The Reason for the Remake

So I've decided that its time to redo my kitchen. I'm not talking about a few little fix ups either. We're talking about tearing everything out, gutting the room and starting from scratch. Now, you might ask, what would lead me to make such a big decision? Take a look at the culprit - my stove. Or as I like to call it, Old Yeller.

Not a very pretty thing is it. The ugly stain-yellow color. The burnt out inside. The aluminum foil drip pans for the burners. The broken clock/timer. The push button controls for the burners that have four settings - off, low, medium and high. The fact that the stove cooking time varies with each use. The list goes on and on.

The stove came with the house when I bought it in November 2002, and I think it was probably here when the house was built 40-plus years ago. Needless to say, it's time for Old Yeller to die. Thus created step one of the problem.

As it turns out, Old Yeller is not a standard sized stove. It's 27" wide, whereas most standard stoves are 30" wide. See the problem? To buy a new stove that is considered a 'space saver' at just 27" wide would cost twice as much as normal stove and looks likes a plastic, cheap, toy stove.

In order to get a new, standard size, normal stove, would involve cutting some of the kitchen counter and replacing the cabinets on one side of the stove. Not to mention the fact that the vent hood thingy above the stove is 42" long. Which begs the question - why have a shorter than normal stove with the longest possible sized vent thingy? So removing that would involve new cabinets above the stove area since I would like to get a stove with a microwave above it, and I don't know many microwaves that are 42" long.

Of course, it's impossible to replace just one section of cabinets. I would have to replace them all. And if the cabinets get replaced, the counter top will have to be replaced to match it. And if the counter top is replaced, I should go ahead and get a new sink so I have a sink with the two sides, not just a sink with the one tub thingy. Oh, and a new sink might as well include a new faucet as well. Why not? While I'm at it, if all the cabinets and the stove are going to be taken out to be replaced, I should go ahead and replace the floor while all that stuff is already out.

So yeah, that's the dilemma I've run into. And during the course of this wonderful (stressful), fun (stressful), creative (I have no clue what I'm doing), and financially rewarding (hello ramen noodles) experience, I plan on typing about it on here to keep everyone updated on the experience and as a way to pass along my joy (vent my stress/frustrations) to others with my kitchen remodeling.

And all this is possible because just like in the movie, it's time for Old Yeller to die.