Posted by jsexton – September 26, 2006 9:44 PM

In all honesty, I didn't really want to do this kitchen remodel. I resisted it for years, in part because I'm frugal and have started worrying about things like retirement and college funds. But there is a bigger reason.

Gretchen and I have remodeled two other kitchens in previous homes, one in Knoxville and one in Washington, D.C. Both were do-it-yourself jobs. We learned a lot in the process and, although it was hard work, we had fun with it. In fact, we got addicted to home improvement, spending way too many hours working on those two houses.

Now, with two kids, I've made a solemn vow not to burn up my weekends on home projects. Weekends should be mini-vacations: Doing fun things with the family, pursuing hobbies, reading, walking, catching up on TV and the necessary chores. Okay -- I suppose I do spend a couple hours catching up on work email also. Nevertheless, I like this philosophy. My wife is less enthusiastic about it, but she's a game individual, not to mention flexible in these matters.

That said, our kitchen wasn't getting any better. And Gretchen did not give up on the conversation. The more we talked about it, the bigger the project became. We kept adding to the ideas, and the cost. Perhaps I had done myself a disservice by delaying this whole thing...

Here's the "before" shot of our eating area: