My Austin home renovation: the kitchen

Before my husband and I moved to east Texas about two years ago, we lived in Austin — him for 30 years and me for 20.

About a month before we met and eventually married, I had finished the major remodel of my little cottage in north central Austin, taking it from 896 square feet to 1,618 square feet.

This is the first of several posts about my renovation project.   Today you’ll see the “before” and “after” photos of my kitchen transformation.

MY KITCHEN “BEFORE”:

Ruth Avenue kitchen - before

The original kitchen was very tiny and incredibly outdated.  Forget about modern conveniences like a dishwasher.

Cabinetry and drawer space?  You see it in this one photo.  Same thing with counter space.  I had about 2 feet on either side of the sink to prepare meals, make coffee, and dry dishes.

The tile countertops and floor always felt dirty no matter  how much I scrubbed.

The only redeeming feature of my original kitchen was that it looked kind of cute with its open shelves.  I tried to make things pretty as best I could with old glass jars, teacups, and plates.

decorative jars, teacups, and plates in old kitchen

I ate out a lot.      Also, with limited prep area, I ate mostly one-dish meals.

If you noticed the Charlie brown tree at the end of the cabinetry …

Ruth Avenue kitchen and dining room - before

… it hid a really bad patch job that resulted when I ripped out a LARGE ugly peninsula.  The peninsula did provide useful storage, but it also made the kitchen feel much smaller than it already was, plus I needed room for my table.

(This table also served as a desk.  That large notebook you see is full of house remodeling ideas.)

Ruth Avenue kitchen - before - Charlie Brown tree hiding terrible patch job

Truthfully, the patch job behind the little tree didn’t bother me much.  I knew the long-term plan was to renovate … so I just lived with it.

On the north wall of the kitchen was the connection for the gas range.    To the left of the range was the back door.

Ruth Avenue kitchen - before - I used an old cabinet for a pantry

Why the construction company ever put the back door in a corner, I’ll never know for sure.    One plausible theory is that my Austin cottage, originally built in 1949, was a kit home, so they just built it according to the directions.

All I know is that it completely disrupted the flow of the entire kitchen!

Ruth Avenue kitchen - before - door in the corner and an old cabinet for a pantry

There was just enough room to squeeze by the refrigerator and range to open the back door.  There was no easy fix, so I just lived with it.

There was no room for the microwave, other than on top of the refrigerator, so I used my little white stepladder often.

The pine cabinet you see?  That was my pantry.

Ruth kitchen - before - homemade blueprints

The hand-drawn papers on the side of the refrigerator were the original layout designs I drew up using graph paper …

original blueprints_1

… and ideas I’d torn out of magazines for years.

home remodeling ideas_1

Call it “creating a vision for what the house could be”.  Call me a control freak … or frugal.  I just had a list of “must have this” and “would be nice to have that”, and I wanted to design in every single one of those things into the renovation.

Months later, when I was ready to take the plunge, I did hire an architect to get ready for the city permitting process.

blueprints from architect_1

I was a single gal at the time, and it’s not like I needed more than 800 square feet.    However, the horrible kitchen really did justify the huge expense and time investment of a major renovation.  All of the below factors impacted my decision to renovate:

  • I knew I had to move the back door to a better location.
  • The tile floors and countertops had to go.  They were that ugly.
  • I wanted more storage for dishes, pots and pans, and food pantry items.
  • I needed much more space to prep food.  I couldn’t survive on Taco Bell and Hamburger Helper forever.
  • I wanted modern conveniences like a dishwasher and garbage disposal.
  • I wanted my microwave to be more accessible.

MY KITCHEN “AFTER”:

Fast forward through all the site work, framing, electrical, plumbing, drywall, (and etc.) work (which I’ll write about some other time), and this was the final kitchen.

REMODELED KITCHEN

Quite a difference, huh.

