Day 21 #kitchenrenovation

The final push!  The plumber came yesterday to hook up the appliances and last night we christened our kitchen by making our first meal in it (well not entirely true....on Sunday we used our convection oven to cook english muffin pizzas since that was hooked up and working).  Minor detail!  I sat at the peninsula sipping some wine while Jim cooked us dinner.  It was great!  I still look around at the kitchen and can't believe we actually pulled the trigger and got it done. 

Our sink and disposal are hooked up and working so we can FINALLY say good bye to washing dishes in the upstairs bathroom.  That really was the worst part of the whole living through a kitchen renovation.  So it's SO nice to have a working faucet, sink and disposal back!  And isn't that faucet a piece of art?!?!  I am so so so happy with it.  It's not nearly as tall as we feared it would be and gives the countriness of the farmhouse sink a slight edge with the industrial looking faucet.  And it's fun using the hand sprayer and the pot filler.  Never a bad thing to have options.  And the farmhouse sink?!?!  It's A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.  It's so big I think I could give Jim a sponge bath in it!  It's seriously great.

 I couldn't for the life of me get a good picture of the refrigerator with it's blinged out grill finally installed.  Poor lighting last night.  But at least you can get an idea of what it looks like since all the previous pictures had that silly gap above it.   

And the rest of the bead board beneath the pass through was installed.  Sadly, there are no room for corbels underneath :(  I guess I'll learn to manage without them....some how.

I think the bead board in both "windows" ties them nicely together and makes them look like they were always like that.

 And because we're cheap skates we decided to paint ourselves.  We painted the old kitchen ourselves which wasn't that bad but this new gal???  What a beast!  I'm the resident cutter inner and Jim's the roller.  Well there is A LOT of trim in the new kitchen!  Bad for me, great for Jim!  But Jim was a gentlemen and helped a girl out...whata guy!!!

But we are done!  And we're so happy with our choice of color...Wedgewood Grey by Benjamin Moore.  It has hints of blue, grey and green depending on what light you look at it in.  Gives this neutral kitchen some life.

We painted the trim the same colors as the walls and I'm so glad we went with this idea because I think the trim blends in with wall as opposed to popping out and becoming the main attraction which is what I did not want.

It makes the grey in the cabinets really pronounced now.  You may be thinking man are they lazy or what?!  They didn't even paint all the way to the counter tops!  We're not that lazy!  The back splash tile will cover this so we didn't want to waste time or paint by painting all the way down to the counter tops.

Painting near the chimney was a beast of a job but I don't think we did half bad if I do say so myself!

And the pendants still pop against the color.

You will notice we didn't paint up towards the ceiling in the old hallway.  We plan on adding the same crown moulding that Mike put up in the kitchen in this area.  We still have the trim and the bead board to paint but we're taking our time on it and painting when we have free time. Oh and that black paint on the door is actually magnetic paint.  Since our fridge can't hold magnets due to it being stainless steel whats a girl to do when she wants to hang something up?  Well I had read up on this magnetic paint and wanted to try it out, so this was the perfect opportunity.  It's just a primer so we plan on painting over it with white latex paint (as long as you put latex paint over it, you can use any color).  I'll let you know if it really works.

And finally the extenders for the laundry nook faucet were changed from brass to shiny chrome. Ahhhh much better!

                         

And here are my men working it in the new kitchen.  Aren't they so cute??? 

                                  

Our first meal made from the new kitchen....pork milanese with a side of roasted asparagus and pan fried potatoes.  Oh yum!  Not too bad for a 10:30 PM dinner.

                            

I think we're gunna love this new kitchen of ours.  Back splash tile gets installed today!  DAHHH!  The anticipation of it all!

Day 19 #kitchenrenovation

Turn out the lights baaaaybaaaay (name that tune!)  Actually don't turn out the lights!  Turn them ON!  Man oh man am I in love!  Some of you have asked me if there has been a moment yet during this whole process if I was afraid that our vision wasn't turning out like we thought it would.  This was that moment...I was afraid the pendants were going to be too big for the space but thankfully I think they turned out to be the perfect size.  They did look ginormous in the box (even Jim thought so) but now that they are installed they look normal.  Guess I need to work on my spatial relations.

Below are the teal farmhouse pendants that are hanging over the peninsula.  I think they add a nice pop of color in our neutral kitchen.  My thinking behind this whole kitchen was to keep the really expensive stuff and the main parts of the kitchen neutral in hopes that it will stay in style for many years to come but yet add in color in areas that are cheaper and easier to replace should we get sick of them. Cue the teal colored lights.

And below is the pendant hanging over the sink.  Again another one where I thought it might be too big when it first arrived but now that it's up I love it and the size is just right.  Sorry for the hard to see pictures.  I didn't take these till really late last night.  And I know I need to work on my photography skills and maybe even learn how to use photo shop.

