Re-Do / Re-Use

I am taking a BIG breath as I start typing this. I will forewarn that this one is long. Although relaying everything that's happened in the kitchen will be a lot (and I won't even go into all of it), the work that has gone into this room is far more intense. The best way I can think to go through it is to subdivide the projects (just a bit) before getting to the finished (or at least, close to finished) project. The first thing that got started in this room was adding a built-in. There was an area next to the refrigerator that had a low counter and some laundry/garage cabinets installed and it really didn't work at all. I'm willing to bet that at some point there was a super-cool built-in or cabinetry there when the house was built, but over the years, anything that was original to the house has been destroyed, removed, etc. It is the unfortunate part of an old house being used as a rental for so many decades.  The area in question... Tiled low counter with garage cabin...

Over the weekend, since Sam had a couple of extra days off, he decided to investigate some electrical wiring in the house. We know that there is old wiring in the house, but figuring out where and how the wiring was done is a whole, somewhat scary, investigative process, particularly as it's difficult to access a lot of the electrical. Anyway, while he had the time to do some investigating and I was occupied taking care of some things in the kitchen renovation, it seemed like as good a time as any to start the process. As Sam paced back and forth from upstairs to the main level and down to the basement, I could see his mind attempting to piece together how exactly things were coming together electrically.  Ultimately, he decided that he needed to cut a hole in one of the walls in a room upstairs to attempt to find out if his presumptions were accurate. When he did so, he found some unanticipated treasures left behind over the years. Nothing was particularly special or valuable, but...