Kitchen Bitchin'

Seven months living in our house and we still don't have a completed kitchen.

I blame ourselves. And, of course, our kitchen guy. Sadly, when you try do something on the cheap, you eventually end up paying for it in other ways. For us, it's been nights in bed spent wondering when we'd be able to make a meal without having to travel to the laundry room to do dishes.

Our kitchen guy has left to Panama—long story. Needless to say, I don't think we'll be seeing him again anytime soon. At least, not this month.

However, things will change this week. We'll be calling Inmer to finish up the kitchen, which includes installing the tile counter top. Sadly, our kitchen guy had orginally promised to install tile counter top as part of him getting the job. (Doesn't look like that's gonna happen.) At least we know that in Inmer's hands it will get done and done well.

Last week, we received the last pieces we needed–the Schluter System for the counter top. The Silestone tile itself we received the week before last. (Damn heavy, that Silestone tile is!) Below is a picture of the look we're going for.



Notice, if you will, the oh-so lovely stainless steel Schluter border that will finish off the edge of the counter top. Very nice.

Sinkwise, after much deliberation (not really), we decided on a huge, single bowl model by Kohler. We also scored big on our kitchen faucet, which we bought at Overstock.com for about $80.00. Great design, very well made. (We bought the Satin Nickel one below.)



All in all, the kitchen will be done, we hope, by the end of August, which would be exactly one year after we bought the house and first demoed the damn room. It's all very funny. In a dark, twisted, home renovation-related sort of way.

So, let's hope that next time I write on the topic, instead of kitchen bitchin' I'll be boasting about a "bitchin' kitchen."

Let's hope. Let's hope, indeed.

What happened to January? And February? And March? And...um... April?

So, yeah... we missed a couple of months. Not because nothing was happening as far as the renovation goes (duh), only that I was lazy.

Yes. I said it. I was lazy. I could've said that I was trapped under heavy machinery, and there has been a bit of that lying around, but that would've been a lie. I've also been busy with my freelance, which is what has helped pay for the renovations noted on this blog. So, in a way, I have been busy in a renovation-related way.

Still, today's post is loaded with oodles of news. For starters, the terrazzo floors are finally redone. Let me just say that it took quite a bit longer than anyone anticipated, including Benny from Panamerican Flooring. While the results are impressive, it was painful for everyone. Several days of cleaning, polishing, and moving furniture around. And several more days of cleaning up the ultrafine dust that's left over from the process. As you can see, the results are mighty nice.



Even more impressive if you consider this is the same guest bathroom floor that once had the yellow linoleum floor and the nasty ceramic tile and looked like this:



What else? Ah, yes... the master bath. We're finally bathing like normal people. Here, a cropped shot of the master bath. (A full shot will be posted later. I'm such a tease!)



Now, what about the kitchen? Damn fine question. The kitchen, quite frankly, is a bit of a sore spot for me/us. The cabinets are up but we're waiting for the exterior panels and doors to arrive from Canada so that they can be installed. Needless to say, the "company" that's doing the kitchen won't be getting many referrals from us. (Long story.)

Notice, though, the lovely stainless steel fridge in the picture. The Kenmore Trio. We love.



And here's a reminder of where we were, the day we tore out the old cabinets...



Still, I'm hopeful that the end result will be worth the money we're paying, which is actually a fraction of what we were quoted elsewhere, ergo why we used Company X, an acquaintance of my brother-in-law's.

Hopefully, we'll have a kitchen by the end of the month, though I'm not holding my breath. I've passed out too many times to try that again.

The guest bath, seen below, is still not finished but we at least know what we're going to do and the materials we need, which includes about $946 in mosaic tile. Notice the fabulous little built-in counter with shelving created by Inmer. Nice, aye? It will be lovely and finished in time for our guests of honor when they visit—that's, you Daddy and Mommy B!



Good news is that the family room is completed. But, I'll post pictures about that and the laundry room in the next posting, which I'm hoping will be much more frequent than it has been.

Thanks!
Jacqui and Craig