Kitchen Appliances for the Pedrazas

I gotta be honest with you.  When we took on the Pedraza kitchen, I knew that there would be soo many beautiful things we put in there…but in the back of my mind, I knew that there was no way to get kitchen appliances for the Pedrazas.  The budget was too tight.  The existing appliances were either not working, not the right size for their family, or just plain falling apart.  Jeremy and I spent many nights trying to figure out how we could sell their existing appliances, recycle them for money or fund raise for new appliances.  Jeremy even suggested that we sell raffle tickets to see who could light the fuse to blow up their existing stove.  It’s not a terrible idea actually.  Especially in our town 🙂

But the fact was…even with so many parts of the kitchen project being sponsored by such generous companies – we could not seem to crunch the numbers in their favor to get a new fridge and stove and dishwasher.  That was until Haven.  Haven conference is great in so many ways.  You can connect with other bloggers, learn new skills and get bunches of swag – but one of the biggest reasons we wanted to go was because we knew that Home Depot would be represented there.  Our goal was to see if there was a way we could score a discount or ANYTHING from them to help out this deserving family.

We met up with them and explained our cause and told them about this adopting family….and right then and there they said ABSOLUTELY.  They didn’t ask us if we would blog about it.  They didn’t ask for anything in return.  They simply gave us a Home Depot gift card and said “we hope this makes a difference”.  WHAAA!?  I could have died I was so excited.  And you should have seen Danny’s and Charity’s face when we told them.  They were so excited too!  I got it on video so when I make the recap video of this entire kitchen experience, you can see it.  Basically they cheered and smiled from ear to ear and Charity even said “does this mean that we can get one of those fridges with the ice in the door?” and then my face hurt from smiling so big.  Sometimes it really is the ice in the door that makes the difference.

We all headed to Home Depot one day after church and got lots of help in picking out the items from the store associate.

A few days later, the new appliances were delivered to their doorstop and Jeremy got to work installing them.

The set was all Whirlpool brand and all stainless steel.  They look AMAZING in this space.

The entire set cost just a little over $2K which for ALL three appliances – brand new – that’s a great deal.

We were super excited that this stove didn’t have a door that was falling off (like her last one!) and Charity and I joked that the glass top ones are so pretty, it almost makes you afraid to cook because you don’t want to dirty it up! ha!

The fridge is a full sized Whirlpool and it has the side-by-side doors….which I think personally I can fit more into than a french door.  I know some people will argue that one (Jeremy still loves french doors).  I have both versions and for whatever reason, these work for me great.  I think it might be because we have a lot of drinks?  Who knows.  Either way, the whole family – especially their six year old son was super pumped about getting a fridge that has water and ice available in the door.  I overheard him explaining to a neighborhood friend how it worked and it was adorable.

The dishwasher was something I think we were all super happy about – not just because of the item itself but because it was the first time that the new location was actually used!  The old dishwasher opened in front of the sink and made loading pretty near impossible.  Plus, it didn’t clean the dishes well, so they would wash before dishwashing…and then just felt frustrated.  This one could not have come a moment too soon….because they were tired of years of hand washing!

Overall the set was a really REALLY big blessing.  This family is in for lots of midnight feedings with the new adoption (their paperwork is all done and now the real waiting game starts!)….and I could not be happier for them!  I am sure that these new units will not only work great….but don’t they look amazing?!  And as for the hood….that is a completely different post that I can’t wait to share with you!  I built that dang thing!  And yes, I hurt my arm patting myself on the back 🙂

So a big special thanks to Home Depot for being so generous to this family….and for supporting so many others daily.  I know that Home Depot regularly does so much for others.  They build ramps for veterans to get in and out of their homes, they build homes and donate so many materials to Habitat and other nonprofits and they are always helping communities that are affected by natural disasters.  And since the majority of our personal spending goes toward home improvement projects – it’s nice to know that the company that we shop at is making a difference!

Also a big thank you hug to the Pedraza’s neighbor….he is always popping in whenever we are over there working and he’s always willing to pitch in a helping hand.  We just are the luckiest people because we got to know him and his wife better.  Also we are so thankful that he is always up for heavy lifting 🙂

The best news for you guys is – I just saw that HD just announced their Black Friday deals….and they start now!  So if you are in the market for new appliances….definitely make sure you check out their sales.  CLICK here to go to that page.  (there are amazing french door fridge deals!!  might be time for us to replace our zombie fridge! ha!)

And stay tuned for more info on the hood and a special little build I did for them…a broom closet!  It looks ADORABLE and is so functional.  No more brooms and swiffers stacked in the corner 🙂