The way we move forward on this kitchen project is rightly compared to the theory of punctuated equilibrium evolution. The idea with PE is that the world evolved inconsistently, with long periods of stasis and rapid evolutionary change occurring at various points along the way. This is supposed to account for the gaps in the fossil record. Of course I’m not on board with this in regards to life and origins, but it’s definitely a great analogy how things are progressing in this DIY kitchen adventure.

And before I get started, I need to get something off my chest: We have a whole room in the back decorated with a hunting theme. Deer skulls, turkey  talons, rustic art, signs that say things like “We interrupt this marriage to bring you HUNTING SEASON,” antique rifle ads, etc.  While this isn’t something I mention often,  I can’t deny it after sharing the following pictures.

In order to move the refrigerator, we had to reconfigure the funky kitchen pantry, which was just a big hole in the blue wall. That hole took space from the closet of our hunting-themed back bedroom/office/potential-nursery-if-we-had-a-baby-here-but-the-poor-thing-would-probably-get-speared-by-antlers. It looks like this:

closet with pantry cut-out

And Aaron, working hard as usual, took off the lid to that wood box, which was basically the pantry ceiling.

There are a million skipped details here about moving outlets, ripping up carpet, and splicing wires. Basically, Aaron is a wiring and outlet-moving champion. He did require the use of an assistant, which means there were no free hands for taking pictures. After lots of this beastly wiring was finished, we cut up into the drywall and made space to move the fridge to it’s new home.

wall cave, sweet wall cave

Yes, that blue wall is indeed hideous and it will not be like that forever. But for now, I’m really glad the fridge is safely where it belongs – a cave in the wall. Before the project is complete, we will create built-in shelves on both sides of the fridge, put trim around them and stain it to match the woodwork. I have some great inspiration for this area’s final look. I’m really excited about painting the wall (obviously), adding a clock, and using the built-in cabinet shelves for wine storage and baskets!