Pendant Lights

Just when I was thinking this kitchen couldn't get any better, the pendant light went in. We built the island up and placed it under the pendants and...well...I think the picture speaks for itself! They seem to complete the room somehow. I know this is no big deal to most people, especially the contractors who do this all the time, but I am thoroughly impressed with how things have turned out.


Installation of the rest of the upper cabinet molding and handles will be on the agenda for today.

The dryer plug got replaced with one compatible with the new outlet installed in the wall, so we did two glorious loads of laundry yesterday! The dryer, come to find out, was purchased in 1990 so is pretty old, but seems to work just fine. The washer, though, is a pretty nifty little piece of machinery. It's a front-loader and is really quiet. Bonus! One of my concerns was that it would be noisy to have the W/D in the same room as the kitchen, but even running both at the same time was fine.

The electrician finished all his work yesterday, which included installing the chandelier in the dining room. Hard-wiring in a light fixture meant I had to be really, really sure about the furniture layout, so I measured all the furniture and taped out where they will be sitting on the floor. I hope it works!!

But of course amidst the glamor that is the emerging kitchen, there's still chaos reigning elsewhere...like this door that is hanging out on the stair landing, waiting to be reclaimed and put somewhere...




...or the pile of rubble sitting outside. The pile is also a trash dump where boxes have been tossed and scraps of whatever else could be throw away is thrown away here. It's $25/cubit yard to take it to the Sunnyvale dump, so whatever can fit in the trash can or recycled is being moved! Neighbors (I think) have been coming by to sort through the pile also, taking planks of old wood and whatever else they feel like taking. If it's being reused and will cost me less to haul, I'm happy!

The one thing we did decide to do ourselves was to paint the ceiling of the basement. We picked a darker color than the walls to give it a movie theater feel (side note: neither of us are experts at this and we totally made up the darker-ceiling-to-make-it-a-movie-theater-feel thing). So here's what it looks like. It's a bit hard to tell in the photo because of the flash, but take my word for it that it's much better than the white, flaky, stained paint that was there before.




This is the basement utility room where the fridge that was upstairs now resides and has sustained us since we moved in. It's been the make-shift kitchen for two weeks now and it's getting kind of old. Because the only seating in the house is the bed, we've been eating breakfast down here standing up. A few times lunch or dinner has been eaten here too.

We did manage to make pasta for dinner last night on the nice new stove, but not having unearthed the bowls or non-plastic utensils yet, we ate on the bed using plastic bowls and forks. Not for much longer!!

Washer and Dryer and Fridge, Oh my!

Hurrah!! All the appliances are IN!! The range is hooked up to the gas line and burns beautiful, blue flames, the dish washer is in, the fridge is plugged and on...and most excitingly, the washer and dryer are in!!

BUT!! As it would figure, the plug for the 220v outlet in the wall is not the same as the one on the dryer...sooooo we have to wait yet another day to do laundry. What was supposed to be finished on Saturday is now Tuesday and believe me, it couldn't come soon enough!

As you can see from the photos, though, the cabinet doors are all in and the toe-kicks went in yesterday. All that's left is the crown along the top of the cabinets and the handles.
The washer and dryer were moved to what used to be the coat closet. There was a concern that the closet isn't deep enough to house the washer and dryer, but the back door opens to more than 90 degrees and, as you can see in this photo, they fit in just fine. One trick that the plumbers came up with was to vent the dryer straight out the back, allowing a shallower vent line, whereby enabling the unit to be pushed in further toward the wall. How clever of them!

The electrican is coming today to finish up all his stuff, including a couple additions we tacked on in the end. He's putting in the pendant lights above where the kitchen island will go and adding a line to install the dining room chandelier. After today all the major work is done and it'll be bits here and there to put the cherry on top of this project.

Barring any hold-ups today, the final inspection can be scheduled for tomorrow. The carpet guy will come after that. But as long as I have a working dryer tonight, I'll be a happy camper!

Ooooh Granite!

The granite guys made our day by coming in today! They rolled up just before 9 this morning and - in all seriousness - it took them 20 minutes to install all the base granite.

We stood out of the way while two guys hefted in a total of 4 pieces that must have been heavy. One piece is this little guy to the left. This are the shallow cabinets to the left of the fridge.

There was enough granite to go with the 6" back splash, so of course we went with that!! It was all done by the time we went back at lunch to check progress.

Here's the sink area. This long counter was brought in two pieces with the seam along the vertical center-line of the sink. When we left in the morning they were just sealing the seam and when we got back at lunch we were amazed at how well the seam came out! They did a really nice job and it makes the kitchen look so finished.

The carpenter got most all the kitchen flooring in today and is going to finish the installation of the cabinet doors tomorrow!

Also tomorrow the plumber is coming to connect the sink to the garbage disposal to the dish washer to the drain line! And he's putting in the faucet - my gorgeous Kohler goose-neck faucet! - and plugging in the washer and dryer. So by the end of the day tomorrow we will have a functional kitchen and washer and dryer!!!! I don't know if I've ever been so excited to do laundry...it's been, um, two weeks since we did laundry and it's about time!

Floors, Glorious Floors!!

