Let's talk...refrigerators!

Ahhh fridges...big ones, smalls ones, side by side, french door, etc., etc., etc...When we first started this process, all I knew was that I wanted BIG (The bigger the better in my book) and a side by side.  I knew I did NOT want the freezer on the bottom because I never thought you could find anything in the freezer since it's basically a chest freezer. But my dream lasted ooooh 5 minutes when it was quickly shattered by Mr. Practical (aka my husband).  Why do men always have to be so practical???  Can't they let our dreams live a lil longer than 5 minutes???  Anyhoo, I'm getting off topic here.  Refrigerators.  We spent months (ok, I kinda made us spend months) researching and shopping since it had to fit a couple key criteria:  professional handles, counter depth, had to look built in, couldn't be wider than 36" since we wanted to keep as much counter space as possible, side by side, and oh yeah, couldn't cost thousands and thousands of dollars.   During the search I realized that if I couldn't get a big fridge, then having a side by side didn't make sense because the one we have now is a side by side and I think the freezer is super skinny and I basically can't even fit a plate in there let alone a big ice cream cake.  So I accepted the fact my dream was gone and we started looking at french door frigs.  Then I started being picky about the drawers...no wire drawers, had to pull out, etc.  I was basically becoming unrealistically picky and I do think Jim may have wanted to strangle me...God bless his soul.

Enter the Jenn Air.  It had professional handles that you could purchase as well as grill that would make the refrigerator appear built in like it's more expensive counterparts such as the Subzero. 

Interesting fact.  This refrigerator is made by Amana (the appliance division is owned by Whirlpool) and this same exact fridge is also sold by Kitchen Aid and Viking with each having a different price point.  I'm sure you can guess which one was more expensive...so a lot of times you really are just paying for the brand name.  Jenn Air was offering really good rebates which was a huge factor in our decision but I also liked the fact that I could upgrade to the professional handles for a nominal fee.  So I was getting the look for less!  Awesomesauce!

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 8 #kitchenrenovation

 

The book shelf was built and some other minor things occurred.  The bookshelf is EXACTLY what I was picturing....bead board goodness in the back and numerous shelves to put tons more chotchkies on.  Now the question is what to put, what to put....maybe milk glass?  maybe jars filled with buttons?  maybe some random goodies???  I'm not sure yet but all I know is that antique and thrift stores are whispering my name and I'm about to answer them.

 

 

 

 

 

Here you can see the two "windows" together.  Things are really starting to take shape and our vision is starting to come to life.  Kinda hard to believe it's all still really happening (well our bank accounts would beg to differ...minor detail! ha!)

 

Here is the view from the kitchen looking towards Lady Land. Soon you won't be able to see the back of the shelf as that will be covered by cabinets and the refrigerator.

 

 

 

 

 

The next two are just new sub floors for the closet and the entrance to the pantry.  The old wall used to be in these places so there were holes in the sub floor that Mike had to fill in.

 

If you look at the very top of the picture below, you can see the hole at the top of the chimney.  This is for the range hood's vent.  Come to find out code does not require you to have a vent but the appliance salespeople beg to differ and most definitely push you towards buying one.  Guess we were those suckers who believed their spiel.   But they sure do look pretty!  That counts for something right? Right?

 

 

Guess the inspector was a smoke break but wanted to make sure everything was up to snuff (and he wanted overtime...he will work for bones)

 

On Monday the drywall should begin!  Dah!!!  Maybe then it will start to look like a real room as opposed to the demolition site it is now.  Till next time...

Day 7 #kitchenrenovation

More plumbing and electrical work today.  Great news...we passed the plumbing inspection! #seeoldhousesdorock!

Here you can see the gas pipe that will be for the gas dryer...gunna have to get creative with how to disguise it or just work with it as it has a slight industrial look that fits in with the other exposed pipes and beams that are all through out the basement.





Moving up to the kitchen, the windows are G-O-N-E!!!!!!!!  It seriously makes the room feel so much bigger and open.  I love that you can see into Lady Land.   The left window will be where the refrigerator will be situated so that will be blocked up...I know people are probably thinking, why are you getting rid of all that natural light and won't that look weird/ugly on the Lady Land side of the wall???  Well one, we don't have a huge kitchen to begin with so we really had to squeeze every last inch we could out of this area and second do you really think I would ever let Lady Land look ugly?!  Puh-leeeasee!  I don't think so!  Mike will be building a shelf on the Lady Land side.  It will be a four shelf unit with a bead board backing...hello more knick knacks...come to mama!!!!  The right window will be open to Lady Land and it will be made into a pass through.  The granite will extend out into Lady Land with bead board and two corbels underneath the granite.  This will be really great come grilling/outdoor living time since I can just pass things to Jim instead of walking allllllll the way around through kitchen, the dining room and lady land just to get to outside.  Seeeee, we didn't totally get rid of  all that the natural light and open and airy feeling we want for this room.





