Haunted by kitchen plans

I mentioned in a previous post that our original house design included a kitchen layout.  As we move forward to renovating the kitchen, I find myself haunted by these plans.  We will be doing a kitchen remodel sometime in the spring of 2006 and already had the floor plan design and most of the materials selected before we received these plans.  Generally, we plan to use existing cabinetry for one wall of cabinets, build a new run of base cabinets on our north wall, and build an island using a baker’s table as a model but sizing it up a bit.  A few key items stand in the way of restoring the kitchen to the original plans:

1)     Money.  We have a shoestring budget and our plans make great use of current items in the kitchen and house.  Changes mean more money.

2)     Refrigeration.  We need it.  And it wasn’t there in 1908.

3)     Range hood.  My mother regularly takes credit these days for having removed the original hood.  She claims that it was hideous.  Looking at period pictures, I know what she’s talking about.  But I’d probably put it back if it were not for the fact  that the other adults in the house would shoot me. 

4)     Gadgets.  We have so many more of these things and need more cupboard space than in the original plans (though the plans are more generous than I had imagined).

5)     The wall that was removed is an improvement.  So much more light comes into the kitchen with the wall removed.  But it is clearly a load-bearing wall, so we may have someone give it a look-see when the wall board is down to make sure it is sound.

Because of the original design, we are making some changes to our own plan:

1)     We have one run of base cabinets being built which we will have constructed in the style in the plans.

2)     We will open up the windows on the north wall that were removed.  I had planned very little upper-cabinet space on that wall, so that change is a no-brainer.

3)     We may be going with linoleum instead of restoring the yellow pine floor.  That sink in the kitchen island was placed right in the current path of traffic.  I wonder what kind of hole we will find there left by the plumbing.

Question for you all:

●      Would you patch the pine floor if the hole was a big one in a major traffic area?

1)     Money.  We have a shoestring budget and our plans make great use of current items in the kitchen and house.  Changes mean more money.

2)     Refrigeration.  We need it.  And it wasn’t there in 1908.

3)     Range hood.  My mother regularly takes credit these days for having removed the original hood.  She claims that it was hideous.  Looking at period pictures, I know what she’s talking about.  But I’d probably put it back if it were not for the fact  that the other adults in the house would shoot me. 

4)     Gadgets.  We have so many more of these things and need more cupboard space than in the original plans (though the plans are more generous than I had imagined).

5)     The wall that was removed is an improvement.  So much more light comes into the kitchen with the wall removed.  But it is clearly a load-bearing wall, so we may have someone give it a look-see when the wall board is down to make sure it is sound.

Because of the original design, we are making some changes to our own plan:

1)     We have one run of base cabinets being built which we will have constructed in the style in the plans.

2)     We will open up the windows on the north wall that were removed.  I had planned very little upper-cabinet space on that wall, so that change is a no-brainer.

3)     We may be going with linoleum instead of restoring the yellow pine floor.  That sink in the kitchen island was placed right in the current path of traffic.  I wonder what kind of hole we will find there left by the plumbing.

Question for you all:

●      Would you patch the pine floor if the hole was a big one in a major traffic area?

Comments

[Gary]

I would replace it. It isn't that hard of a job. Can you find a board to replace it with? You may need to find someone with a table saw to cut a new board.

[GaleForce]

Hi Gary. You've given me hope that I've worked this up in my mind to be a bigger deal than it is. I'll talk to a carpenter. We've actually got a very large hole in the great room floor filled with plywood at the moment. I'll ask about that while I'm at it.

[Jocelyn]

I agree with Gary- you should be able to repair it. You could even take old boards from the corner of the room and use those for that middle spot so it matches well. Then use the "new" board for a hidden spot.