Around our House: the kitchen

When we first moved into this house, our kitchen was one area that desperately needed help!  You can take a peek at it below (these first few photos were taken while the previous owner (aka: 3 college boys) were still occupying the house).  The main issues were: old stove & dishwasher, very dirty/dinged porcelain sink, unsafe electrical outlets, and dirt.  (The sink was so scratched and dirty that I didn't think it'd ever come clean enough for me to feel comfortable with it; the dishwasher was rusted on the inside racks; the stove only had a few burners that worked and the oven scorched anything you set inside of it.)

I might also add that the small size of the kitchen is slightly undesirable, but we've been making due and have hopes of remodeling it after a few years of saving for that expense.  In reality, having cooked in the kitchen for a few months now, the size isn't as terrible as I expected, as long as only one person is in there at a time.  And one very redeeming factor about the kitchen is that it is open to the family room (to the right of the bar in the picture above), which makes it feel so much roomier!  

dingy and gross or what?

The first issues we addressed were the sink and appliances.  We were able to find great used deals on each needed piece, and ended up spending right around $500 altogether on our stove, dishwasher, sink, and faucet (the faucet was new though).  My stepdad was able to install the sink while he visited in December (also when he worked on the deck), which was such a huge help because it ended up being a bigger job than I expected due to the disposal and older pipes.  We settled on a stainless steel sink because I've found that they age better.  Finding the right faucet was difficult, probably because I was picky, but we finally found one that I really loved (I wanted the high neck on the faucet and only one handle to control the water).  

so much better!!

new appliances ("new" to us anyway)

Then, as I found the appliances, Hugh installed them.  :)  The stove was pretty simple to install (you just plug it in), but about 2.5 months later, the computer in it fried, so then he had to replace the stove's computer (see below).  One thing I love about our new stove is that it has a glass cooktop.  Now I realize that there are some disadvantages to this, but for us it is a huge blessing because we are able to use the stovetop as extra counter space when I'm not cooking on it.  I always hated doing this with a "normal" stove because crumbs and spills inevitably got down under the coils and even under the tray, sometimes, making it super hard to clean!  

The dishwasher was slightly more complex to install, as there's actual wiring and plumbing to do.  After a bit of internet searching though, Hugh had it running in no time.  

In fact, installing the dishwasher convinced Hugh that he could also replace our unsafe electrical outlets!  :)  Technically the outlets weren't unsafe in any kind of general way, but since they were near water, they should've been GFCI outlets (you can read about GFCIs here).  So, we bought 4 GFCIs, and he installed 3 in the kitchen and 1 in the bathroom.  Overall these were pretty simple to install by just following the directions provided in the box; however, Hugh would probably caution anyone replacing them to carefully study the wires in any outlet that has both lines and loads (4 or 5 wires as opposed to 2 or 3) because if you get them mixed up, you have to go back and re-wire.  

stove's computer

When it came time to replace our stove's computer, I was honestly the one who decided that we could do it ourselves because the appliance repairman had sketched out on me.  After some digging on the web, I found a few trusted stores where I could purchase the computer (Appliance Parts Pros or Appliance Parts Experts both seemed reputable) and one that also had a video showing how to replace it (Repair Clinic had the helpful video.. you can click the link to see our stove's video if you want to know how easy it was)!  After watching the video, I was confident that even I could do this.  

Our stove's computer ended up only costing around $70, but some can be quite a bit more expensive, which might affect the decision about whether to replace the computer or the stove.  After it came in the mail, Hugh ended up installing it for me (such a sweet hubby) in less than 15 minutes, and it's been working great ever since!  :)

Here are some action shots of Hugh installing the stove's computer:

And in case you're wondering, we handled the dirt in the kitchen by having a professional cleaning crew come in.  I also re-papered the cabinets and pantry to be sure they'd be clean and fresh.  Now we are pretty much done in the kitchen until we get ready to do the big remodel, which will be quite an undertaking because it includes moving a fusebox from the kitchen out to the garage and replacing all of our fuses with a more standard breaker system.  :)