Renovation Update: The Kitchen Years

Yes, a renovation update, but first a distraction:  how many pieces of chocolate do you think are in this container? This was the "Guess How Many?" prize for my work's Easter (f$31**#) Potluck- an event I both love and loathe.  Guess the amount correctly and you get the bucket o' candy (not really YOU, but someone at the Potluck).  

Below you will see the rough version of my new island as you look out the back door.  That is a prep sink on the near end (no faucet yet), and my collection of cookie cutters on the far end (they still haven't found a home in the new cabinets...).  Under the sink on the right side will be an access door for the plumbing.  On the left side of the island will be two pull-out door/drawers for garbage/recycling and compost (or bins for things like potatoes and rice, which we buy in bulk).  The counter top will again be the fantastic concrete we have on the other bank of cabinets.

In this next pic you can see almost the entire kitchen from the view point of the front room of the house.  The last of the old cabinets were demolished this weekend by Mr. Fix and myself, and then Mr. Fix took them and released the toxicity of cheap old cabinets into the ozone with a burn pile.  OSB and other pressed "wood" products burn fast and hot, I'm told.

Its going to be the one year anniversary of our kitchen renovation soon; it seems waaaayyy longer than that! Our last bits to get done are: 1) faucet and counter top for the island; 2) install light fixture above the island; 3) crown molding on tall bank of cabinets; 4) tile back splash.  

It is this last item we're waffling on a bit.  Our original thought was "white ceramic subway tiles."  Then I fell IN LOVE with some white glass subway tiles.  Swanky, right? And just plain beautiful.  Now, we're wondering if our first choice was better? More economical, for sure, but what about longevity? Will the glass make our kitchen look dated in 10 years?

And then there's the whole other saga of the bar stool I absolutely fell in love with from DWR .  Oh, the industrial beauties would be so super perfect for our space! Take a look for yourself here .  Yes, in the yellow. No, I can't afford them.  No, not even if they're on sale.  *sigh*

Other news?  Less than three weeks out from my Spring marathon .  I'm so ready for this one.  My training has been solid and I feel strong.  This week, though, I'll be in Chicago- Yay, Chicago!- for a conference on summer learning.  I know, the excitement never ends.  But this is a conference I've attended in the past, and it is fabulous and useful and not at all a chore to attend.  Plus, the Cubs are in town, so if I can't be found at one of my afternoon sessions, and return the next morning at breakfast whistling "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," well...

Have a great week! (PS- the correct number was 527.)

Bringing Spring Indoors

March 22nd- this is about two days after Mr. Fix brought the forsythia branches inside.

March 26th- yellow and green starting to open up.

March 31st- lovely yellow blooms to stare at while I sip my coffee.  

Close up of the blooms.  I figured I should bring that sunshine to myself, since it is evading this part of the country and really putting a damper on my overall mood.  I haven't even been wanting to run or go outside or anything.  This week is Spring Break for my husband and kids.  I still have to work, and let me tell you, the crappy weather is helping make going in to work tolerable.  

What else? Well, Mr. Fix just went to the lumber yard to pick up supplies for the island portion of the Never-Ending Kitchen Renovation.  Only 5 weeks until the marathon, and I'm dragging my feet on booking a flight.  So far the best price is $300 round trip, and I'm thinking that come payday, I'll have to cave and purchase before they're gone.  But seriously, how many people are really itching to go to Cincinnati? And will I ever be able to say/write/think about "Cincinnati" without singing the theme song to "WKRP in Cincinnati?"  Probably not.

Baby, you and me were never meant to be.  Just maybe think of me once in awhile.  I meant W-K-R-P in Cincin-aaaa-tiii.....

Renovation Update: The Countertop Edition

Okay, so now that my house is covered in a very fine, charcoal-colored dust, I will take refuge in my office and post pics from last weekend. Above is the construction of the countertop mold. It was built on a moveable frame so when it is ready to be installed, it can be rolled right up to the cabinets and slid on top. Below is the frame with the metal mesh and rebar in place. These will add strength to the finished product.


Below is Mr. Fix and his brother, the Other Mr. Fix, troweling the concrete into the mold.

And lastly, we see the mold filled to the top, all smooth, and beginning to cure.


So now we start the waiting game. A nine-foot length of concrete takes a while to cure, I'm told, and when it is finally installed (and the front room of the house is hosed down and all sparkly again), I will post more pics.

In the meantime, I'm off to run at the YMCA, even though its 41 degrees outside. I'd rather not run in the rain. One more cup of coffee...have a great weekend.

Renovation Update

I know this post is titled "Renovation Update," but first I need to show you the beautiful bouquet gracing my dining room table. Such saturated colors made me smile while I drank my delicious coffee and leisurely read my magazines on this frigid Sunday morning. 2 degrees is not good running weather, I decided, and so I lounged for an extra long time, trying to get motivated to run for an hour on the treadmill at the YMCA. They came from a great shop in Marquette: Garden Bouquet & Design . Stop in and support a local small business if you're ever in the area.

