Out With the Old . . .

It's been a very busy few weeks. As many who follow this blog know, in mid-February, we we (finally) completed the long-awaited sale of our VA home.

As soon as that was done, we prepared for an early March kitchen/bathroom renovation in the mill apartment that's now our only home. We'd negotiated the updates last November at lease renewal and they included new kitchen appliances, cabinets, flooring and new flooring and vanities in the two bathrooms. 

But, first, contents of the kitchen, bottom pantry shelves and floor and items in the bathroom vanities had to be emptied and relocated. Here's what our dining area looked like after stuff was moved to the dining area where it was covered or put in containers.

The new refrigerator was delivered the weekend before and placed in the dining area as well, so the current fridge could be emptied.

The old kitchen was woefully outdated as shown in these before photos taken after everything was removed; the toaster oven was still being used.

 

Ready for the after photos?

These photos show the difference after installation of new countertops (not granite), cabinets, and appliances. Basically, the appliances are identical to the previous white models, except for the stainless exteriors and with one additional item. 

We now have a microwave, something we'd done without for the past 2 years. The VA house had one and it was used mainly to reheat afternoon coffee. Since apartment counter space was limited and one wasn't included in the kitchen, we bought a new toaster/convection oven instead. But, the update included a microwave, unfortunately at the loss of over-the-stove cabinet space.

Moving on, the new kitchen flooring is an improvement over the previous flooring and it's the same in both bathrooms.

 

Lots of kitchen and pantry items did not go into the new kitchen (by choice). Some were donated to local thrift stores. A soon-to-married niece happily accepted duplicate and unneeded kitchenware. 

Of course, after the update and clearing out, we bought some new stuff. Our everyday cutlery set was over 18 years old — way past time to replace. This stainless steel Oneida set and the bamboo tray were bought at a local Bed, Bath & Beyond store. (We used a few of those 20 percent discount coupons that often come in the mail.)

Does your kitchen have a designated "junk" drawer where you place odds and ends? We used to have one, but one of the the new cabinets replaced 2 drawers (including the junk one) with a single large drawer. Our solution was two-fold: a bamboo tray to group knives and another with compartments for everything else (giveaways meant less items to store.) Now, we can actually find things in this drawer.

We've been using the redesigned kitchen for the past couple of weeks and really enjoy it. One drawback is the black stovetop is much harder to clean than the previous white top. After a few failures at cleaning it, we checked the manual which recommended vinegar and water. It works, but cleaning the stovetop is still harder than before. If anyone has a similar stovetop and can offer suggestions, please share in the comments.

Overall, this renovation was much easier than when we did it in our former VA home. The difference now is that if anything needs repair, we notify the management office.

We like that — a lot.