Matt and I have been talking about which one to do first, then new kitchen or the addition. Okay, let me back up a bit.
Right now, I’m working on our bedroom suite. And yes, I have quite a way to go before it will be finished, especially since I was slowed down last week with my injured hand. But I do plan to get that whole thing completely finished before moving on to the next project. After it’s finished, I’ll take a short amount of time to finish up the studio bathroom since it will be our temporary (and only) guest bathroom. After that, I’ll get the inside of my workshop set up so that I can be ready for the next big project.
I had planned on that next big project being the kitchen. I’ve already explained why I will be remodeling our kitchen, and why I’m going to keep the kitchen in its current location instead of moving it to the breakfast room as I had been planning for the last year. If you missed that post, you can see it here. As of right now, I plan on that new kitchen looking something like this. The peninsula will stay where it currently sits.
The back wall will have actual usable floor-to-ceiling cabinets, and I’m hoping I can move the refrigerator to that back wall.
And, of course, the opening to the living room will stay…
And then, with the refrigerator moved, I’ll have more room on the range wall.
And then after that, the plan was to finally do the addition on the back of the house. We’ve been talking about this addition almost as long as we’ve been in this house. I’m really glad that we didn’t jump in and do it sooner, though, because plans have changed so much over the years. And looking back, I think things have worked out perfectly. I love our bedroom suite, and had I forged ahead with earlier plans that we had years ago, it would have been completely different. So I’m not at all sad or frustrated with the fact that the addition has continued to be put on the back burner while I focus on other things.
But I really am wondering if my plan is in the wrong order. I think the addition needs to come before the kitchen. The addition will be a family room, guest bathroom, and guest bedroom.
Here’s my thought process. Over the last week or so, I started asking myself this question. If I could only choose one or the other, the kitchen or the addition, which one would I choose?
The clear answer is the addition. Without the addition, I won’t be able to have an actual dining area because that dining area will have to accommodate a sitting area for Matt. And while we don’t have a real demand for a guest bedroom, it would be nice to have one. But what would be really helpful is to have a room that we can use as a home gym again. Right now, Matt’s Theracycle and my treadmill are in my studio, and that can’t be a long-term solution. And, of course, it would be really nice to have a proper guest bathroom sooner than later rather than guests having to trek through my studio for a bathroom. And finally, I feel like any plans for our back yard are perpetually on hold until the addition is built.
And finally, I asked myself this. If I had to live the rest of my life with our current kitchen, could I do it?
That answer is obviously a “yes”. I’ve lived with this kitchen for ten years, and I’ve been perfectly fine. At a minimum, I would want new appliances, and I’d have to get the countertops refinished again. Those are concrete countertops, and they accumulate stains over the years. So the main area that I use to the left of the sink is pretty stained right now. And I don’t think they can be removed and replaced without damaging the cabinets, so I wouldn’t even want to try unless I’m willing to take the chance of a full remodel.
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m still fully on board with a complete kitchen remodel. That’s still my plan. But a full kitchen remodel and a house addition are both really big projects, and I’m just trying to weigh which one is more important. Matt isn’t really any help in this decision. His answer, as with most everything else, is, “It doesn’t matter to me.” And since we can’t peer into the future and know exactly what the future holds, I always try to hold these plans loosely so that I won’t be devastated if I never get to see my plans come to full fruition.
But yes, when I weigh the two biggest projects that we have planned in the future, I think the addition is actually more important to me than a new kitchen. So as I look at our long-term plan, and we budget for our long-term plan, I think that’s the direction we’re going to head. Can you even imagine how exciting it will be to finally build that addition after talking about it for ten years? I mean, talk about long-term plans! 😀
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
