Dining room to kitchen conversion

Last week I reviewed my homeowner's insurance policy limits with my agent. When I got home I told Mrs. Headless that if the house burned down we would have $xxx,xxx to rebuild. I also mentioned that we wouldn't necessarily have to rebuild the same house on our property. In particular, we could get away from the formal dining room and build a large eat-in kitchen.

Our home currently has a traditional dining room that is rarely used for dining, only three days each year. Actually, make it only two times since we will usually dine out on Easter. Lifestyles have changed, and this room no longer suits ours. It is now a place for storage and for cats to sleep.

A little later a lightbulb went on for me. Why burn down the house when we can make the changes to the existing structure?

I've been planning the design change ever since. It is not your usual eat-in kitchen, but I think it will look great and be the new place to be in our house. It will be the spot that people stop upon entering the house and an excellent configuration for entertaining.



The Project: Knock out a portion of the load bearing wall between our kitchen and dining room and install an island through the opening along with 30" space for traffic. The island will include a second oven and a barsink, er, make that "prep sink", and be topped with the same type of granite we used in the existing kitchen.

On the back half of the island build a 42" high eating bar. Install new cabinets in the current dining room, including a 72" built-in china hutch and also include a 42" opening for a counter depth built-in refrigerator.

We will also leave space for a pair of easy chairs and a small table. "The Starbucks Area" is what I have designated this spot.

I will install an LCD TV on one wall to improve the livability of the room further. This will be "The Sports Bar" when Mrs. Headless is not around.

This blog is my online diary for this kitchen expansion project. I intend to complete the work in time for our Smoke Day Party on Memorial Day weekend.