New Kitchen Booth Benches

Dad (aka Grandpa) also made us new kitchen booth benches.  Once we finish the baseboards, they will look built in.  The best thing about these benches is that the lids lift up to we can store things inside.

New Entryway Bench

 

Our back door is a bit of mess.  We have only a small coat rack (which bought at a shop down the road from us when we lived in St. Albans) that can't cope with all of our coats.  Dad made us two new coat racks that we hope to hang up soon, and he made us a new bench.  Our hope is that the bench contains our shoes and also gives us a place to put a basket for hats and mittens.

 

The kids "helped" their Grandpa find the wall studs, measure, and of course drill.  Here they are on the new bench.

End of First Day Demo Upstairs

By the end of the day yesterday Chris, Brian, and Dennis had taken down the laundry room wall and the wall between the living room and kitchen.  You can see the stack from the downstairs bathroom that used to run in the wall separating the two rooms.  With the wall gone, the space seems huge, like we should have a dance party or something. 

Demo Phase Two - Upstairs

Today is the first day of work on the upstairs master suite.  Alistair was happy to see Chris, Brian, and Dennis again.  It didn't take them long to knock down the flimsy laundry room wall.  Already the space seems so different.

Brian found evidence of munching carpenter ants on the little kitchen window header, which was what we expected.  We had heard munching and even witnessed a mass exodus of flying male ants.

Kitchen Demo Part One

Today Colin started to demo the upstairs kitchen. Although we're excited about the potential for the space, it is somewhat sad to destroy what we worked hard to improve. The upstairs kitchen was the first room we renovated when we moved in. Alyssa spent several hot, humid August afternoons inside the cabinets, becoming overwhelmed by primer fumes. Alyssa's Dad once had an adventure with water while swapping sinks (we had waterfalls of water through the downstairs light fixtures). We toned our arms muscles sanding down the bumps in the walls and ceiling (including what we dubbed the Himalayas on the wall next to the archway). Alyssa learned how to tile when she put up the back splash. Alyssa's Dad made origami cabinets. Colin wired some of his first electrical boxes and fixtures.  We had some of our first adventures in DIY in our kitchen, so we are somewhat nostalgic before the destruction begins.

Besides the all the DIY, we've also had fun hosting Christmas tree chopping brunches, post Shamrock Shuffle race lunches, Pancake Day pancakes, and countless bowls of oatmeal.