The 10 Year Kitchen

This is the first kitchen I’ve ever done in my pajamas.

After buying our house in 2000 and adding on 960 SF plus a pool, the kitchen never got done. Sure we had grand plans but things kept getting in the way. Because of some of the other work in the house we would do parts of the kitchen toward the master plan but never did the kitchen completely until this last winter. I decided to go ahead and ‘get-er-done’ as they say.

We looked at buying new cabinets and got prices, we looked at the option of unfinished cabinets and finally decided to work with what we had. One of the key motivators was that a used counter depth Sub Zero was donated to The Atlanta Fuller Center for Housing’s ‘Re Claim It Store’ that we were able to purchase very reasonably. We also started looking at what used cabinets at the ReClaim It Store were available that we could implement.

Being an award winning remodeling contractor I struggled with a perception of what would people think if I’m out here doing all these beautiful kitchens and what my clients and perspective clients would think of me using used stuff in my own kitchen, and here are my thoughts;

I really wanted to get our kitchen done this time and we could finally piece it together.

As a tree hugger I really liked the idea of reusing, I wanted to lead by example and what better way than in my own home.

I really wanted to support the work of The Fuller Center through our purchases.

I knew we would save a lot of money on cabinets, and could invest the sweat equity to make up the difference by doing the refinishing work ourselves.

Now our kitchen consists of items from four different kitchens plus some new stuff.

We reused 8 existing cabinets, 8 used cabinets and the Sub Zero came from the Re Claim It Store, we only had to purchase 3 new cabinets, the stove and microwave came from a scratch and dent store, the sink we bought a long time ago at IKEA, the faucet is new, the countertops were made on site with new material, the raised bar material came from a used commercial display, we made the corbels out of scrap iron, the floor tile we’ve had for 10 years as well as the backsplash material, new paint, hardware we bought new online.

We still have a new lighting plan scheduled after we have our home measured for energy efficiency (or lack thereof) so I can have real world testimony and experience based on applying the principals on my own home.

At the end of the day I’m happy with my decision and my wife is happy with me.

http://www.magnetconstruction.com/gallery-kitchens-galey.php

what would your world look like if…?

what would your world look like if…?

What would my street look like if everyone had a safe, affordable, decent home to live in?
What would my neighborhood look like if everyone had a safe, affordable decent home to live in?
What would my city look like if everyone had a safe, affordable decent home to live in?
What would my state look like if everyone had a safe, affordable decent home to live in?
What would my country look like if everyone had a safe, affordable decent home to live in?
What would my continent look like if everyone had a safe, affordable decent home to live in?
What would my world look like if everyone had a safe, affordable decent home to live in?

There would be no more tent villages, cardboards huts, nobody sleeping under bridges, nobody sleeping on park benches or steam grates, nobody living in cars, “no more shacks”, no more ghettos, no more slums, no more children in the streets, no more broken windows, no more leaky roofs, no more leaky pipes, no more rotted floors, no more cold nights,

People would have a place to lay their head, a place to dream, a place to be loved, a place to learn, a place to laugh, a place to cry, a place to go to and a place to leave from,

In that world I see healthy kids playing, dogs barking, cats meowing, birds chirping, students studying, pots on the stove, family gatherings, grandma and grandpa on the front porch, pretty painted houses, flowers, bushes, trees and grass, white picket fences, tire swings and trampolines,

In that world every man, women & child has a place to call home, neighbors are helping neighbors, we are carefully using & reusing our natural resources, our municipalities are strong,

what would your world look like if…? Comment & RePost

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There is no place like home, together we can make a difference!!

Mark Galey, Volunteer & President, Atlanta Fuller Center