the kitchen: before and afters

With only tiny minor things left to do in the kitchen, like paint touch ups and baseboard, I thought I'd post the before and afters. As much fun as this was and as worth it as it now feels, let's not do a kitchen gut and reno for a while. Okay, C?

//BEFORE//

//DURING//

//AFTER//

(doesn't this one look more fun to cook in? kitchens should be fun)

117 days

We did it. We survived 117 days without a kitchen. Now, it didn't take us 117 days of solid kitchen renovating dedication. In between lots else was done, including a shower renovation; new plumbing and electric for the entire house; painting; drywalling; flooring. There is definitely more sprinkled in there, I just don't feel like reliving it right now. We'll post completed pics soon. But see, we really do have a working range!

movin' on in

Most of our kitchen stuff is all happy in their new drawer and cabinet homes. They were really starting to feel claustrophobic in their boxes. Due to a little snafu by Whirlpool we won't be able to fully install the range until Monday. So this weekend we are putting final touches on the kitchen so we can start cooking next week. We need to finish the baseboards around the island and install the tile backsplash. That's IT! The counters are finito and the range installation will be finished soon enough. I'm sure like everything else we've done, something will pop up making both of these items take much longer than they should. But we hope to really begin cooking next week. Wish us luck.

yep, looks like moving day

finished counters (still can't believe we, mostly C, did these ourselves) and backsplash preview

before and afters: exterior edition

Even without a finished kitchen, we cheated and did some outdoor work this weekend. We just couldn't let the 78 degree weather go to waste. I'm happy to report I'm officially a gardener. I have real live plants to care for. I don't know why, but for some reason this makes me feel like a real grown up. C put me in charge of the trough that runs the walkway up to our front door, since he "doesn't do landscaping." Selecting the plants, coming up with a scheme for the space and digging in dirt was all me (said as I give myself a nice big old pat on the back). These plants just make our entry so much happier. And we like happy. We went with a few types of grasses and some phormium in dark delight. Yummy.

While I was digging in the dirt, C put our new house numbers up. And WOW. It's true friends. The right font can say it all and should convey more than just some boring information. It should evoke a feeling. Our old numbers made me feel like "ugh, I have to go in there again." The new numbers are more like "oh goody gumdrops, can't wait to see what's behind that door!" I just hope the boogie man doesn't feel more compelled to enter, too. And of course all that being said, this could just be because I'm a nerdy font geek that likes to call out fonts when I see them on signs, packaging, menus, etc. What can I say? I like to show off. We got our numbers from this place. Totally recommend them: great quality, easy to order, and any font you desire (font geeks of the world, unite).

Also, remember last week's list? Well I'm happy to report it shrunk. We also still have some more finishing work to do on the countertops. C did spend a good 5 hours sanding/polishing them this weekend, leaving the downstairs covered in a ton of dust. Lovely. But check out the rest of the list!:

1. Attach kick plates and side panels to cabinets (same high gloss grey)

2. Attach all door handles

3. Connect range to gas and electric

4. Install garbage disposal and dishwasher

5. Finish sink installation and install faucet

before

before and after

the list

The kitchen is still not complete, but we're definitely getting closer. All the countertops are poured, now we just need to do the finish work of polishing, sanding, covering the holes and sealing. On top of that we have more finishing work in the kitchen. Want to see the list? Here goes:

1. Attach kick plates and side panels to cabinets (same high gloss grey)

2. Attach all door handles

3. Connect range to gas and electric

4. Install garbage disposal and dishwasher

5. Finish sink installation and install faucet

Plus the finishing, FINISHING work:

1. Short tile backsplash

2. Open shelving between the 2 windows

Since we're at the end of a mile-long list, none of this seems entirely dreadful.

And PS the microwave is basically our kitchen at the moment. It won't be staying on the counter, we are going to try keeping it tucked away out of site.

decisions, decisions

Window coverings are topic of discussion at Carver lately. We have loads of samples from this store. Love this place. Best selection, great quality, all custom made to fit whatever size window you need to cover. Since one of ours is 94x45, we need something a little more custom. And they send you any and every sample you want to see. We've had these up for a day now and think we know the winner. We've seen how they look in the daylight, the nightlight and have even done our best impressions of a peeping tom to see if he'd be able to sneak a peek.

countertops and couch naps

It was a very happy new year for us! One we will always remember because when we weren't making our concrete countertops, we were on the couch. Me napping and C watching football. Until September, that used to be a weekly activity in our household, so you can imagine my excitement to finally have that one back. The countertops are still a work in progress and I'll do a complete post on our trials and tribulations soon. In the meantime, I'll leave you with a photo of the poured counters and one from the couch. The finishings in the living room are still a work in progress, but we're getting there.