Field Trip to see an IKEA kitchen

Who knew that seeing a remodeled kitchen would be so popular? Around 25 people arrived at Mark Cannon's apartment last Saturday afternoon to admire his beautiful renovations. Beforehand, many of us gathered at the Bread Garden to eat lunch and share recent developments on the Prairie Hill Cohousing project. Here are some pictures of both events:

Above you see us crowded into the Bread Garden, looking at site plans and catching up with each other.

Above is a shot of the sink and cupboards at Mark's home, and below from a different angle

The 1000 square foot apartment had an open design similar to what we're planning at Prairie Hill, and felt spacious and comfortable. In fact, it was hard to leave! Below is a picture looking toward the kitchen from the sitting area.

And here are some new IKEA closets and shelves in their bathroom since the original apartment had only one closet!

Mark told us in fascinating detail about the whole IKEA remodeling project, from bringing 5 carloads of IKEA cabinets, cupboards, and other materials to the house, to putting everything together. He talked about how they made style and color decisions, and how happy they are with the results. We had a wonderful time as we looked around and learned, as well as enjoying unexpected refreshments: 

With all of us crowding into every available space, one resident retired to the safety of the bedroom: