Our cabinets have been taken down. Not so much “knocked down” as carefully removed, since we plan to reuse items like the doors for the new peninsula cabinets and donate the rest. When we moved in last December, the kitchen already felt overwhelmed by wood, and removing the uppers was the first step toward lightening the room.
We’ve decided to install a wall of counter-to-ceiling penny tile, with a few open shelves flanking the range hood we’ll build into that wall. We weighed the pros and cons of open shelving—dust, grease, and all—before committing to just a modest run on either side of the hood. The rest of the upper storage will remain in the form of cabinets above the pantry, fridge, and dishwasher, so we’re not eliminating upper storage entirely.
Because we wanted to be sure we wouldn’t run out of storage, we emptied every upper cabinet before taking them down to see where items would land. Our plan is to keep only frequently used dishes on the open shelves—items that get washed often and won’t have time to gather dust—along with a few decorative or practical things such as a vase, some lidded jars for sugar and flour, a handful of cookbooks, and a potted plant. Everything else would need to find a new home in remaining cabinets and lower storage.
The relocation exercise took about thirty minutes of deliberate sorting and planning. It would have been easy to jam things into other cupboards in five minutes, but a thoughtful approach saved us the hassle of constantly rearranging. We decided where to store oddball items like phone books, light bulbs, and cookie cutters, and after everything was put away we actually found we had room to spare. The entire corner cabinet of the peninsula is empty right now (it still needs a lazy Susan and a door), and once the everyday dishes move to the new open shelves, another corner cabinet will be freed up as well. Additionally, an upper cabinet adjacent to the pantry is completely empty and will be cut down and rehung above a built-in microwave. The new peninsula has more than compensated for the few uppers we traded in for shelving.
Removing the cabinets was straightforward. We unscrewed a series of very long screws that fastened them to the wall, the ceiling, and to each other while one person supported each unit so nothing fell. The immediate visual impact was bigger than we expected: the room instantly felt more open, even if photos don’t fully capture the change. At first the space looked a little chaotic, but once we cleared debris, moved extra cabinets into the sunroom, and pushed the stove back into place, the kitchen felt noticeably lighter.
It’s a classic phase of renovation where things get worse before they get better. Right now the exposed ceiling and the flash of old red paint we uncovered look rough, but those are temporary. Without the bulky, too-low microwave that once lurked dangerously above the stove, the kitchen already breathes easier. Soon that wall will be filled with tile and shelving and a properly functioning, built-in range hood, and it will be a major upgrade.
Next steps include removing the backsplash, taking off the remaining cabinet hardware, priming and painting the cabinet doors we intend to reuse, and installing counters. After the countertops are in, we’ll add the backsplash tile, install a built-in stainless microwave and dishwasher, redo the lighting, and replace the flooring with the mocha cork we picked up. There’s a lot to do, but we’re tackling it one step at a time.
Living without a microwave so far has been manageable—soup has been warmed on the stove, which feels almost quaint—and having the dishwasher hooked up has made life easier, even amid the mess. The kitchen is temporarily stripped down, but the direction is clear and the improvements will be worth the disruption.
Psst — The title of this post nods to some of our earlier kitchen posts from a few years back. It’s fun to see the renovation story come full circle.