Kitchen remodel has begun

Remember this post [here] where I talked about sometime in the future removing the wall between the kitchen and dining room.  I can say with excitement that it is finally happening!  My kitchen will not feel so small anymore and I will be able to see and talk to anyone sitting in the dining room.  I can not wait for it to be done!

We have decided to do this in several stages.  Stage 1 is opening the wall, installing a bar height counter, and some open shelving on the outside wall.  Stage 2 and maybe even 3 or 4 will be working on the rest of the kitchen cabinets and counter tops.

Here are the begining details of stage 1:

We emptied the cabinets and took them down

View from the dining room side

Drywall is down and they are working on the electrical (whatever was in the wall now has to go elsewhere).

We tried to cover things to keep the dust from covering it all, but everything was still covered in dust!  Oh well!  It's all part of having construction going on in the house, while trying to make it livable. :)

Things are looking nice and open already! (What you see hanging down on the half wall is our thermostat, which is currently being rewired and installed somewhere else.)

Another view from the other side.

The drywall and mud is covering the bottom of the header now and down the side.  Even though it will a bit yet before everything is done, this kind of gives you an idea of what the end will be.

The next few steps for completing this first stage of kitchen remodel are finishing the drywall, painting, installing a countertop on the raised half wall, and installing open shelving on the outside wall between the two windows.