This is part of my submission for the Boost Your Roost contest. Below, you will find pictures of my kitchen complete with beginner Photoshop tags. Hey, when learning a new skill, you have to jump on every opportunity to practice! My dad was teaching himself Photoshop around the time I had my first child; we have a lot of pictures of Old Baby as an infant Photoshopped into coffee cups and onto flowers. I made so much fun of my dad during his experimental phase. As I look at my own pictures, I imagine the Zoidberg meme yelling at me, “Your Photoshop skills are bad, and you should feel bad!”

If we won the contest, I would like to do the following:

• lower the tall counter top so that it could be used as kitchen work space
• new counters
• new cabinets with additional upper cabinets
• new floors (preferably salvage original hardwoods)
• new windows
• new appliances
• new sink
• paint
• accessories

That’s a basic plan. No layout changes. No walls being torn down. It’s possible that those changes won’t amount to $20,000. If I need to go bigger, I can go bigger. Here’s my big plan:

• build an addition on the house where the screened-in porch is to include pantry, mudroom, and an area for the dog crates

Of course, if we go with plan B, there will be no money to remodel the original kitchen. The extra living space would be worth it.