Close up of the farmhouse pendants.  Aren't they fun?

Looking towards the powder room.  This shot gives you a perspective for about how high up they hang.  It's a good distance from the counter to the bottom of the lights.  You can still stand up and not have these hit you in the face.

A somewhat better shot on the sink pendant.  You may have noticed the light bulb if you're keen observer.  If you did, you get a gold star for the day!  We purchased what they call vintage light bulbs.  They are a unique shape and clear so you can see the filament.  I think they give the pendants that extra oomph!  You can find them in the light bulb aisle of any home depot or hardware store.  They do cost extra just to warn you (Jim may or may not have a small heart attack when he saw the price.  So if you go with your significant other to buy these, make them wear a blindfold, supply them food so they are distracted or have them go to another department.  You'll thank me later.)

Beauty shot!

The electricians also installed the convection oven.  Yes the door is missing, your eyes aren't fooling you.  Mike has to come back to put the door back on.

Now the refrigerator has its friend the convection oven to talk to.  They're so cute together aren't they?  Our refrigerator is up and running now as well.  (water dispenser and ice maker to be hooked up on Monday when the plumber comes back out).  And the vent hood for the range was also hooked up. And no we haven't picked a color yet.  We need to get on that.  Bad Hornes!

Our new pantry light.  Isn't she priceless???  Don't you just love her???  Just kidding!  That's not our real pantry light...it's just a temporary holder until the real light fixture comes in.  It's been back ordered for FOUR months.  Yes I typed that right and you read that right.  Count 'em FOUR months!  Ridic!  Back ordering has been the name of the game since the kitchen renovation started.  Guess the economy can't be that bad right?

And the laundry nook chandie...isn't it sooooo gorg????!?!  I love the shadows it cast on the walls.  Just makes doing laundry that much more fun.

Side shot for you because I can't get enough.

Tomorrow the granite is getting installed.  I think that is going to be a complete game changer and really take the kitchen to another level.  Can't wait!



Day 15 #kitchenrenovation

Back with another cabinet update...big changes are taking place in this neck of the woods and we couldn't be more thrilled with the progress. 

Below is the pantry...like I mentioned in the previous post the pantry cabinets are going to be slightly delayed due incorrect cabinet doors delivered...Doesn't that salmon color on the walls just really work well with the cabinet color?  (insert sarcastic tone here).  It's amazing how much bigger the pantry looks since we moved the washer/dryer down to the basement.  AND we can actually fit a cereal box in the cabinets...who knew such cabinets existed?? 

Still waiting to find just the right beverage center.  What we are going to put in the pantry is still up in the air but we are tossing ideas around.  We'll be sure to keep you updated on what our final plan is for this space and what will live in this area.

Onto the kitchen.  Doors and drawers were put on and our built in "hutch" is in the works (to the left of the refrigerator box).   

Better shot of the hutch.  This will house the TV and cable box (which is what those two plugs are for). Below the open cabinet will be three pot drawers with two stacks of apothecary drawers on top.  This will be our coffee station where we'll have our coffee pot, coffee grinder and other coffee paraphernalia. 

Our farmhouse sink is in!!!  Woo to the hoo! Mike had to tweak the sink base cabinet as Schrock doesn't make a cabinet to specifically fit a farmhouse sink.  On the toe kick of the cabinet is our toe kick radiator.  Since we removed the mammoth radiator that was on the Lady Land wall and replaced it with a row of cabinets instead, we had to have a heat source some where in the kitchen.  Our house is slowly inching towards the 21st century with the addition of a toe kick radiator.  So much more compact and HIDDEN!  Love this feature.  Mike thinks it will be enough to heat the space and only time will tell if this proves true.  But with the addition of insulation on the outer wall, I'm hoping that's all we need.  The bottom of the cabinet has a hole in it due to needing access to the radiator.  Darn building codes!  Don't they know they're messing with the prettiness of the cabinets??

The start of the peninsula.  One more cabinet will be added basically where the headless Jim (creepy!) is standing.  The cabinet with the door will be the future home of the tappen yaki grill where Chef Jim will be flipping shrimp into the mouths of visitors from the hours of 5-10...no reservations are needed.

Moving on down to the laundry nook.  People we have a washer/dryer....THANK THE LORD!  A girl can only live without a washer/dryer for so long.  It may take some time to make this nook look good but it will get there....some day.

 A beauty shot of the washer/dryer....hello front loaders...where ya been all my life?

Check back tomorrow for the hopeful conclusion of the cabinet installation.



Let's talk...counter tops!

