Category Archives: Kitchen Reno

While I’m away, the tile guy came to play!

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You read that correctly!  This girl is finally the owner of a kitchen with backsplash!!!  While in the South picking up some Southern hospitality, Matt the amazing tile guy was hard at work putting in the last of the big installations in the kitchen!  It’s amazing how great it looks, and how much it now looks like an actual kitchen!!  Not only was the tile installed but HandyDad also installed the over the range microwave!  It’s all starting to come together… 🙂

The finished product
Finished product
close up of the AMAZING tile job
HandyDad and my microwave… where it belongs!
Installation day!
Installation day!

You may notice a few things… namely the GIANT power strip oddly hanging from the cabinet above the microwave!  In 1972 when they installed double ovens they didn’t have much of a need for an additional outlet for over the range microwaves!  A few month back HandyDad and I pulled the line for the power but have yet to connect it to the box.  In the meantime it’s installed and working, albeit in a crude, unattractive way.  That should be fixed ASAP!

In addition there aren’t any outlet covers or many receptacles installed.  While researching  options I noticed that there are a few companies that make not only stainless steel covers but also stainless finish receptacles, so I think I will head in that direction!

In other exciting news, I am taking delivery of my Restoration Hardware light fixtures and my new blinds tomorrow!!  I’m hoping to have those up this weekend which will bring my to-do list to just a few finishing touches!  This Renolista can barely contain her excitement!!!!

 

 

Sometimes it’s the little things

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As the title suggests, sometimes it’s the little things that aren’t so obvious that can make a large impact. Recently I’ve made quite a few big changes to my kitchen however this is one is more for me than anything else! This weekend’s project with HandyDad and HandyBro included changing the cable hookups in my living room, master bedroom, and the kitchen. This allowed me to change around the furniture in the living room and bedroom to better the flow, but the one I’m MOST excited about is the kitchen! You see, I’ve ALWAYS wanted a tv in my kitchen. My mom has had one for as long as I can remember and it has always made my hours and hours of cooking pass by in an instant! I vowed the minute I bought a house I would give myself the same luxury. And this weekend it was mission accomplished!! On a recent trip to Best buy I found an open box flat screen tv coupled with a $40 reward zone certificate compliments of all my new appliances, and a $50 gift card for a dent on the side of the range the naked eye will never see, and I was able to walk away with a new tv for under $50. Clearly this Renolista likes a good deal, and this wasn’t one I could pass up! I spent 4.5 hours in the kitchen this past Sunday and was able to have my trusty Bravo on keeping me company the entire time! So. Exciting.

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Next steps…

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To finish off the kitchen I still have a “few’ things to take care of…

  1. finish the toe kick
  2. install new base
  3. install ice maker
  4. pull cable from attic for tv
  5. replace drywall
  6. install backsplash
  7. install over the range microwave
  8. replace light fixtures
  9. replace window covering
  10. finish patio door surround
  11. replace cabinet pulls
  12. refinish cabinets with wear
  13. paint and decorate!

Last night I spent some time researching window coverings for the large window in my kitchen. I started off looking at Smith + Noble and ordered some free samples of wood blinds with a tape ladder which would cost around $235 for the single window. I also looked at roman shades, but at $800 that is just not in this Renolista’s budget!!

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As much as I like plantation shutters they are just too pricey for a home I’m not planning on staying in long term, so this was a nice compromise! It adds style and the look of the wood without the custom price. However, not one to make a rash decision I looked at a few more sites including Blinds.com and found that not only do they have some screaming good deals, but they also have some VERY nice faux wood blinds as well!

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All include a tape ladder with many color choices. I ordered some samples from both sites and am waiting anxiously to receive them! Anything will be an upgrade from the metal cheap-o blinds the previous owner purchased for the sale. I think window coverings will make such a difference in the new space! Now if the USPS would just hurry up and drop them off….

 

HandyDad to the rescue!