Here’s a few details that may interest you:

  • I installed reclaimed oak flooring from an architectural salvage business in Austin.  (Remember, this remodel was well before my husband and I started our salvage business, so I didn’t have an inventory of reclaimed wood.)   After cleaning and refinishing work, the oak flooring almost exactly matched the original oak flooring.
  • My carpenter installed new beadboard on the ceilings, walls, pony wall, island, and backsplash.  I painted all the beadboard white.  Post remodel, visitors frequently asked if it was original to the house, a testament to the enduring vintage quality of beadboard.
  • Reclaimed corbels support the island overhang.  Old corbels are also mounted in the doorway between the kitchen and living room.  You can see a close-up of them here.
  • The black countertops are not granite or soapstone but a solid surface material, by Richlite.  Made from paper, it’s a sustainable product.
  • The round contraption on the ceiling in the center of the room is a sun tunnel, basically a small skylight.  Since there were no windows in the kitchen, the sun tunnel provided plentiful natural light.

 

It was definitely a labor of love, and I was so proud of what I accomplished.   Let me know what you think about the transformation!

Before and After Kitchen Renovation Comparison

I’ll be posting more articles about my Austin home renovation in the coming weeks so stay tuned!

 

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Chicken Pomodoro with Garlic Spaghetti

It’s been a while since I posted a recipe, and that just ain’t right because I love tasty food!

So without further delay, here’s a question for you:

Are you in the mood for an easy, tasty meal using chicken and garden fresh tomatoes?

If so, I have a meal for you. We’ve made this dishseveral times, and it’s never, ever disappointed.

It’s a perfect summertime meal:  it’s filling but not too heavy, does not require an oven, and it’s ready in 30 minutes.

 

CHICKEN POMODORO WITH GARLIC SPAGHETTI
 
Ingredients
  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved, pounded to ¼-inch thick (8 oz. each)
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1⁄4 cup vodka
  • 1⁄2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1⁄4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup halved heirloom cherry tomatoes
  • 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
  • 1⁄4 cup minced scallions
  • 8 oz. dry spaghetti
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp. minced garlic
  • 2 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley
  • 1 Tbsp. minced lemon zest
  • Salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste
  • 1⁄2 cup crumbled ricotta salata OR feta (optional)

Instructions
  1. Season cutlets with salt and pepper, then dust with flour. Coat a large sauté pan with nonstick spray. Add oil and heat over medium-high.
  2. Sauté cutlets until brown, 2–3 minutes per side. Transfer cutlets to a plate.
  3. Off heat, deglaze pan with vodka and cook until liquid evaporates. Add broth and cream and reduce until thick, 2–3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and lemon juice and bring to a simmer. Return cutlets to pan and cook to warm through, 1 minute per side.
  4. Serve cutlets with sauce and garnish with scallions.
  5. Meanwhile, cook spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water according to package directions. Reserve 1⁄2 cup pasta water; drain remaining water.
  6. Heat oil in same pot over medium-high. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds. Stir in pasta water, parsley, zest, and spaghetti; toss to coat. Season spaghetti with salt, black pepper, and pepper flakes, then stir in ricotta salata or feta, if desired.

Let me know if you decide to try this recipe.  I’d love to know!

***********

By the way, I’ve got to tell you that all of Cuisine at Home recipes we’ve ever tried have been absolutely, positively delicious.

Not only that, I love that their recipes come with a photo of the finished dish, as well as step-by-step photos. For example, check out their Sausage & Potato Frittata recipe, which comes complete with a photo of the entree as well as three in-process photos.

frittata collage

Cuisine at Home is in the business of selling their magazines and cookbooks, but if I haven’t sold you, you can get a free preview issue.

However, if you’re frugal like me, and you’d like to get FREE recipes from them periodically, just sign up for their emails and you’ll get a delicious recipe from them every few weeks, like this one.     Each eRecipe usually comes with a handy test kitchen tip.

Now for the disclosure:  I was not paid in any way to make this endorsement.  I just like their recipes, and I thought you might as well!

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