Here is the Lady Land side of the pass through.  Some of the bead board is up so you can kinda get a better idea of what I was talking about above.



The soon to be shelf on the Lady Land side.  The wood for the shelf is leaning against the wall.  Jim really loves photo bombing #handsoffladieshesmine!

And we fiiiiinally have insulation!!!!  Wooohooo!  Our liquid dishwasher used to freeze and we always wondered why....well, we always suspected there was no insulation.  Turns out we were right.  Now maybe I won't have to wear 5 layers of clothing while hanging out in the kitchen.  But man, the fumes coming from the new insulation were something fierce!  Smelled like burning rubber.  Yuck!

The other hole in the chimney got bricked in.  Come to find out, the mason didn't want to replace the holes at the same time as he was slightly nervous that some of the other bricks would come out.  The chimney isn't going anywhere so need to panic but let's face it this is a 90 year old chimney...things are bound to get a lil' crumbly.

Until tomorrow...ciao!

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!



Day 5 #kitchenrenovation

Plumbing and electrical rough in day!  Who knew I would become so excited about electricity and plumbing???  Below is the new plumbing for the sink and the garbage disposal.  Buh-bye slow and crude infested elbows...hello shiny, new, straight shot pipe (see...told you I was crazy about plumbing!)  There was a minor crisis created by a certain someone who will remain nameless (coughjimcough) thinking that we would not be able to have a garbage disposal due to the deepness of the farmhouse sink.  Basically, the risk that you run when having a farmhouse sink is that due to how deep it is (10"+ vs. a standard sink of about 6") the piping may be too high to have a garbage disposal connected to it.  Luckily, they sell shorter garbage disposals that can accommodate a farmhouse sink and our piping is low enough.  Phew!  Crisis averted!  Now we just have to buy a garbage disposal that we weren't planning on buying....death by a thousand cuts.

Here you can see all the new brightly colored wire that will become plugs and outlets.  No more cloth covered wires and gas light fixtures!  Woohoo! Hello 21st century electrical!

The two new recessed (or pot as some refer to them as) lights in the old hallway.  I have to say I wasn't really prepared to do the lighting design and didn't really think about it...again another reason I'm glad we got a general contractor who was able to help us out in this area.  The old fixture that was here is going at the top of the basement stairs and will replace the boob light (real term) that is there now.

This is being shot from the inside of the pantry.  You can see the new plywood wall that is going up where the old doorway used to be.  We moved the pantry doorway for two reasons.  One being so we could fit in a peninsula and the second is now we can actually have normal depth cabinets in the pantry as opposed to the pretty useless 9" depth cabinets that were there.  Let me tell you not a lot of food boxes fit in a 9" depth cabinet. 

The fireplace hole was bricked in!  The new bricks match the old ones pretty well.  I love it and can't wait to slap some white paint on it.  The other hole will be bricked up as well.

The Laundry nook!!!!  It's really starting to take shape...so exciting!  The plumbing for the laundry sink and the washer and dryer were installed.  We still aren't sure of the set up in this area yet...are we going to stack the washer/dryer?  Put them side by side with a counter over them?  Real life problems we have to deal with here people.  Stress!

Better shot of the plumbing.  I will do a post on the laundry sink cabinet at a later date.

This a semi-random picture but Jim and I both were like what the heck is this random wire hanging from the basement ceiling but we think it is the electricity for the dishwasher.  You can see the old cloth wire here as well.

That wraps up day 5.  Not as exciting as tear walls down kinda excitement but still fun nonetheless.

Day 4 #kitchenrenovation

Yesterday, the pantry was demoed as seen in the picture below.  The black and white tiled floors, the cabinets and and the counter were removed.  We're going to try and craig's list the cabinets, oven and microwave/vent and refrigerator.  If you know of anyone who is interested inany of these things, please let me know.

Here's a good shot of the new pantry doorway.

This is the water shut off and valves for the old washer/dryer.  Mike will likely cap these pipes and drywall over them.  This is will be a big open wall...not sure how we'll fill it up...art work?  hang things like broom, etc?  Hang our pots here?  Leave blank?  Ahhh the possibilities!

Another interesting thing Mike discovered during the demo was the live electrical wires that were just hanging out behind our walls...kinda scary that things like this were lurking behind walls while we were none the wiser. It makes me very grateful we have someone like Mike who is making sure things are done correctly. The live wire that was just duck taped is the green wire directly to the left of the window with the black tape on the end.  There were a couple others just like this throughout the kitchen.

The old/new closet is really starting to take shape.  I love how tall it is.  It would be cool if we use that box on the top of the closet as an open shelf with a basket in it....hmmmm I wonder if that's possible......my wheels are turning...and Jim is shuddering....

 Until tomorrow!