Remodeling Dreams

I heard that Pledge was doing a "Pledge to Love Your Kitchen" contest - one in which a $15,000 gift card from a major home improvement retailer to help update their kitchen... and a year's supply of Pledge to help make it shine.

Doesn't that sound dreamy?

What would I do with 15,000$ in my kitchen?

* It would be extra cool if they sent those Design on a Dime folks in - and someone with carpenter skills. Because the problem with my kitchen is that my back door is right in the way of my table... and on the other side of the table is a long, shallow 2-door pantry. I would have a HUGE oversized island built that had bar-seating on one side for the kids and LOTS of storage under it - to replace my rickety antique table and give us more room for the tools we need to cook. I'm thinking something using antique materials (old glass refurbished cabinet doors) and something really blocky and solid would be perfect. The more rustic looking, the better. (estimated 350$)

* I'd love to have the funds to refloor the kitchen (and subsequently the downstairs because it all flows together in that 'open concept' look) and put in shinier counter tops. My plan? Rip out the builder carpet/nasty plastic and stain the concrete. (estimated 4K)

* The light fixtures would HAVE to go - replacing those would really make the kitchen pop (and the dining room). (estimated 450$ - cuz, chandeleirs are my fave)

* The cabinets could be updated with just a little antiquing and some top molding - maybe some hardware. A few could even have chicken wire or some other type of mesh put in to replace the doors... and lights could be added for a decorative touch. (estimated 150$)

* I would put in some fancy cabinet features such as roll outs and lazy susans to make getting things out of cabinets and the pantry much easier. (estimated $300)

* I would add a pot rack above my kitchen window and put in curtains that matched on both kitchen windows. (estimated 175$)

* I would upgrade my dishwasher, fix my ice-maker, and put in a water softener system so we would stop losing appliances (worried about the new washer upstairs if we don't get the softner soon). And of course, at the sink - a reverse osmosis filter for drinking would be put in to save us a ton of money on plastic bottled waters (which in turn would be a really GREEN thing for the environment). (estimated 3,500$)



* I would buy some accessories (baskets for linens and oversized canisters for the counter) and matching towls... and I would put all my cookbooks in the dining room bookshelf that I'm dreaming of building - along with a nice, long, new, over-sized, rustic wooden table that would seat at least 12 (estimated $800)

... and I'd still have nearly 5,000$ to fix the floors and bathroom cabinets upstairs!

A girl can dream, right?

Of course Pledge could help me love my kitchen (and a whole lot of other places in my house) with this amazing make-over and after it was done, the lemony scent and shine would go a long way in keeping a smile on mama's already happy face.

You can enter the MomItForward.com Pledge contest, too - but hurry - it ends tomorrow!