My Kitchen Hero

Adam worked very, very hard for two days and got the kitchen to "paint stage" -- when I got to help again.
Remember how I said the dry wall under those bump-outs was rather pathetic?

 It's hardly attached. And look at those whopping gaps! It saddened Adam to think of all the dry wall patching he would have to do.
Then he thought of putting boards in those long empty strips! I stained them first, and now it kind of looks like we have beams in our kitchen.

Don't worry. I'll get rid of that nasty wallpaper.

 Thursday morning, his first task was to frame in a box around the stove vent.

 He then attached a sturdy piece of plywood to the front, and wrapped it in dry wall. We will be hanging our cast iron there, so he wanted a strong support under the dry wall. No we won't! Change of plans! Stay tuned for pot-hanging strategy.

 The stove hood and vent will hang under that box.

Friday morning, I painted. It's quite yellow.

 I perched on the refrigerator.
This is just the first coat. The wallpaper over the doors will be challenging to cover. It would not rip off.

More progress on Friday:

I can put a large Cheerios box on a shelf!

The bright yellow in the top photos is more accurate than the insipid beige of the bottom ones. Adam worked so hard on those four shelves in such a narrow space. Tomorrow he'll do more, longer shelves.

Saturday: Today we feel we have moved back into our kitchen!

 

Adam put up more and longer shelves today. Each bracket is held by four bolts with a spring attachment that spreads out on the other side of the dry wall. Each bracket holds 60 lbs.
Here are the shelves thus far on either side of the window:

I wanted cup hooks so badly.

 Here's the stove side of the kitchen. Smaller shelves, so cooking/baking essentials will be kept here. Other seldom-used or bulk items will be on longer shelves over the frig ... coming at a later date.

Yes, the hood is that yellow.
That's the spray paint I had.

 I wanted to get things off the counters, and I wanted almost no storage underneath. Adam and I are older and do not want to bend down. And we certainly do not want to squat. And if we actually get on the floor, we may not get up again!
Another high shelf will go up here (photo below), the length of the kitchen. It will hold all those never-used items that you simply can't throw away. 

(Someday I'll get around to painting those last strips of ceiling ....)

 When they come to gather dust on the top shelf in the kitchen, that will free up space elsewhere in the house (I have kitchen stuff all over), and I can move some of my books out of my studio, which will free up space for my yarn ....
On the other side of the room, a shelf will go above the frig, which we can reach easily with a small stool. Then one more nose-bleed section shelf over that.

 Like I said -- 10 foot ceilings
This narrow space between the frig and the back door used to house a pantry. It was a horrible space where food stuffs went to die.
Now it will hold the trash cans, broom, etc. And I may beg Adam to put one more little shelf there for hiding the ugly Tupperware/plastic.

So there you have it! I'm too tired to say more, and if I'm tired you can only imagine how Adam feels. Poor thing -- his bad leg doesn't do ladders well, and he's been up and down that tall ladder more times than we can count. He is stiff. I am so grateful for him. None of this -- none of it! -- is in some natural skill set for him, and it's not work that he particularly loves (as some men adore woodworking). But he did a brilliant job! And he was willing to do it, for me. (Humbling and wonderful) 
And now that we can really see our kitchen dream as a reality, we love it as we thought we would.

It's a rustic cabin-style kitchen!