Homing Missile: The Kitchen.

Here's the story of our kitchen.

I took these first two photos in September of 2011, a few weeks before we closed. The floorplan was so cramped that I couldn't get an unobstructed shot, even with my wide-angle lens.

Wall removed. I assumed we'd just repaint the original cabinets, but Jaime wanted a blank slate; by mid-November, the house was stripped to the studs.

Widening the dining-room doorway.

December: new wiring and plumbing is in. Drywall going up.

New Years progress: drywall ready for primer and paint.

Fast-forward 19 months to July of 2012, and progress has slowed considerably. These second-hand cabinets came out of a renovated McMansion in Vancouver, WA. We scored them for free, and then immediately realized they were completely out of scale and unworkable in our 90-year-old Craftsman. Back on Craigslist they went. Also note the exposed brick of the furnace chimney.

Christmas, 2012...

June of 2013. Window and door frame trim reinstalled. Walls painted. Flooring going down but not yet grouted. French doors (architectural salvage) are in position but not painted or installed. Our bed is set up in the living room.

Theo, not quite three years old. (He started kindergarten last week.)

September 2013: Cabinets and appliances arrive on pallets.

Electric stove swapped for gas.

Cabinets going up. Thank you, Grandpa Andrew!

Damaged in transit; warrantied, but still a hassle.

November 2013: Countertop installed. Subway-tile backsplash going in. Light fixture dangling.

Grouting, grouting, grouting.

I took this picture to remind myself never to buy a second-hand garbage disposal. They all leak, f.y.i.

Butcher-block counters. Thanks to friend and carpenter Kord Schaefle for fixing my botched handiwork. New back door and threshold are in but not stained.