Way Back When

When we first saw what’s now our house, I didn’t want to make an offer because of the kitchen. The kitchen took me back to the 1970s, when I was a Brownie and the leader of my troop was married to a builder. And the kitchen of our-house-to-be had a kitchen that seemed like what a 1970s builder would come up with – well-made cabinets, a backsplash made from tiles that were originally on the floor of Congress, and an unforgettable color combination. I know it’s unforgettable, because someone who hadn’t seen it in a decade said, when she heard we were remodeling, “Do you still have those blue countertops?”
I hope they didn’t damage her retinas back when she visited.

See that mesh in the lower cabinets? More on that later.

Not enough tiles, I guess, so more blue laminate behind the stove.

Anyway, I hated the kitchen. It wasn’t the first kitchen I’d hated, but previously, I’d hated other people’s recent remodels. Hating an outdated kitchen was something new for me. George reminded me that I’d said I’d rather remodel a kitchen than live with someone else’s choices. Well, yeah, but how could we just get rid of those antique tiles? He insisted that we could find someone who would love them, and that was that. We bought the house, and a mere 11.5 years later, here we are remodeling.

No one will ever accuse us of undue haste.
The other problem with the house was the master suite. Our house is a colonial that was built in the 1920s. About 15 years later, someone added a shed dormer and turned the attic into living space. Over the years, various people — who no doubt had the best intentions – added bargain off-white wall-to-wall carpet, an array of closets that managed to provide very little storage, and a bathroom with vinyl wallpaper and peel-and-stick tile. It was all very beige and not at all functional.

Note the amount of space between the sink and the shower.