Countertops and Shelving

Things have slowed down over the holidays, but there are a couple of new things to report on. First of all, countertops have been installed.

Countertops are in - I don't know how the installers deal
with that epoxy smell all day long.

They're apparently attached with epoxy, the smell of which was instantly headache-inducing, but that dissipated within a couple hours.

The other installation was custom walnut shelves on the wall above the island and in the powder room. We really like how these turned out.

There's also a working faucet in the powder room, which wasn't the case before - the original one was defective in several ways, and it took everyone (plumber, contractor, me) a while to figure that out. Pro tip: do not buy a $40 faucet from Amazon, no matter how good the reviews are.

Day 39

Well, here we are. Everything's hooked up and this kitchen is ready to be used. Which we will do tomorrow, because it's been a long day, we don't actually have any food in the house, and we just ordered a pizza.

Still to come:

• Quartzstone counter tops on top of the perimeter cabinets.
• Butcher block counter top for the island.
• Backsplash above the sink and the range.
• Shelf along the wall opposite the range.
• Shelf in the powder room.
• Assorted tweaks and touch-ups.

These things should be coming over the next couple weeks, but for now I'm going to stop the day clock, since we can actually use the kitchen - no more washing dishes in the bathtub! Check back in a week or so to see the finishing touches.

Let's eat!

Day 38

Lights are in and we are speeding toward a functioning kitchen.

Day 37

Super hectic day, and I didn't get a chance to take any pictures. On the positive side, the storm door was installed and the cabinet drawer/door installation was finished up. On the negative side, we found out the fridge had some damage to its frame (probably from a forklift) that was preventing it from sitting level. Fixable, but still annoying. Also, it turns out the butcher block we want for the island is out of stock until late December/early January. So, temp plywood counters there as well.

Tomorrow... lights!

Day 36

Big day for the kitchen: cabinet doors and drawer fronts, range hood, and temporary plywood counter tops. The permanent ones arrive next week.

These new plywood counter tops are still kind of an improvement over
our old ones.

Day 35

Sink goes into the powder room, and other fixtures
are on the way.

Day 32

Ok, this color is much better - trust us.

Day 31

Ceiling complete.

Day 30

Whoops. This paint color did not end up looking like we thought it would. As Betsy put it, "It's the color of the glow-in-the-dark stars you stick on the ceiling of a child's room." The name of this paint color? Moonglow. We should have known. Fortunately, our contractors are being patient with us while we regroup...

We tested it, and it does not glow in the dark.

Day 29

Transom window is in.

Day 28

Ceiling in progress.

Day 23

Window trim.

Day 22

Portrait of an island?

Ah, the island.

Day 21

Tiny powder room gains a transom window (or at least
the space for one).

Back Splash!

Day 18

Just a note that we are at the (scheduled) halfway point in this project.

Still a ways to go, but it's starting to look like a kitchen again.

Not much to look at on the inside yet, but the outside of
the powder room is really taking shape.

Day 17

Floors are in. Now all we need is a ceiling and we have a
real room.

Day 16

Here come the cabinets.

Day 15

We have walls.

Day 14

Tiny powder room, now in 3D.

Day 11

Gettin' curvy.

Installation of something that's been sorely missed every winter: insulation on
exterior walls.

Day 10

Range hood exhaust duct, blocked by chimney, takes a
detour through a future soffit.

Day 9

Starting to look a little brighter in here today.

Day 8

Sadly, minus the dangling Romex cable, this is what our kitchen ceiling has
looked like since the day after we moved in.

Day 7

Powder room above ground...

...Powder room below ground.

Day 4

Framing.

Day 3

View from the back patio...

...And just a few hours later.

Day 2

Rendering of a tiny powder room in blue painter's tape.

Day 1

No pussyfooting.

Now we know the kitchen was last renovated just over 47 years ago. It's due.

Kitchen Renovation/Powder Room Addition

It's been all quiet on the Tape Measure front because we've been saving up for this one - new kitchen and a downstairs powder room (in the dining room). It all starts tomorrow, unless it doesn't, which is what happened today. Stay tuned...

Our kitchen for the next 6 weeks.