So many choices of counter tops!  It took us a looong time just to figure out that we would go with granite.  Then from there it took us a while to narrow down the color.  I wanted a white based granite (well what I REALLY wanted was marble but one, it was just too expensive and two Jim shot it down very quickly) while Jim wanted a beige/brown colored granite.  I had to use my magical powers to convince Jim to go with the white based granite.  I had seen kashmir white in stores and I was always drawn to the white, grays and the specs of red it had in it.  Someone recommended that we go to a stone yard called MSI International.  This was the best thing we did.  The selection there was enormous that I felt like we had seen every stone that was ever made.  It was also helpful to see the slab in person so we could see the movement of the stone and how the colors were dispersed through out the slab. 

Once we decided on the color, we got prices from a few different stone stores.  The bummer thing was due to the square footage that we needed for the counters (60 sf), we would need to use 2 slabs of stones.  Having to jump up to two slabs would mean the price of the stone would increase.  Each slab can fit about 50 sf of counter space so we were so close!  Ugh!  We ended up getting a great deal at Stone Depot, located in Dedham, MA thanks to a referral fee discount, (thanks Krissy and Lou!), Jim's rico suavey negotiating skills and the fact that we would get a discount if we paid all in cash.  Never hesitate to ask about cash discounts as some vendors will give you some sort of discount.  Worth a shot asking.

I really think the kashmir white will pick up the gray in our kitchen cabinets, the white is neutral and the red will pick up the wood from the kitchen floors. I just love it...great alternative to my first love of marble.

Now on to the pantry.  I knew I wanted a different look than what was going on in the kitchen.  The cabinets in the pantry were a darker gray than in the kitchen and the look was more kitchy country with chicken wire cabinets, burlap lights and paisley curtains.  We also didn't want to spend a fortune on the pantry since it's not a room you see all the time but still wanted to look cute and flow with the kitchen.  So of course my first instinct was to look to Ikea for an affordable option.  Jim and I both loved the look of butcher block so we decided to use it in the pantry.  Since there won't be in the sink in the pantry we didn't have to worry about the high maintenance that is associated with the butcher block....just rub some mineral oil every couple months to keep the wood from drying out and it's good to go.  We went with the Numerar butcher block counter top in oak.  We did have to get two slabs due to the size of the pantry but we will have left overs that we'll use to make cutting boards.  Waste not, want not!

The last counter top we had to figure out was for the laundry nook.  We are still unsure of the set up of that lil room (stacking the washer/dryer vs. side by side with a counter over the appliances).  But either way we will be having a counter where I can fold clothes.  We knew we wanted to reuse the soapstone counters that were in the kitchen so we decided to use it in the laundry nook.  Depending on how we set up the washer/dryer we may have to cut it.  Stone Depot said they would cut it for us for a fee if we bring them the stone. 



Hopefully I don't get caught in this nasty storm that is scheduled to hit Boston today through Friday.  Lots of updates in the kitchen to  update you on...Till then!

Let's talk....sinks.

I'm away on business through Thursday (pending the storm...doesn't mother nature know the groundhog saw its shadow a month plus ago???  Hello?!) so there won't be any updated pictures till Friday.  Jim is in charge of taking pictures....GULP!  Let's just say he didn't leave me with much confidence that he knows how to operate our camera.  He claims he doesn't really know how to use a camera since he never had one.  Who knows!

Farmhouse sinks!  I love 'em!  Nothing more to say!  Well there is because otherwise that would be a boring post.  I love how big they are and the white fire clay material.  The original farmhouse sink is made by Rohl but those were a tad more expensive than my wallet was willing to pay.  I was able to find one on EBay that was more than half off a Rohl and with free shipping.  We got a 30" wide single basin sink with an off-center drain.

It will lie under the granite so that means the sink has to be installed before the granite company comes to template.  Good thing I bought it a few months ago!

The next sink we had to purchase was for the laundry room.  I had seen a sink at Ikea that would be perfect so of course that meant a trip to Ikea.  Jim HATES Ikea so you can imagine how hard it was for me to convince him to take a trip there to check it out.  Good thing the Swedes invented the swedish fish...those usually makes him semi-happy.  The sink was perfect for so many reasons.  It was super deep (26"), I loved the stainless steel AND I could get my wall mounted faucet since the sink didn't have a faucet hole in it.  Another reason I loved it was that we didn't have to get a counter since the sink just sits on top of a 24" sink base cabinet....sooooo, savings! 

With the sink you do have  to buy a strainer since it doesn't come with one.  #stupidhiddencosts

See ya back here tomorrow...same time, same place, mmmkay?

Let's talk....faucets!

Faucets, Faucets, FAUUUUCETS!  Who loves faucets??? Anyone?  Anyone?  I do! I do!  Jim...eh....Sammy does!  Sammy does!

