Cozy Punxsy Cucina

The original kitchen was kind of depressing, but I didn’t have the cash or time for a full-blown redesign and new appliances. Here’s my attempt at a budget spruce-up.

First step always seems to be: Tear everything out. Sent the old pilot-light stove to the scrap yard, but was able to clean and keep the fridge. The sink and cabinets are c. 1950s steel construction, durable but rusty and very dirty. Refinishing them was a project in itself. Ended up sanding and spraying them in my garage. Almost wish I’d taken them to a body shop and forked over the dough. They came out great, though.

The kitchen needed more sunlight. Made the decision to sacrifice precious wall space for more glass.

Installed these windows in the winter; that’s snow back there. Had to get it all done before dark, when it got really cold. You can see the paint peeled from the ceiling and wall. This was the result of a rusted drain line in the bathroom above, which I had to fix before proceeding with the kitchen. That sucked, and set me back by a week, but I’m very glad it happened before I did the walls and floor.

Skipped a few steps, but this is how it came out with the extra window and new flooring.

Looking more like a kitchen! Repainted cabinets and sink installed. I’ll take a more up-to-date photo next time I’m in PA and post it. A trip to the Pittsburgh Ikea made a difference after this shot was taken.

Here’s the kitchen presently, complete with IKEA furniture. The two little white stools are courtesy Walmart. It’s a little cramped, won’t be serving Thanksgiving dinner in there, but suits us fine for the moment. I see a quick remodel in the future in which I take out part of the adjoining mud room (a mud hallway, actually) to expand a bit. One difference you can kind of notice in this image is that the old porch roof is gone. In the previous photos, I hadn’t removed the porch yet. It makes a huge difference in the amount of light that comes into the room.