Completion (with a twist)

Here we are at the end of a 4 month odyssey capped by a fevered past 4 weeks. The kitchen is done - all the major appliances are installed and operating, Carolyn and I have reclaimed our space and sense of order (and along with that our sanity!) just in time for our vacation to New York and Pennsylvania. I can say we need the rest and break from the juggling act of being busy at work and even busier at times at home. I can see why it is said 'you only remodel a kitchen once in your life' - I have no desire to do this again and from everything we have heard, this job went extremely smooth.

Well, on to the photos - how about a short recap?

Before


After


Before


After


So... I am sure the 'with a twist' comment is causing a bit of curiosity. Well, we had planned to have an Insta-Hot dispenser installed by the sink and the shank was too short for the solid countertops. John from New Concepts Plumbing was going to try and get here this morning and install the Insta-Hot that has a longer shank... but he was unable to pick it up last night for a first thing in the morning installation. So... we are complete in the sense we can cook and live normally again. We won't be 'complete' until the Insta-Hot dispenser is installed after our vacation.

Still almost done...

Yes, you are reading the title correctly. In spite of incredible efforts to get this project completed on time, we have slipped into the 'extra day' I built into the schedule for an emergency but didn't want to use. First, the 'hole' snafu mentioned and photographed yesterday was resolved by John of New Concepts Plumbing with a nifty tool that cut the notch and placing the air switch for the disposal in that location. But... even after he warned me to watch out for 'short shanked plumbing fixtures', it turned out the Insta-Hot dispenser's shank is just that... too short. So, no Insta-Hot was installed, but he was able to get the faucet, disposal, air gap for the dishwasher and sink drains installed. Because he was working under the sink, the dishwasher install and range install was postponed until later in the day while the refrigerator and wine cellar were easily placed by the other team from King and Bunny's.

Here's a look at how the kitchen looked at that stage...









and that is how the kitchen is right now. The range and dishwasher installer called to coordinate the install at 4PM or the next morning and I opted for the 4PM time frame as I want the job done (see opening portion of this post). He then called at 3:20 stating he was behind and also having a family emergency and would be over to complete the install the next morning. What can you do but deal with it - although this presented a challenge as John was scheduled to be here at that time to install the new Insta-Hot (as he can get the 'good ones' with the longer shank). I informed John who really didn't want to come by to find out he wouldn't be able to install if the dishwasher or range was being installed. I said, he had first shot at the area and the other installer would be put on 'hold' to wait until he was done - I mean it is probably only 1/2 hour job to complete at this stage. Unfortunately, John's last job of the day ran over and he was unable to pick up the new Insta-Hot - and won't be able to get it installed until after our vacation. I can accept not having an Insta-Hot right now - but the range and dishwasher will be installed tomorrow come hell or high water...

Stay tuned!

Almost done!

The new counter tops were installed today. They look beautiful, but I have to say - while the installers were polite, they didn't leave me with a 'happy' feeling. First, the good stuff though...








But they failed to tell me about this little snafu!




It looks like I will have to 'customize' the side of the sink base cabinet in order to install the Insta-Hot dispenser...

Heading into the home stretch with... molding?

It was a busy weekend that saw me wither on my hands and knees or stretching from a step stool working on molding. Of course, we had a few minor kitchen molding elements to handle ourselves. We pulled the old brown molding in the kitchen nook off when the floor was being replaced and knew we would need to replace the door frame going into the DVD library/dining room. The kitchen nook was fairly straightforward - we needed some pre-primed MDF molding in the profile to match the rest of the house and some rounded corners. After painting these with the enamel trim paint (using my trusty paint sprayer to get a nice even finish), I set the corners and then proceeded to measure twice and cut once for each piece, making sure I was cutting the corners in the correct direction. ;-) See for yourself...




Similarly, I held back a few rounded corners and picked up 3 nice clear wood trim molding and finished those with the stain provided by Superior Cabinets. These trim boards would make up the door frame (that was brown to match the existing kitchen) and needed to match the new cabinets. The stain looked great, but the boards needed a bit of luster. So... I pulled out an bottle of MinWax finish I used on the DVD shelves and entertainment center and proceeded to give them a bit of luster and deepening the color. After a few coats, all was ready. Again, this job was fairly straightforward and here are the results.





So that covers the on my hands and knees aspect of this post (except for the door frame which I could reach comfortably) and I bet you are asking where's the step stool come in. Well, I had left a project to languish for quite some time and chose this time to finish it. As many of you know, we have a pool table in the deep red living room and I never finished the room with crown molding as originally planned. After some trouble getting the right 'parts', I had everything together and while painting the other trim with the trim paint, I painted the crown molding and blocks too. Saturday I spent cutting, drilling, nailing, and caulking crown molding in the 'pool room'. Now, I can say the job is done...

The new blinds - a very nice touch

Thanks to Carolyn, we now have new blinds. I will admit, I always knew the old ones needed to go, but couldn't ever decide on what to replace them with. Well, Carolyn called 3 Day Blinds and they sent out a well prepared representative and we were off to the races. Today, Scott came and installed the blinds we had ordered. Carolyn wanted a wood venetian style blind in the kitchen window that closely matched the new cabinets. This is what we found and it is a far cry from the terrible metal mini-blind that was there and almost an exact match to the color!



The vertical blinds on the sliding door and two windows in the entertainment room needed replacement - a sort of dingy gray with a black stripe, so we went with this...





leaving only the metallic copper mini-blind in the dining room/DVD library. So we opted for this matching vertical blind, complete with center draw function!



Today also saw a visit from Ken at Superior Cabinets to replace the chipped door and shelf. While he was here, he checked the installation and adjusted the doors and was kind enough to install the last handle.

We are now set and ready for the counter tops on Monday!

Counter tops

We are now under a week to being completed - the next phase is the counter top installation. Here is a picture of the counter top we chose...



and the Cambria USA site's page with how it looks in a kitchen.

The pantry

As promised, here is a look at one of the key changes in the new kitchen... the pantry. Before it was just a closet like space with wire shelving, now it is a functional area with great access due to the pull out shelves. Of course, we 'technically' lost some actual square footage in the transition, but we gained so much more functional space that I think we are leaps and bounds ahead.

Here's a better look at the pantry, before it gets loaded!