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The Kitchen Remodeling Journey – Step 3: Pick your Appliances

Remodel, Spaces

Appliances need to be selected before getting started on any remodel because their size will dictate all other decisions. As I mentioned in Step 1 of our kitchen remodel journey, seeking inspiration by looking at other kitchens helped us realize that we needed more fridge space than we had originally designed for. We were able to resize cabinet space to accommodate the fridge we selected before getting the cabinetry contractor involved because we knew the exact dimensions of the fridge we wanted. We also decided to get both a beverage cooler and an ice maker and had to reconfigure some […]

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rendering of remodeled kitchen island

The Kitchen Remodeling Journey – Step 2: Get a Designer. It’s worth it!

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We have been so thrilled to be working with Erin Cossey (@e_c_interriors) on the remodel of our kitchen. She has worked with several people we know and has helped us with everything from the overall design of the space, recommending contractors, thinking through steps in the process and getting us great discounts on fixtures and finishes.  A good designer will do 6 things:  Listen to how you live and understand what your must haves are. For us, our must haves were a double oven with stove top, appliance garages with space for several appliances and a tv, a larger window

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The Kitchen Remodel Journey – Step 1: Find Inspiration

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The Kitchen Remodel Journey – Step 1: Find Inspiration Last week we kicked off the story of our kitchen remodel journey. We shared the before photos and a little context for why now is right time. Today, we’re sharing Step 1: Find Inspiration. For step 1 of our journey, we looked for inspiration both online and in person.  These three photos capture images from Instagram that have helped shape our overall vision for the space:  As seen above, these three Instagram accounts are my favorite to follow for inspiration and ideas:  @vivirdesign View this profile on Instagram Vivir Design (@vivirdesign)

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The Kitchen Remodel Journey: The Before Photos

Remodel, Spaces

The Kitchen Remodeling Journey: The Before Photos When another burner went out on the stove and the fridge went on the blink again, we decided to bite the bullet and fully renovate our kitchen. After spending a couple of years trying to continue to repair or replace appliances that just weren’t working and were in locations that just weren’t practical, we embarked on our kitchen remodel journey.  We’ll spend several posts walking you through the steps we took and what we learned in the process and also recommend people, companies, and resources we found helpful.  But first, the before photos:

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What Makes our House a Home

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What Makes our House a Home We hunted for a while. For a house that would become a home in a neighborhood that would become our community.   We also wanted a project. We wanted a home that we could create, and given the specific area we wanted to live in, it was almost a given we’d have to tear down some things and build some things to get what we wanted. To make a house our home.  The first project kept us living with my in-laws for almost six months and I’m still here to tell about it. We opened

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giving the gift of home

Giving the Gift of Home

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Giving the Gift of Home A few years ago, giving the gift of home was not on my mind.  If I’m honest, my wife is the giver of the family. She’s wired to give and does it without thinking, sometimes much to my dismay.  I think more along the lines of- There could be an emergency! Any emergency at any point in time! And what if there is! We need to save that! Keep that!  It’s part of my personality, part of my disposition to value stability, consistency, to be risk averse.  Sometimes that can be seen as me being

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How to Put the “Home” in Office

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Whether you work entirely in an office, exclusively remote, or a combination of the two, where you work can impact your productivity.  And those around you.  And given that we usually spend more waking hours working than anything else, it’s important to consider how to design an office space that feels like home, meaning that it provides a level of comfort and wellbeing that allows productive work to happen.  I found over the past year or so that I had zero desire to work in my home office.  It was cluttered, cramped and lacked functionality that made it a place

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