Red And The Big Bad Wolf

The Wolf is installed. It is beautiful. I love the red knobs! We haven't used it yet, we're waiting until its all finished to break it in.

Also, James started prepping for backsplash tile.

It is starting to look like a real life kitchen! I can't wait until all the work is done so I can rip off all the protective cardboard and plastic!

More Cabinetry

I apologize for the crudity of this post. Forgot the laptop at work so I am blogging from the iPad. The cabinetry guy was here again and made some good progress. Can't believe how much better it looks. Better blog post tomorrow.

Finishing The Cabinets

The fridge was installed today.  I actually drank from the water dispenser!

Also the crown molding was started and the lighting was done today.

 The under cabinet lights are pretty cool.  They're just a strip with LED lights on them.  They put out a lot of light, though.

Also, the toe kicks were installed.  They forgot about the vents for the AC, though, so some of them will be redone tomorrow.

Also, Brian put shelf paper on the shelves in the pantry and we have started using it.  I know it looks pretty pathetic right now.  I have to get more stuff from downstairs and start to fill it up.

Tomorrow should be more crown molding for the cabinets and the rest of the finish work for the cabinets.

So Close We Can Taste It...And Smell It

We now have a working faucet and dishwasher.  Having lived in the lap of luxury these past 7 years, I have determined I cannot go back to hand washing the dishes.  It is beneath me. LOL!  Also, as usual, Brian was right.  The faucet is pretty cool.  Still giant, but cool.

Yesterday, Brian, James and Thomas hauled the 42" refridgerator in from the back porch.  It was not pretty.  I couldn't watch.  And only a few dings to our floors and a big ding in the side of the fridge from James' head later, it was in.

We took the old fridge out to the curb and put a big "FREE" sign on it.  It was gone in a matter of a couple hours.  LOVE not having to haul our own junk!  We'll do the same with the stove.

Next on the list was this behemouth.  700 lbs and 48" of stainless steel sitting in the garage. 

By the time Brian and I got home from taking the kids to a movie tonight, James and Thomas had built a ramp, rented a special dolly and moved this gargantuan oven into the kitchen. This time, a slightly larger ding in the floor and a cut to James' hand were the casualties....Seriously, this reno is going to kill our contractor. And we still need him for the basement!

 Finally, as we speak, Brian is putting the last of the paint on our pantry shelves.  Can you believe the amount of space in this thing!?!  I cannot even comprehend what I am going to find to fill this thing up. 

Speaking of things to fill our kitchen up.  My parents gave Brian and I an early birthday present...a very generous amount on a Bed Bath and Beyond gift card.  We had a great time picking out fun new kitchen items.  Toaster, stick blender, dish towels, etc.  Thanks so much Mom and Dad!  It was a blast -- and greatly needed.  Who wants to have grimy old stuff in a new beautiful kitchen!  Love you!

The only issue we had today was getting the gas line in.  The line was run to the stove this morning.  When Brian and I came home, we were smacked right in the face with a very strong gas smell.  Called James and he called the guys who did it.  They said they bled the line so it was probably that.  We left again and when James came back, it was still really strong.  He found that one of the joints had cracked.  It has now been fixed.  The guy had to come back at 8:30 to do so, but James made sure it happened.  Thanks James!  That would have been a kick in the pants to have had our just finished house blown to smitherines from a gas leak.  Good thing I kicked that smoking habit. ;)

Dining In

Can I just say that my husband is awesome?  I cannot believe how hard he worked this weekend to get as much done as humanly possible.  Also, our contractor, James, worked both Saturday and Sunday to try to get us closer to the finish line.  Between the two of them, they got a lot accomplished.  The major victory, though, was the dining room.  As a reminder, here is a photo taken from Day 98 of the first phase of our renovation. Our tiny, tiny dining room looked great, but I cannot express how much better it is now.  I know it looks similar, but the three extra feet we have changes this room completely.   We were able to change the direction of the table and we still have plenty of room to walk around it when people are seated..

James finished the baseboards and crown molding and Brian, prepped and painted all the walls and trim, including the new medallion above the chandelier.  We used our old drapes, chandelier and table.  I purchased a new rug from Pottery Barn.

I absolutely love that we can now see this view from the kitchen.  Thank you so much, Brian, for making this happen this week.  I literally almost cried when I saw how beautiful it looked.  Love you.

In other news, the garbage disposal was installed.  Fancy that, Badger installed a Badger disposal :).  Check out the little brushed nickel button just next to the sink.  That is how you turn the disposal on.  I have never seen one.  So much cooler than a switch on the wall!  (The faucet is not finished being installed...I am not gypping you...more on that later.)

James also is working on the trim around the window and the rest of the baseboards and trim in the kitchen.  He also started on the shelves in the pantry.  I am sooo excited to see this complete and stocked full of food!

The last item to report on is our daily system from Pottery Barn.  The original plan was to do white, but the white was too yellow.  I really like the black though.  It will be nice to have a decent looking calendar and a place to chuck the mail. 

Tomorrow will hopefully be filled with lots of little things that need to be done: faucet, water line for the fridge, gas line for the stove, more trim, more pantry shelving, backsplash anyone? 



Hardwood Day 2 = Paint Day 1

The hardwood had the second coat put on and looks great.

 

Brian kicked butt and got the ceiling primed and by the time I got home he was painting the ceiling.  We stayed up and got the ceiling painted and the walls in the kitchen painted.  We chose "Notre Dame".  Sometimes its grey, sometimes its green.  I wanted a gray with a green undertone, so I guess that means I got what I wanted.  I like it.

Tomorrow will be focused on the dining room.  James may also be up to get some more trim done and we might be able to get the appliances moved in the house.  We'll see.

Hardwood Flooring Day 1

Today the hardwood flooring guys were here.  They first sanded the areas they had to work on.  Then they put this putty stuff all over it to fill in any holes or cracks.

After they let that dry, they sanded it off and put a coat of polyurethane on.  Looking pretty good.  Hopefully it will be hard to tell where the old and new meet.  Tomorrow will start with another coat. 

They're Oiled...And They're Spectacular

This morning, Brian had oiled the countertops before I had even gotten out of bed.  The veining in them really stands out now.  They look really cool.  I'm glad Brian decided to go with the soapstone on both sides.  It was the right decision.

When I came back from work, he had primed one of the walls and the pantry.  Then before we went to bed, we primed the other wall and the dining room wall.  The last thing that happened today was elecrical work.  From the picture below you can see light switches and the canned lighting trim was installed today.  There are still a few things left for the electrical guy to do, but we are close in that regard.  There is a possibility the flooring guy will be here tomorrow to do the wood floors.  If we can, we will prime and paint the remainder tomorrow.