Kitchens and Bathrooms

It’s happening… the kitchen. It’s happening. Again, I can’t go into how or why, but I can tell you that the cabinets have been ordered and they’ll be arriving in 4 weeks. Current kitchen demolition begins in probably 2 weeks. I am literally beside myself.

The cabinets are beautiful – all wood, real wood, in a beautiful redish maple color. The hardware is hidden, the drawers pull all the way out, and the lazy susan is real wood too! Plus, all hardware, a pull-out trash can cabinet, and a cutlery divider were all included. Our kitchen design will change slightly, as the stove will move over to the left. We’ll have a new microwave-holding cabinet above the stove that can also accommodate a vent if we decided to get one. (New microwave and vent not included, but I’m sure we’ll find a way to add them before summer arrives.) We’ll have a new corner cabinet that abuts the refriderator – YES! Plus, two additional cabinets above that new corner cabinet. (Which originally I didn’t want, but they were also included with this special package deal… couldn’t resist.) Also, at the end of the dishwasher, where we currently have an oddly built shelf, we’ll have a cabinet.

And did I mention new countertops?! Not granite. More laminate. But they’ll be custom made and seamless. They’ll be light in color too – a change from the grey/black ones I’ve always loved. But I was talked into a light color and I’m really digging how it looks next to the cabinets. It coordinates well with the floor, which I hope isn’t too matchy-matchy. I usually prefer contrasting colors. But as I said, I was talked into it and feel good about it now.

So, what’s on the kitchen to do list in t-minus 2 weeks?

            Remove old cabinets, everything in them, and everything else in the kitchen

            Disconnect sink and dishwasher

            Fix and repaint all drywall (Except for the back wall, which we did last fall.)

            Temporarily remove one portion of the track light

            Move stove electrical to the left

            Move current outlet in stove’s way to the right

            Wire for new microwave/vent

We’ve decided not to re-tile under the cabinets. It’s just a pain in the butt and we don’t know if we have enough tile anyway. If we need to, we’ll use plywood to help level the non-tile cabinets with the tile cabinets.

Oh, and did I mention, we’re not the ones installing? Music to Mike’s ears. The first set of cabinets was such a royal pain that I promised him if we ever re-did the kitchen, I wouldn’t make him put the cabinets in.

There you have it. The countdown is officially on. I still can’t believe this is happening. Maybe I’ll wake up from it all tomorrow and be back in time to when we had no cabinets in the kitchen at all…

And the bathroom? Over the weekend I purchased ALL the electrical… or at least all I could think of. I bought a vent, one with high fan power, low noise, light, and night light. I bought a vanity light – modern design, nickle finish. I bought three Halo recessed light air-tight housings, two eyeballl trims, and one waterproof shower trim. I bought a dimmer switch. I bought lightbulbs for said Halo recessed lights. Dang it – I just realized. I forgot the closet light. Oh well. I bought a lot because I wanted to make sure I was over $299 to get 0% financing…. I made it! OVER $400 for all that.

Forgetting the extreme cost for a moment and returning to progress… Mike has already nailed up the recessed light housings and plumbed the vent. I keep reminding him to call our electrician, but I don’t think he’s done that yet. That will be next on the agenda. Once the electrical is complete, it’s insulation and drywall time.

Did I mention I picked out the paint color over the weekend too? It’s going to be perfect… with the tile… I can’t wait to see them together at last.