Yes, you read that right. Since completing my banquette I’ve been looking at my kitchen in a whole new light. The banquette calls for a larger table which I’d been planning on all along. I’m still in the beginning stages for that project and I thought it would be the one to follow my banquette. It was not.

It all started when I was cleaning out the cabinets which are situated near my table. After the school year they are a chaotic mess. On a typical day this is what that area of my kitchen looks like…

The real mess is behind those closed doors…

These cabinets hold cookbooks, art supplies, coloring books, charger cables, folders for each child and myself, drawing paper, a small box of tools… You get the point. Everything is all together and if I don’t feel like putting something in its’ correct place I just shove it in those cabinets. 

After some purging and organizing and relocating I got the cabinets in order. The craft supplies went in the drawers under the banquette. Most of the items went to my storage closet in the basement. I was then left with a neater and cleaner corner of the kitchen. 

Then I started actually looking at what was left in the cabinets and decided I could do better. I could empty these cabinets out completely. I did some shifting around in one other area of the home (I’ll show you that later) and ended up with two totally empty cabinets. If these cabinets were to be removed I would be able to really open up my kitchen. 

I’m always trying to make sure that I make my spaces work for me. I don’t want a room dictating what I can do or achieve in the design of my home. I was able to find a new place for everything and I didn’t have need for more kitchen storage. This would allow me to visually open up the space. I’m not removing a wall. I’m not taking something away that I’m going to regret later. I’m making my space work for me. It would allow me to put a larger table in my kitchen with a much more open feel all around. My husband was on board so I got to work by first removing all the drawers and doors.

Using a crowbar and a hammer I removed the formica counter top and then got to work on the lower cabinet. The hardest part to remove was the base of the cabinet. I wasn’t sure what I’d find underneath since the cabinets are original to the house. 

The change was immediate in my kitchen. It already feels larger and more open. The change is all visual but really impacts the whole space. And yes, I know exactly what I’m going to do with my new empty wall.