after a week of searching, we found the water heater … and i snagged these never-before-seen pictures through a three inch hole in a cabinet only findable after removing the refrigerator.

if you look at this picture from when we moved in, the water heater is to the right of the refrigerator, under the marble counter top.

it’s startlingly hard to believe who would think it was a good idea to completely enclose the water heater with cabinets, marble, and 2 exterior walls (less the 3 inch hole blocked by the fridge, of course) … but at least we found it and it doesn’t look too, too ancient.