Okay, now on to news re: The Never-Ending Renovation. Right around Christmas, Mr. Fix was able to build and install the upper portion of what I'm calling The Right Bank of Cabinets (they are to the right of the range). The lower portion has been installed for a few months- I think since Thanksgiving- but now there are drawers. So, if you look at the picture below, the top portion of the uppers (the six cubbies) will remain as open shelving. This requires me to use a ladder, and I'm petitioning for one of those library-style ladders on a track. The portion right above the countertop will look like this: The single section on the right will have a single door, while the left side will have two pocket doors, opening like an armoire, and housing my morning business equipment: coffee maker, toaster, bread box. The cabinet doors of the lower half will (from left to right) be fashioned for baking trays stored on their sides, more baking/cookware (including small appliances) on a sliding shelf, and pantry items/canned goods.


The photo below shows the set of drawers to the left of the range. See how the wood grain is wavy and kinda shimmery? Mr. Fix tells me this is "rift-sawn" wood, and yes, he cut it and installed it that way on purpose. Me likey.


This last photo shows the entire bank of cabinets as they are now. You'll notice, too, that there is color on the walls: its called "Glamour," and is in many other rooms of our home. Its a nice custardy-creamy neutral that really makes the white trim pop. By the way, the dishwasher will be replaced with a stainless steel model later this Spring.


So, the next step is to install the cabinet doors, now that we have the hinges (bought on our "date" to Lowe's in Marquette yesterday). After that comes the concrete countertops (dyed a deep charcoal grey color), and then the island and finishing touches, like the light fixtures I bought back in August or September and white glass subway tiles for the backsplash. We are hoping to break this completed (!!!) project in with a sushi party Memorial Day weekend. Okay, I'm hoping to break it in by then.

Hope everyone had a great weekend & stayed warm- we had single digit and below-zero temps here again. I'm thinking I should've taken Fast Jessica up on that Facebook offer to get outta town and go to Sarasota...

Renovation Update

Kind of an uneventful weekend around here- Mr. Fix doesn't hunt the Big Bucks, eh? So he stayed home this weekend and built more cabinets, while I did some hunting of my own for our Almost-as-Long-as-the-Presidential-Campaign Kitchen Renovation.

The photo above shows the very messy kitchen (where today, believe it or not, I actually made soup from scratch!) and the cabinets as they look now. The bank to the right of the stove are new and really just the shells. The stuff to the left of the stove has been in for awhile, but they have fancy new drawers now with fancy new European glides. And soon they will have fancy new hardware from Resoration Hardware . We chose the Gilmore Pull for the drawers (4" wide in the satin nickel finish), and the Aubrey Pull for the doors (also 4" wide in the satin nickel). We are still on the hunt (groan) for hinges and pocket door hardware.

Below is another shot of the kitchen, as seen from the dining room. The shelves to the left are new, too, and are waiting for the glass from the glass place before the doors get painted to match and installed.


Other things that have been occupying my time? Well, Daughter #1 had her first college open house this weekend in Chicago at Columbia College . In typical teenager fashion, she didn't have too much to say about the school, but managed to text me several times from Sephora , and even braved eating Sliders at White Castle . Say it with me on that second one: gah-ros-ah!

The rest of the day was spent running (a nice 5K through the park), wishing The Devil a speedy recovery from the little sick bug she caught (totally messed with our knitting plans!), mowing the lawn/downed leaves and mulching the garden one last time before the snow that has been falling actually sticks, making the afore-mentioned soup (a deelish vegetarian vegetable and barley soup I make from scratch!), and then...well, right here, right now blogging and stuff. It could be an early night.

However you spent your weekend, I hope it was productive in some shape or form. Have a great week!

Renovation Update, With a Little Love

For all of you wondering how the renovation is going, I present to you my new kitchen sink. It is a lovely 18-gauge stainless steel undermount single bowl, with a depth of 10-1/2". I know it doesn't look like an undermount, but that's because the concrete counters haven't been installed/poured yet.


Nice, huh? Mr. Fix has been busy framing out the cabinets with rift-sawn maple (that means its got this cool, wavy shimmer to it) while the rest of us have been smiling at the new appliances. It was a bit strange to look in the refrigerator the first few days we had it, though; we had no food (since I am the only person in the house who knows where the grocery store is. And the laundry hamper. And the recycling bin. I could go on...) and it looked like we just picked up the floor model. Its full now, and everyone is smiling at it even more.

Mr. Fix did, however, take the time to cook us dinner on Saturday night, and cooked it up with an extra bit of love:


Awwww....yummy fingerling potatoes planted by his hands, tended in the garden by his hands, harvested by his hands, and then lovingly cooked by his hands. I ate this one in one big, noisy CHOMP! *giggle*

Hope this starts your week out with a smile!