Wow oh wow, do these floors look GORGEOUS!! The photo on the left is the living/dining room. You can see the painted walls and newly installed baseboards. The doorway leads to the kitchen.

The photo on the right is the hallway. I took this at night so it's a little dark, but you can see how beautiful the last coat has shined her up! The floor genius came by tonight to check the status and forbade us from walking on it until the morning. Unfortunately, the furnace is still not working, so it's not helping the floor polish dry.

Here's how the kitchen is going. The laminate flooring is almost done and fits in really well with the cabinets and paint color! The recessed lights were finished the other day, along with the under counter lights...goooorgous!!


Last up: granite guys might, might come tomorrow!! That leaves the cabinet doors! The appliances will be moved in to place and hooked up...and THAT'S IT!!!

The initial schedule had us getting final inspections done today, but we're about one week behind. If the granite guys finish tomorrow, the plumber comes to connect the sink with the garbage disposal with the plumbing. Let's cross our fingers for GRANITE tomorrow!!

The last week! I HOPE!!

It's the last week of construction, or at least it should be. The tile in the bathroom is DONE!!

This photo shows the floor tile. It's a little dusty, but you get the idea. Isn't it beautiful?

The photo shows the tube/shower with the shelves complete and the shower rod in. The shower fixture installation and electrical need to be finished, but that's all scheduled to be completed on Monday, which means we will have a working shower then!!

The kitchen cabinets are also done! The doors will go on later to minimize potential damage during the remaining traffic. The granite guys are coming Monday and the flooring will start Tuesday. Also happening Monday is the sanding and first coat application of the hardwood floors in the living/dining room, front bedroom and hallway.














The next picture is the sink side of the kitchen. The little breakfast nook is to the left just outside the picture. The granite templates are in, ready for the granite guys to come tomorrow.

The next picture shows where the fridge will go and the adjacent pantry (large floor-to-ceiling one) and other cabinets. The door in view leads to the living/dining room, which received its fresh coat of paint and look faaaabulous!!

On yet another run to Home Depot today, we were attacked by a GIANT tumbleweed!! I have seriously not seen one this big ever. It must have been 2m in diameter and came rolling down he road straight at us. The car was hit from the driver's side and I think we sustained a few scratches on the side view mirror, but nothing serious. What drama for a Sunday!

It's All Downhill from Here

Where do I start?? Well, moving day came and went. In the on-and-off rain, 4 fearless and wonderful friends came out to complete the two trips it took in the truck to move everything out of the cottage and in to the garage (both upstairs and downstairs). It's packed to the brim! The master bedroom was painted and the floors polished so that the bed could go in. Remember the lovely mural on the wall? That's now covered up with a gorgeous green and lined with brand new base boards and polished hardwood floors.

The electrician was finally able to finish all his work after the rain stopped, so the inspector was called out to give the ok to board everything up. We failed....

There were three things that needed to be fixed, two of which were easy and my GC stayed late to do it himself that night so the inspector could come out the next morning. The third thing that was a bit tricky was that darn load bearing wall. He said the structural engineer's plans didn't match what was done to support the header beam in the ceiling, so he failed us.

The good thing was that he ok'd us for the electrical and plumbing so that the drywall could go up and the painting could be done so that the cabinets and tile could go up.

The drywallers finished yesterday, the painter is here today and the cabinets and the rest of the tile are going up tomorrow!!

Here's a picture of the kitchen as it is now. It looks 100 times better than it did already! You can't even tell the ceiling was uneven. The ceiling is white and by the time I get home from work, it should be a lovely green!

Here's a picture of the tile in the bathroom. They did the floor and the wall without the plumbing so that the last part of the job will finish in less than a day (which should be tomorrow). I can't get over how gorgeous it looks! Every day when I go in I stand there at the door and stare at the wall tile in awe!! I can't wait to see it all done!! When I think of the pinkness that was this bathroom a mere 4 weeks ago, it's amazing to see the difference a small change makes.

Yesterday I found a web site that is having a contest for best remodeling project. I'm going to submit both the bathroom and kitchen "before" and "after" pictures!

This time tomorrow I should have the semblance of a kitchen forming in reality (rather than in just my head). These next few days are going to be really exciting with how quickly the last important bits are going to come together and finish the transformation. All the roadblocks are behind us now, so it should all be downhill from here!

T-minus 5 days until move-in day

The countdown until move-in day is on! It's Wednesday tomorrow and moving day is Sunday. What's the significance? The shower isn't going to be done by then. Ooops!

The electrician and plumber were both well on track to finish last week. But then on the last day of the electrician's schedule, it rained, and apparently he can't work in the rain. Then the next day it rained. And the next. And it's Tuesday and STILL raining!! So, not only can the electrician not finish his work outside in this weather, this holds up the city inspection, which holds up putting up the dry wall, which then holds up everything else from moving forward. Gah!

On the upside, here's a photo of my new gas line for my gas stove! It's routed along the ceiling of the basement, so this is where the picture is taken.

The bathroom floor tile and part of the wall tile is done, which brings me hope that my showering abilities won't be limited for much longer. More photos tomorrow!