Nothing says "The Holidays" like knocking a hole in the wall.

We've had this extra giant tv sitting around the house since August.  Nowhere to put it.  It was too big to fit in the tv room, which ironically has had the smallest, squarest, lowest definition tv in the house in it for two years now.  No one wants to watch tv in the tv room because no one wants to watch an antique, tiny (36", HA!) tv set.  The problem was not the size of the room, but the size of the built in cabinetry.  Nothing bigger than 36" would fit. 

The solution?  New cabinetry.

The problem?  Where to start...the tv room and kitchen are like Siamese twins joined at the chest; they share vital organs.  In this case, the cabinets in the tv room and the microwave cabinet in the kitchen are the same cabinet.  What we have are three cabinets side by side, with the middle one facing a different direction, into a different room from the other two, and it has a top section as well, causing the tv room to have, instead of one long counter, two short counters with a goofy box in the middle.  This was all done years ago, many owners ago.  Apparently, the kitchen had been remodelled about the same time as the tv room was added on (I'm guessing late seventies, early eighties) and a whole lot of thought really didn't go into the design.

So, yesterday, our buddy Dave, who can do things, showed up with the Magician.  Dave and the Magician are the guys who solved our sink/garbage disposal problems a year ago. ( I still love my granite counter tops.  I still love polishing them until they shine and I still want to lick them, they're so pretty!  We didn't put granite in the tv room.)

I had to empty out my microwave cupboard and a set of shelves I'd put up in the tv room.  Dave and the Magician cut out the cupboard, removed the counter tops from the tv room and replaced them with a long, smooth expanse of laminate.  It's plenty big enough for the third wide screen tv. 

But there's a hole in the kitchen where the microwave cabinet used to be.  The framing is still there.  They're going to put in a shallow spice rack in the niche and patch the tv room side, so the hole won't last long.  I kind of like it.  for the first time ever, we had sun streaming into the kitchen from the tv room.  But I'm pretty sure I'll like a spice rack better.  Besides, we put the new big tv in there today and now all you can see through the hole is the back of the tv.  Very handy for hooking up the cable and dvd etc. but not so esthetically pleasing from the kitchen side.  I mean, who wants to be making dinner in their pretty green and white kitchen and then realize they're being mooned by a tv set in the next room? 

"Hi there, cookie bakers!  I'm a tv set and here's my butt coming through a hole in the wall!"

I admit, I enjoy the ridiculous aspect of it, but I'm sure I'll get tired of that soon.  And I want a spice rack.  I'll need a new cart for the microwave, too.  I didn't think I wanted a cart taking up more floor space in there, but two winters ago, when we redid the floors of the living room, we had all the living room furniture crammed into the kitchen for over a month and I discovered it didn't bother me too much.  Not nearly as much as not having  a decent tv in the tv room did.

One the wall is patched, I'll be able to paint that room.  I've got the color all picked out, I've just been waiting for the construction to be finished. 

So far, December rocks!