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I have spent the last 6 months of my life hand-washing all of my dishes.  I have come to find out that I am not the hand-washing kind of girl.  How people live without these time (and manicure) saving machines I will never know!  Behold:

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Now that my floors are in, we can finally make some of the changes I’ve been impatiently waiting for…. dishwasher included.  The best part?  My HandyDad snuck over to my house while I was at work to install it for me!  Best. Dad. Ever!!!

I hope everyone has a safe and fun 4th of July with your friends and family!  I picked up these little treats from Icing on the Cupcake as a giant thank you to DesignMom and HandyDad!

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Cheers!

Floors galore!!!

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Today was the day.  I FINALLY have my Provenza hardwood floors in both my kitchen and my entry!

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Love love love the floors!!!  Clearly I still have to install the new base, and install a border around the toe kick of the cabinets, but we are getting there!  If I cant squint my eyes in just the right way I can picture the backsplash on the walls instead of exposed studs and insulation… the base already installed, and all appliances installed…. and I tell you, it looks BEAUTIFUL!

With the time off over the extended weekend I’m hoping to install my dishwasher (almost can’t contain my excitement as I type this!) and we will see what else we can accomplish in this 100 degree heat!

It’s time to retire my bathroom sink as my dishwashing center!

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It took some time, some finagling, and a lot of silicone but I finally have a sink, a faucet, and for the first time since I moved in… a garbage disposal.

Presenting my Home Depot finds installed in all of their amazingly beautiful glory!

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As you can see, I sort of bucked the under-mount stainless sink trend that has taken the design world by storm. There is a good reason for this. I really really really wanted an under-mount sink, but I really really really didn’t want to pay an extra $350 for the installation. After some convincing I realized that unlike my beautiful friend Kaylene and her picture of perfection family, my household of one was pretty low use on the kitchen front. Was it worth it for me to pay the money for an under-mount sink when I have so much control over what happens? Probably not. Now that I had resigned myself to a top-mount, I had to find the perfect sink.

While shopping I really disliked the look of the stainless top-mount sinks. The visible edges were unattractive and frankly I despise the water spots that constantly seem to appear on the sink itself. That didn’t leave me with too many options until I found the granite composite sink that I ended up purchasing. Ah, so much to love. I love the fact it is not a shiny white sink, in fact it is a matte white with a little bit of sparkle (and those who know me know I DIE for sparkle). I also love that it is more geometric… not so rounded and pretty. It’s bold. It makes a statement, And partnered with the industrial pull down faucet? Perfection.

I’m pretty happy with my deicision to go with a top-mount sink, and in fact that $350 ended up buying not only my sink but also my faucet so I consider it money saved!

To the left of the faucet we also installed an air switch. A much nicer alternative to a standard wall switch to turn on the garbage disposal. It is costly ($60) but I like the added safety of not having to touch a switch with wet hands, but I like that it frees up the space on the wall for outlets.

With all of that being said, I do have to give a shout out to my other silent partner in this reno project… My Interior DesignMom. I like to joke around and call our relationship design (me) – review (DesignMom), but she does deserve credit for pushing me out of my comfort zone and introducing me to a different esthetic. In fact she is the one who so vehemently convinced me to go top-mount in the first place, so between my HandyDad and DesignMom I consider myself a pretty lucky homeowner! Next up (or in)? Hopefully my new hardwood floors this week!

Alas, the day has come!

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This Renolista is the proud owner of new granite countertops!  Much to my surprise the installation crew showed up to my house a whole 10 minutes before my scheduled installation time… something that never happens!  They were presented with the finished product from last weekend:

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It took about 6 hours to complete the leveling of the cabinets… and only resulted in one neighbor asking about the noise.  HandyDad FTW!  He was paid handsomely in margaritas… something the renolista enjoyed one too many of as well… I digress!

Drum roll please!!!!

