Author: Nicole Fallon | Published 4:02 PM, March 29, 2021

In the real estate sector, some need to be repainted, some external works, and perhaps some new floors and fixed uppers for electrical appliances. There are also some houses, such as the run-down two-bedroom, one-bathroom ranch that my husband and I moved into.

From the first day, our plan was to completely demolish this 80-year-old house and move the bedroom to the new second floor, so our architect made a plan to move the kitchen from the front to the back of the house. The existing bedroom there. The construction plan didn't start until a few months later, but we couldn't wait: in our first week of staying in the house, we removed the wall separating the two 9 x 12 bedrooms and set up a temporary living space in it. One day it will be our open 18 x 12 kitchen and dining room.

We like to cook together (our dream is to buy and operate a food truck), so our new kitchen must have a lot of preparation and storage space. We also like to entertain and let a small group of friends and family have dinner, so we want a spacious, open layout with no separation between the kitchen and the dining room.

The house has not been updated since the previous owner bought it 25 years ago, which means there are linoleum floors, many light wood cabinets and (very) old appliances. In any case, everything in our kitchen is new, and we want a stylish and modern appearance of the space.

We chose stylish all-white cabinets with black and white granite countertops and grey and white herringbone tile backsplashes. (Yes, our tiler just hates us a bit, but agrees that it looks beautiful when it is finished!) The restaurant will continue to have a single-color appearance and use two-color off-white walls.

To contrast with the cool grays, whites, and blacks, we chose a rich, warm floor tile that mimics the laminated wood floors we installed elsewhere in the house.

Related: According to professional organizers, these cabinet customizations are totally worth it

We are fortunate to be able to DIY most of the contents of this home renovation project. My father owns a general contracting company, so he helped us with a lot of work, including the removal, framing and installation of new kitchen cabinets. We hired contractors to help with utility work, gypsum board/insulation materials and tiles.

The demonstration is by far the most interesting and a great way to reduce stress. If you plan to do DIY dismantling, be prepared for large amounts of dust and flying debris (safety goggles, work gloves and dust masks must be worn!). Also, pay special attention to your wires when removing walls and uprights, so you don't short-circuit and almost cause an electrical fire (just like we did-oops!).

When we moved in, the first thing we noticed in our house was that there were no windows at the back of the house, which made both bedrooms feel very dark and cave-like.

During the renovation process, we sealed the windows on both sides of the house with wooden boards, and framed a sliding patio door and a window on the sink on the back wall. We also added a small window at the top of the dining room wall. This allows us to let in as much natural light as possible while increasing our overall privacy.

Bonus: There are windows on the back wall, we can pay close attention to the puppies when they are out and enjoy the view of the big and beautiful trees in the yard!

Related: Cautions for caulking windows

The biggest challenge we encountered in this project was to compete with the original floor. In order to prepare the space for the new tiles, we had to pull up six floors (yes, six floors!) of the existing floor, including several layers of stripped and pasted carpet tiles, discolored hardwood floors, and partially decaying subfloors. Once all old The floors were all pulled up, we replaced the damaged sub-floor and put down the cement board to provide a flat and even surface for the new tiled floor.

We also found quite a lot of black mold behind the walls under the old windows. These old windows have poor heat insulation and were previously equipped with leaky window air conditioners. Fortunately, because we removed and replaced every stud and gypsum board panel, we didn't have to worry about mold return.

At the time of writing, the kitchen and dining room of our dreams are about to be completed. In addition to installing the upcoming 9-inch cabinets to frame the windows above the windows, we also needed to add a white chair armrest to separate the gray and white paint in the dining room. We also wanted to use the white decorative lines arranged in a square on the lower half of the restaurant wall to create the appearance of artificial panels.

So far, the favorite part of our new kitchen is the large granite island. It provides us with some extra space for lower cabinets and drawers, as well as an ideal place for us to prepare, serve and enjoy daily meals. When we need to change the landscape of the shared home office, it can even double as an alternative work space!

Overall, our kitchen and dining room have become our favorite spaces in our home, and we look forward to holding many dinner parties and family gatherings at our table in the future.

Related: Before and After: The breakfast nook went from dated and monotonous to modern and comfortable

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