the wait for us all.