I am assuming the house was built in the mid 60s. We have the same style of kitchen cabinets. In the future should you ever wish to strip them down to bare wood (which is white ash) give me a call. I'm your girl.

As for the living room issue. I would take the doors off, take the desk out and maybe the lower cabinets on the right. Since you don't have carpet anymore and aren't the handiest you could put in book cases to fill the space or some kind of organizational unit for Iliya's toys (if that's where he would play). Something that you could put baskets on or something. Then on the right leave it and maybe put pillows there for seating.

Hmmm, that's a touch one- the brick only on the bottom right creates a symmetry problem (not that what you currently have is symmetrical). I'd take out the bottom of both sides (and Elle brings up a good point- what about the floor under the desk unit?) The right side might make a great place for Iliya to sit and play and the left side would then be perfect for an accent piece of furniture- book shelving, perhaps. I'd definitely paint the uppers, and take the doors off so it feels more like a living room and less like a kitchen. Without hiring someone to come in and give you additional ideas and then complete the project, I think that might be the best way to make it livable and cute right now. HTH.

Hey Girl! WOW, this all looks SOOO good! Ya'll have done a wonderful job...the changes have been dramatic and awesome! Way to go! I LOVE the idea of built-ins!! I would give an arm and leg to have them in our house, so I say go-for-it when/if you can. Wonderful idea for sure...LOVE it! Keep up the good work, and keep the pictures coming. I missed my calling to be an interior designer, so I am all into it. :)

~Cindi L.

My vote is for leaving it as it is and just paint it all for now. Live with it for a while and then it will become clear what you want to do with it.
I still love those beautiful floors!
Blessings,
Pam Parker

Looking good. I second the vote for painting it and leaving it for a while. Ok...go ahead and take the upper doors off.

We have a desk in our kitchen (which I hate) that I'd love to take out. I personally think its a waste of space, but until we redo the entire kitchen I'm stuck. Its actually working out ok though as we just ordered a computer for Mateo and that is going to be where it goes. We want it in a public area of the house so we can supervise his use as he gets older. You might find that you'll want something like that down the road too.

Hi Melissa! I have been following your blog for a while but I think this is my first comment! I am a kitchen designer/cabinetry designer so this is right up my alley. I love what you've done with the house - what a difference! It's hard to tell from the pictures if they are actually cabinets or if they are just shelves with doors (no backs). If there are backs and sides I would rip everything out because if you add shelves below the existing cabinets it won't match up exactly. I would have open shelves on the right side of the fireplace - maybe even floating shelves (think Ikea floating shelves which would be easy to install). On the left I would add a base cabinet with doors and then have shelves above that. You could also just put a furniture piece in there but it would depend on the floors. It really depends on whether you want to display things or more storage for toys, games, etc.. If you don't want to tackle that right away, I would just take the doors off and paint everything white for now. Let me know if I can help at all.

Hey Melissa,

Love, love, love the hard wood floors! What a difference that makes.

As for the built in's-have you thought about leaving the shelves on the upper right side, but taking out the drawers. You could use the brick as a base to set your TV on. On the left side...I would take out the desk...and put more shelves...the only thing you have to be prepared for is... I'm, sure the hard wood floors do not run underneath the desk...so you will have to build up a base to the shleves...or you could build a bult in "toy box" for little man!

I have it in my mind, but it's hard to put in writing sometimes! Maybe we can talk about it more when we come for a visit! (((0:

Love,
Andrea

i am SOOOO sorry...i thought i had you on my e-mail updates! i promise that i will soon get you the details...exhausted tonight and have an early morning for some time out alone tomorrow am.

I love the house. I also love painted cabinets so this is my favorite style. I am surprised that you took down the drapes (LOL). I say look into having the built-ins done. With the economy the way it is you might be surprised there are so many out of work and you might just get a deal.
Joy

Melissa! Wow! You have been so busy! Your house is so nice. I can tell you don't give yourself enough credit for what a great DIY team you are. I agree though. I think cabinetry making would be where I'd call in the big boys too. I'll show my ignorance on this and post an opinion ... it won't be worth too much though. I would leave the bins on the right and make a cushion for the top of them and some throw pillows and maybe that (with the uppers removed) would create a fun little reading niche for Iilya? On the left, I'd have someone build me a simple lined entertainment center/storage area for media and mount a flat screen above on an extendable pull out arm. I would make sure that the height of the seat cushion and the top of the entertainment center were the same so as to balance and not be visually distracting. Another idea for the right might be to take all that away (maybe move the bins to the left instead of the desk) and create a space to stack firewood. That would be an essential in Alaska ... maybe not so much where ya'll are at. ;)

I had to add... cabinetry is so spendy ... maybe Nate could use the cabinets you remove in the garage???

Okay so you don't know me and I'm not even really sure how I stumbled upon your blog, but I have and stop by from time to time. As far as your built in idea I love it and think you should go for it. I live in Michigan and watch Ron Hazelton on Saturday morning. Not sure if your local stations broadcast his show, but he is a DIY pro and has many helpful hits and videos to show you how to do things online. Sounds like you have some really helpful friends. They might be able to join you in the project and together you can make memories and bookshelves that you love. You can rent most tools at Home Depot. Even if you don't use this for your built ins you can use it for something else maybe. www.ronhazelton.com is the website. I also agree with your friend Pam Parker about painting it white and letting it just come to you. Good luck and have fun!