I've been drawn to the industrial/farmhouse look like a lot and I was hoping to incorporate the industrial side via the faucet.  When I first saw the industrial faucet at Ikea (which apparently they don't make anymore) I knew that I would love to use that faucet in the house one day.  So when it came time to start researching faucets, I realized how expensive it was (I know shocking coming from Ikea right??).  Thanks to researcher Jim, he found a nicer, bigger and better faucet online.  It wasn't that much cheaper but it was better constructed (made of solid brass, which is the material you should look for in a quality, long lasting faucet, as it won't corrode.) 

Ok ok...enough blabbing...here she is (yes it's a she...with those long slender and sleek lines how could it not be a she?)

I LOVE this faucet!  It's heavy, it's all shiny, chrome-y, I could go on and on but I'll spare you all with my mushiness.  It's pretty tall (29") and has a separate pot filler which is a great feature.  Doesn't it remind you of restaurant dishwasher faucet?  At first Jim was opposed to this faucets for numerous reasons (his first words when I showed him the faucet was "That's DIFFERENT....".  Which is code for he hates it and thinks I'm cray cray....but he usually comes around in the end.) but the main reason being was he was getting flashbacks of sinks full of dirty dishes from his dish washing days at The Marketplace. 

So to bring it back to the look I was going for, I think faucet brings the industrial side while the apron sink will bring the farmhouse side, which ties up my industrial farmhouse chic vision nicely.

Moving on to the laundry nook faucet.  I wanted to push the boundaries here and go with something unique.  I have always wanted a wall mounted faucet so I thought why not try it here?  I was perusing blog land one day and I saw someone use a wall mounted claw foot tub faucet as a laundry sink faucet and there was no turning back.  I'm sure you can guess what Jim's response was when I showed him this one...."That's DIFFERENT" and some other things that I probably shouldn't repeat here on the blog.

I was able to find just what I was looking for and within my price range off of EBay (We have a gotten a good amount of deals for this renovation and other house projects off of EBay...a great source for deals).  I love that it has a hand held faucet that I can use for cleaning paint brushes or giving some plants a bath.  Heck I could even give Sammy a bath in the sink and that hand held faucet would come in handy.  There were some minor (squeak!) crisis over this faucet the night before the plumber was coming to install it.  The spout reach was too short but I swear I measured (twice even!) before I bought it but as many times as I measured the sink and the faucet it was still too short.  Thank God, Mike said there were extenders the plumber could install that would make this faucet work.  So there was an additional cost by having to use those but man it was sooo worth it.  I just love it.

Check back tomorrow for the next installment of Let's Talk....

Day 6 #kitchenrenovation

Most of the action took place in the Laundry Nook yesterday.  Below is the laundry sink faucet (sorry for the pretty bad picture...the lighting just wasn't working for me last night for some reason...guess it's better to shot during the day especially in a dark basement? #stillaphotographernewbie).  To say I'm in LOVE is an understatement.  The faucet is actually meant for  a claw foot tub but I REALLY, REALLY (like really) wanted a wall mounted faucet and the opportunity arose to use it in the laundry nook, so I snatched it up and the rest is history (I will do a post on this faucet and the kitchen faucet at some point).   This was one of the crisises I referred to in a previous post that was alleviated thanks to Mike.  The faucet was originally too short to use with the sink (oops!  the Hasty Hornes strike again!) but the plumber was able to use extenders to make the faucet's spout reach out further.   Phew!  Otherwise there would have been a lot of tears shed (and surprisingly not from Jim!) and a late night Lowe's run to find a faucet I probably wouldn't have loved nearly as much.

Below you can see the sink, sink base cabinet and the new washer/dryer water hook up.  I owe you a post on the laundry sink the laundry base cabinet as well.  #toomuchtotalkaboutnotenoughhoursintheday!

This is the light in the laundry nook that will soon be replaced with that chicken wire beauty.  As you can see it's an old ugly light with a piece of rope hanging to turn it on and off.  A light switch will have to be installed.  Let's hope that doesn't cost too much to do...GULP!

The new hot and cold water "pipes" for the washer on the ceiling.  We have big plans to paint the beams and walls at a later date.

Remember that yellow wire and the cloth covered wire that were randomly hanging from the ceiling the day before?  Well now it's been replaced with a junction box and a pipe was moved...No more scary wires!

Another new junction box.  We think this is for the teppanyaki grill we will be installing in the peninsula.

Moving up the kitchen, more wires and outlets were added and that big honking radiator was removed.  A toe kick radiator will be installed in replace of this.

Are you sick of all this plumbing and electricity talk yet?  I know, I know...bear with us...more exciting things are yet to come!