House Remodeling Thread (long)

[Aggie_Ama]

You are going to have a kitchen soon? Will you know what to do with that?

[tulip]

You are going to have a kitchen soon? Will you know what to do with that?

The first think I'll do is run my dishwasher. I've clogged up both my bathroom sink and my tub from washing dishes. Like Kramer--I need a disposal in my bathtub!

Then I'll bake cookies and bread. But before that, I'll boil water in my kettle on the stove and make tea. I'll put my two cans of beans and three cans of tuna in the cupboards. Then I'll go grocery shopping.

I'll make pasta. I'll scramble an egg. I'll put my dishes away. *sigh*

[tulip]

The cabinets are partially installed! By this time tomorrow night, I oughta be boiling some water for pasta on my stove (yes, it's the simple things I miss). I don't have a sink yet, though, gotta get that tomorrow. And then there's the countertop, which will take a week or two to make.

Photos--this morning and this afternoon for comparison. Whoo-hoo!

[Trek420]

Yippeee! Q: Do they reinforce the tops of the cabs to install the concrete? They had to do that for my granite counter top.

[Zen]

Is the sink going to be in front of that window?

[Trek420]

Sure looks like it. I love having a view while I do dishes There's the plumbing below and everything. Is that a lazy susan style cabinet to the right I see? Sweet, nice use of corner space.

[tulip]

Yes the sink will be in front of the window, which looks on to the house that perhaps I shouldawouldacoulda bought for less money and less work. But let's not go there (my bank account has shrunken to a point that I'm a bit obsessed about what I could have done differently in this whole endeavor).

The cabinet installers got the fridge/pantry wall done today, as well as the drawers, but they didn't finish. So I won't post any photos until tomorrow or Friday. The GC says that by Friday I'll have the appliances hooked up, except for the dishwasher. But maybe I can convince him otherwise.

The cabinets are really well-made, solid, and beautiful! Even though they cost me dearly, I'm glad to have them. The drawers are self-closing! oooooh aaahhhhh...

The lazy susan in the corner is really great, and very good quality--big heavy duty swivel pole and solid wood trays. The other corner cabinet was a dilemma because the dishwasher is there, and the cabinet maker (a woman, I might add!) came up with the great idea of having the access on the dining room side by a hidden door to allow for full use of the cabinet. She's brilliant!

[solobiker]

Looks great. My husband and I have been fixing up our Bungalow too. We bought ours about 2 years ago. It was built in 1921. I just love it, so much charecter. Our first project was to build a larger garage. We have now moved to working on the inside. In one of the rooms we put up wood wainscoting. My husband was able to match the stain color to the original in the house. I think next summer we will tackle the kitchen. I like your pics!! Thanks for sharing.

[Grog]

I have just read this thread for the first time.

It almost makes me feel like buying a "handywoman special" house.

Hopefully it will pass.

I look forward to the developments. I LOVE those floors. The original Douglas Fir floors sold me on our current apartment.

[redrhodie]

Pasta???

[tulip]

But tomorrow, hopefully. The cabinets are pretty complicated to install. They are custom-made, but my house is old and nothing is square, so they have to jig things to make them just right. They are doing an excellent job and the cabinets are beautiful (I think so at least, which is good since I'm paying out the wazoo for them!)

Here are the results of yesterday and today. Tomorrow they finish the details, install the handles, and move in the appliances. I now have to decide on color for the concrete countertops...SUGGESTIONS WELCOME!

tulip

[Grog]

I'm not paying a penny for your cabinets, therefore I'm not biased:

They are really gorgeous.

(I love how most photos have dog parts or bike parts in them. )

[Trek420]

I now have to decide on color for the concrete countertops...SUGGESTIONS WELCOME!

tulip

Beautiful! To pick colors I'd want to know a little more about how you're going to paint. The cabs are so warm, light but warm. What kind of hardware/knobs will they have? The windows have lovely framing especially the door with the diamond window.

I'd want to either strip the window, door frame and stain to match the wood of the cabs or paint them a really fun color and pick the tone up on the cement countertop. Probably the latter.

But that's just me.

[derailed]

I just found this thread. Congrats! Huge endeavour, and well done.
For counter colors, go neutral, something you can change the walls and ceiling around, that still makes the food look good. Neutral with depth, maybe a beige with green texture/pattern?
Are they pouring concrete in situ? Can you mold little patterns in? If you can press in leaves, or printed cutouts of things that make you smile, they can be removed and filled with color, then sealed over, if that would amuse you.
A friend pressed some fossils in, another friend scattered mica dust for some sparkle.

[tulip]

Thanks, ladies. The door with the diamond window is really el-cheapo and it's amazing that someone hasn't busted it down by now (my dog almost has because he jumps up to look in the diamond window when he wants to come in). It will be replaced by a single-pane full glass door (reinforced glass, of course, with a light-filtering shade). Had the place been larger, I would have liked to have double French doors, but I got what I got.

The walls in the dining room are white and I think they will stay that way. I'm really attracted to calm colors and patterns, and this kitchen is really the culmination of the last few years life drama that I've written about elsewhere. I want it to reflect my calm state of mind, yeah. Or maybe inspire a calm state of mind!

There won't be any painted walls in the kitchen proper. The cabinets go to the ceiling and I'm going to tile the back splash, probably with subdued glass tiles that pick up the tones and colors of the floor, cabinets, and countertops. The ceiling is white and I'm sure as heck not going to paint it again! The trim of the door and window will be white. That window needs some repair eventually, but that will have to wait until later. I'm just going to put up a simple bamboo matchstick roll-up shade on the window. I was hoping to get custom cellular shades that go up from the bottom and down from the top for the whole house (11 windows), but that ain't happening any time soon. $13 shades will do just fine thankyouverymuch.

For the counters, I'm thinking a Cherokee red with or without aggregate showing, or a sage green probably smooth (no aggregate). I'm also considering a dark brown, like the floors, but that might be boring. I thought of inlaying little things, but I decided against it because I want as few distractions as possible. I like things simple, I guess. Once I choose the concrete, I'll choose the pendant lights--two over the peninsula and one over the sink.

The cabinets are really beautiful and incredibly well-made. They are made locally by a neat shop, and the main cabinet maker is a woman, which I found very cool. I found one noticeable nick in the one just above where the fridge will be, and at this price, I'm going to insist that they fix it or replace that door. If it was tucked in a corner I wouldn't care, but it's front and center. The drawers are self-closing, and the shelves are very good quality. I've never had nice stuff like this before in my life, and I'm amazed at the difference! I'm really going to enjoy living here.

I got a sink and faucet last night (photo below). All that's left are the lights and the disposal. I have to do a little research on disposals.

Not only is my dog a shepherd who follows me everywhere, he's also a complete camera hog. Whenever I pull the camera out, he's positions himself in front of it! He was the featured dog on the calendar that the rescue organization put out for 2009. I think he knows he's famous.