Kitchen Renovation - Day 1

The first day of our kitchen/bathroom/entryway renovation is over and we are very impressed with the progress.  The entire kitchen has been stripped and hauled away (except for the refrigerator, which we will donate to Habitat for Humanity).  It's amazing how big the kitchen looks with everything removed!  We were worried that there would be pipes, wires, etc. behind the soffets above our cabinets, but luckily they were just for show and the original plaster walls were the only thing back there.

The other great surprise was that when they pulled up the old parquet floors in our entryway, there was beautiful white oak hardwood underneath!  It is in perfect condition, except for a few nail holes from where the parquet subfloor was nailed.  These wood floors run all the way through the kitchen to the back of the house, so we will now have the original hardwood throughout.  Often in older houses the more expensive wood was used only for floors in the living room and dining room areas, with cheaper pine in the kitchen and bedrooms.  Luckily for us, our house was built with the nicer white oak throughout. 

I think George was the only one not excited by the first day's progress.  He's not too happy about the strange men tearing apart his house.  Our lovely neighbors are going to take him today, so he'll be able to nap in peace!