Some good Kitchen news!

So, y'all, we finally got some GOOD news about our kitchen renovation!  After failed attempt #1 and failed attempt #2, the husband took matters into his own hands and decided to rip up our entire kitchen floor to find out what was really going on. The floor guy had said he couldn't know what the problem was until we got down to the original level.  So when I went to Denver for my conference, the hubs took a sledgehammer and went to town.  He discovered parquet floors throughout the kitchen, which we suspected were there.  Why someone decided ugly vinyl tiles were better than parquet is beyond me. There seemed to be a bit of a slope in the floor but nothing I'd have even noticed if I weren't looking for it.

So we got our floor guy back out and he delivered the news.  It's totally fine and we can put WHATEVER flooring down we want!  No need to fix any joists.  No need to level the floor (except in the pantry - no biggie).  And no SEVEN THOUSAND DOLLAR check to be written for some structure problem that doesn't exist!  Hallelujah!

This means we're back to the drawing board.  We pulled out our original plans and tweaked them a bit last night. I'm actually happier with our current new layout design. So we need to buy new appliance ASAP (we're hoping there are some good Memorial Day sales going on).  Then the next step is finding a cabinet guy (or going with a big box store) and selecting the cabinets, hiring a contractor to widen one of the door frames, reconfigure the pantry and patch our ceiling to get rid of the stains from the water leaks.  Then it's electrical and plumbing. Countertops after the cabinets are installed and finally putting in the new flooring.  So basically we have everything left to do.  But we know we can do it!  I'm just praying no more huge financial hiccups come along our path.  And how bizarre is this?  We were at breakfast yesterday and I got to chatting with the mom at the table behind us and low and behold, she's an interior designer!  So maybe I'll get her help in selecting some things along the way!

Have you renovated your kitchen before?  Any tips?

I'm really excited to get this ball rolling again!