Worth a Second Look 9
8 years ago
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Working weekend
Last night Lisa prepared a beautiful fresh tuna steak. Here it is with a lovely lemon-garlic oil, fingerling potatoes and salad. I almost ate mine pre-grill (love me some sashimi!) but I held out. One of the many perks of living at the beach....
But, I digress.
My parents are coming for a brief visit this week, and at about the same time they leave, Lisa's parents' friends are coming from Ohio for about 5 days. So naturally, we prepared for our guests by doing this to our kitchen:
In preparation for our countertop install this week, we had to rip the old out and prep the cabinets. Unfortunately, the sink and stove top went out too making our kitchen really useless. We had a minor catastrophe this morning when a partly uninstalled sink was used to wash dishes only to find one of the pipes had cracked. Good news -- our floor finish works!
So, things look quite messy yet again, but I feel we are so close to finishing. Our next big step (to be started tomorrow) is the cabinet refacing. We started work on our built-ins:
Everything that is not painted is getting refaced or a new door. We'll paint the visible shelves white to match, and the rest of the wall will be painted whatever color we finally decide on. I'm sure there are tons of people that are cringing at the idea of painting/veneering solid wood, but we can't help it. Knotty pine in shiny chestnut is just not 'in' anymore. At least we are giving a shout-out to the 60's style of the house by not getting rid of the paneling completely (plus it was cheaper...).
One project we did recently start and successfully complete was our lighting. The two pendants above our sink look lovely:
Too bad they have nothing to illuminate but a couple of empty cabinet boxes! By next weekend, though, our kitchen could look very different...
But, I digress.
My parents are coming for a brief visit this week, and at about the same time they leave, Lisa's parents' friends are coming from Ohio for about 5 days. So naturally, we prepared for our guests by doing this to our kitchen:
In preparation for our countertop install this week, we had to rip the old out and prep the cabinets. Unfortunately, the sink and stove top went out too making our kitchen really useless. We had a minor catastrophe this morning when a partly uninstalled sink was used to wash dishes only to find one of the pipes had cracked. Good news -- our floor finish works!
So, things look quite messy yet again, but I feel we are so close to finishing. Our next big step (to be started tomorrow) is the cabinet refacing. We started work on our built-ins:
Everything that is not painted is getting refaced or a new door. We'll paint the visible shelves white to match, and the rest of the wall will be painted whatever color we finally decide on. I'm sure there are tons of people that are cringing at the idea of painting/veneering solid wood, but we can't help it. Knotty pine in shiny chestnut is just not 'in' anymore. At least we are giving a shout-out to the 60's style of the house by not getting rid of the paneling completely (plus it was cheaper...).
One project we did recently start and successfully complete was our lighting. The two pendants above our sink look lovely:
Too bad they have nothing to illuminate but a couple of empty cabinet boxes! By next weekend, though, our kitchen could look very different...
Saturday, October 10, 2009
chaos
Lisa wanted me to share a few photos of how we are living now, especially since the kitchen is pretty much off limits (see earlier post from today).
We have all entrances to the kitchen blocked off with large pieces of cardboard, chairs, etc. to keep our very curious animals from frolicking on the new floor. So far they have been pretty good; I think between the noise of the sander and the smell of the finish, they decided on their own to stay away, and now they have forgotten the kitchen exists. Notice the toaster and coffee pot...
Next we have the dining room, home to the refrigerator and what once was the dining table but what is now the food prep and general catch-all area:
We had to move the table over a bit to access the fridge, so you have to be very careful not to whack your head on the chandelier. We have an assortment of silverware and glasses (usually clean) on the table, and various other items that are normally stored in kitchen cabinets.
The rest of the dishes are still in the front hallway:
But we moved the other 1/2 of our island out of the back hallway and put it in front of the fireplace. So, to reheat leftovers, first go to the front hallway for a plate. Head to the dining room for a fork and grab the food from the fridge (watch the light!). Then walk back into the living room, reheat in microwave in front of fireplace, go outside to eat (often the only free chair and table space), then bring your dirty dishes back inside to the bathroom sink. If you need to refill the Britta pitcher, use the tub.
We have all entrances to the kitchen blocked off with large pieces of cardboard, chairs, etc. to keep our very curious animals from frolicking on the new floor. So far they have been pretty good; I think between the noise of the sander and the smell of the finish, they decided on their own to stay away, and now they have forgotten the kitchen exists. Notice the toaster and coffee pot...Next we have the dining room, home to the refrigerator and what once was the dining table but what is now the food prep and general catch-all area:
We had to move the table over a bit to access the fridge, so you have to be very careful not to whack your head on the chandelier. We have an assortment of silverware and glasses (usually clean) on the table, and various other items that are normally stored in kitchen cabinets.
The rest of the dishes are still in the front hallway:
But we moved the other 1/2 of our island out of the back hallway and put it in front of the fireplace. So, to reheat leftovers, first go to the front hallway for a plate. Head to the dining room for a fork and grab the food from the fridge (watch the light!). Then walk back into the living room, reheat in microwave in front of fireplace, go outside to eat (often the only free chair and table space), then bring your dirty dishes back inside to the bathroom sink. If you need to refill the Britta pitcher, use the tub.
down time
We finally got the floors done this week! Hooray!
Doesn't it look great? Now we have to wait for the oil finish to cure so we're not allowed to work on it for a week. We can do a few things, but not much. We did get the doors put on the island so that is all done:
and you'll notice we got 2 of our 4 light fixtures hung. It's amazing how different a room can look with different lighting. The old lighting really made the kitchen look dated.
So far we are really happy with how things are turning out. In a week and a half, our countertops will be installed which I'm very excited for. Although, who wouldn't be? Pink formica covered in mold is not so appetizing...
Doesn't it look great? Now we have to wait for the oil finish to cure so we're not allowed to work on it for a week. We can do a few things, but not much. We did get the doors put on the island so that is all done:
and you'll notice we got 2 of our 4 light fixtures hung. It's amazing how different a room can look with different lighting. The old lighting really made the kitchen look dated.
So far we are really happy with how things are turning out. In a week and a half, our countertops will be installed which I'm very excited for. Although, who wouldn't be? Pink formica covered in mold is not so appetizing...
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