It’s been a while since I did a home tour. If you’ve missed the previous reveals, you can catch up with my Main Bathroom remodel and Guest Bathroom reveal. Today, let’s focus on my kitchen renovation.
Hands down, this is the most used room in my home. I spend crazy amounts of time in here, even when I’m not cooking.
Just off to the side of the kitchen I converted an awkward space into a reading nook. In the mornings, I sit and read or pray and meditate, before it gets too warm.
And on the other side, there’s a work-in-progress plant wall / indoor garden which also takes up a lot of my time.
So, all in all, lots of traffic in here, and that’s not even counting cooking and eating time.
The kitchen is definitely my favourite room, because the transformation is huge and I love how it turned out.
Kitchen renovation: The before
House 17 when I first got it, actually had 2 kitchens, which is a very common “Asian” home concept. First, the “dry kitchen”, which is where you make simple things like drinks, a sandwich or slice up fruits. And then the “wet kitchen”, where the real action happens.
This is the view from the old dining area, looking towards the dry kitchen with bar table (along left wall) and wet kitchen beyond the archway.
On entering the wet kitchen. On the left, a door that leads to the yard.
Turn right and you’ll see the cooking area.
And next to the hob, some cabinets and a short length of wall. The strange aquarium tank like glass pane peers into what would eventually be my indoor garden.
On the other side (facing the cooking area), is the door that opens up to the yard. You see a peek of the dry kitchen to the left of the wall, where you first entered.
And that completes a 360 degree tour of the old kitchen.
The plan of action
I didn’t like the layout and did not have the need for 2 kitchens.
So I got cracking and revamped it totally. Sorry for the tiny floor plan photo but that’s the only one I have.
kitchen renovation plans
I removed the dry kitchen entirely and made that my dining area (labelled in red). It made more sense than eating next to the staircase.
And then, the blue circles were walls I (which means my contractors) took down. The dividing wall and door to the yard were completely removed and replaced with sliding doors (from the left wall towards Bath 3), so I could still close up the kitchen area should I need to do some wild wokking.
And the red line up on the top left is where I added a wall to close the area up and create my reading spot.
Where the old stove was I opened it up and added another pair of sliding doors leading out to my indoor garden. And beyond that, a door to the yard and laundry area. A lot of doors! Yes.
I did not keep any of the old kitchen cabinets as the veneer was peeling and the insides mucky from oil stains.
And now, see the complete kitchen renovation reveal on JulesHome.Life.
View the entire Renovation Diary series.
Jules is the author of IKEAHackers.net: 25 Biggest and Best Projects".
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