An extra bit: A taste of the real "Before"

I found this photo tonight; it's the best I could find to give a sense of the kitchen "before" since the ones I took just before this project began were all out of focus.

Taken at Christmas in 2004; Skipper is a baby,

Sage (no longer with us) is still spry.

Things worthy of note in the "before" photo:

The corner to Ray's left. Totally useless bit of space which was therefore filled with all sorts of random things, like dog food, a bread box, etc. There was also an even more useless cabinet in that corner. Accessing that cupboard meant kneeling and then trying to squeeze your arm and shoulder through the tiny door to get at things which were inevitably hiding in the very back. There was a similar space in the opposite corner; that one was full of bread maker, spice rack, radio . . . you get the picture.

The 12" of counter space between the sink and the stove. Kitchen planning guides say you need at LEAST 30". Oops.

The jutting bit of counter in the right foreground; that represents the edge of the kitchen counter and its corresponding cabinets. We had cabinets only along that one side. On the other wall was just the fridge (and a desk).

The attractive white melamine paint with its stencilled country details (hey, it was better than the terrible walnut-brown veneer that was there when we moved in).

I'm sorry I don't have a better photo of the whole room, but this gives a pretty good idea of what we had to work with before -- and so helps you understand the amount of grinning I was doing today.