I Feel A Kitchen Remodel Coming On

We bought our coastal home a year and a half ago.
We traveled across six states to see it after fawning over some beautiful pictures of our dream home on the internet.
In so many ways it was even better than we could have imagined.
Then we walked into the kitchen.
Really? The listing sheet said that the kitchen had been recently remodeled.

From where we came from this would not be called a fully remodeled kitchen.
This was an amateur job at best.
There are two dishwashers but apparently one was replaced and now they don't match. They were most likely original to the house so the other one is probably about twelve years old. We also questioned why they didn't update to stainless.

Some of the granite was also replaced with an incongruous stone.
On top of that, the glass cooktop is cracked.
We knew all of these things when we bought the house and made an offer that reflected the need for a new kitchen.
I am a little embarrassed when I tell people that we are preparing to remodel our kitchen after having shown them the original real estate photos.
Who said pictures don't lie?

Like us, by looking at the pictures, most people can't believe that a complete gut job is necessary.
The reality is that the kitchen is barely functional. It is okay when it is just the two of us, but when the kids are here it is totally insufficient.
As you can see from the real estate photo, the original refrigerator has been replaced with a much smaller, aka less expensive option.

What is hard to see from this angle, it that the refrigerator also projects out beyond the cupboards. In fact, it sticks out far enough that the drawers in the pantry in that corner can not fully extend.
Geesh!
Unlike the Midwest, where we can put a backup frig in the basement, homes in Florida do not have basements and it gets much to warm here to keep a refrigerator in the garage. Our laundry room doesn't have a workable space, so we are limited to this one refrigerator and it has to house everything. After we loaded it up with wine and beverages, we didn't have any room for food.

Then there is the issue of ventilation. It wasn't apparent in the real estate photos but there isn't any exhaust fan in this kitchen. Nadda. None. Nothing but this ceiling fan.

Notice, too, how many canned lights there are in this ceiling. I'm all for great lighting, but this ceiling looks like a piece of swiss cheese.
Not to mention that there are twelve lights on one switch and that switch gets HOT.

What the real estate photos also don't show is that these cabinets have been repainted...
by a hack.

I think they painted them with a broom.

Oh, I know I sound just awful. I should be grateful for what I have.
If they were well configured, we would keep them, sand them and paint them again but there are too many design issues to want to seriously consider working around them. The island is too big and doesn't allow for the dishwashers to open fully.
Then there is this desk which is totally obsolete. I would much rather have drawers or cabinets here.

It may not appear like it in the listing photo, but this kitchen is a hot mess.
So if all goes as planned there will be a demo day in our near future.
I look forward to sharing some of my inspiration photos for my dream kitchen so sign up for updates by adding your email over there in the right hand column and follow along with our kitchen remodel.
xoxo,
p
P.S. Yes, the ceilings in the adjoining rooms were purple. I know, crazy. That has already been addressed. They are now a more sedate shade of gray.
:D
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