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Ah yes, working from home has never made me feel more accomplished!  You may notice I’m still lacking in floors… walls… and a backsplash but that is on the way!  You might also notice that the countertops don’t come all the way up to the window either, and there’s a reason for that!  We decided to create a differentiation in height from the countertops and build a bit of a lip.  We will then tile it with the same subway tile that I will be using for my backsplash.  At this point I’m thinking this is the direction I will be going for the backsplash:

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Thoughts?  I’m planning a tight set and thought the darker grout would be a modern twist on an old standby.

However, before the excitement of the tile begins we will still need to install my new sink, faucet, garbage disposal and air gap!  Never in my life did I think that I would be excited about a sink.  I also got a special delivery as the installers were here:

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Those would be my hardwood floors!  Between floors and countertops there is just too much excitement for one day!  I’m hoping to have the floors installed next week…  Fingers crossed!  Now that I have both the countertops and the flooring in the house I think the colors are going to work SO well with one another!  I’m planning on installing the sink etc. tomorrow to give the epoxy under the granite time to set.  I’ll post pictures once it’s done! 🙂

Good things go to those who wait…. or do they?

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I’m a planner.  I planned out every piece of this kitchen before I ever started down this renovation journey.  However, just because it is planned out doesn’t mean it will work out… this is a lesson I learned this weekend while I was driving to pick up my pre-selected faucet at Ikea.  You may remember said faucet from my previous post about granite vs. quartz found here.  And also below:

Faucet

I counted this as one of only a few faucets I found attractive during my search because if it’s clean lines and low price point, and considering it was Ikea I figured no rush to run over and pick up up because they’re practically a self-contained warehouse, right?  Boy was I wrong!  Not only was this bad boy sold out here locally, but also in the bay area as well!  They offered a guaranteed delivery, but even then it would make it to my house ON my installation date which is cutting it a little too close for my comfort.  So an unplanned search of my local Home Depots began.  Not one to make a choice on my first visit, we began driving to 3 HD’s in search of the (near) perfect faucet for my new kitchen.  Eventually I settled on this beauty:

HD Faucet

I really didn’t want a faucet with multiple handles because I am planning on installing an air switch for the garbage disposal and needed space for the air gap for the dishwasher, and this faucet gave me the capability to install it as a single hole vs a 3 hole.  I also appreciated the modern, sleek lines and the ability to pull down on the faucet head.  This is something the my Ikea faucet wasn’t able to do… and of course, this came at a more expensive price!  Instead of the $99 I had spent in my mind, it set me back  $150.  I’m sure I will learn to love this faucet  just as much as the previous one… but since HD doesn’t price match completely different faucets from different stores, my laziness in heading to Ikea cost me a bit more dough!

Once the faucet debacle was settled, it was on to leveling the cabinets to prep for the countertop installation!  Here’s my handydad, Jack, in all of his glory helping me with this incredibly grueling process!

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Long story short, none of the cabinets were ever attached to the walls… so it was quite the process to build the supports and to move the cabinets to allow for a semi-level and quite heavy countertop.  Robert Powell did us dirty on this kitchen.  At the end of the day I took that rustic kitchen look a step further…

End result

As you can see, I can no longer use my oven or range, and I’m missing a sink.  So I had to officially take this reno living to a new level I never thought imaginable…

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That’s right.  I’m washing my dishes in my bathroom sink.  The things we do in the name of home renovations!  You might be able to see two bowls in the picture.  Those belong to my parent’s French Bulldogs Pierre and Isabelle.  I know this blog is about the remodel/design of my new house, but I can’t help but share how cute my step-pups are!  Behold the cuteness!

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They had alot of fun running around my house in the 90 degree heat this weekend.  The sniffed around, guarded from strangers, used my leather rug as a toilet, and puked from the excitement.  Even so, it was great to have some life running around my house for once instead of the bugs and dust who seem to have made quite the home here!

Today we will set the plywood down on the cabinets and finally be able to relax and enjoy Father’s Day!  Hope everyone had a great weekend! 🙂

They say patience is a virtue…

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However patience isn’t something I’m known for! In exactly one week I will be the owner of some very new, very fancy, and very real countertops meaning my days using plywood as a support system are nearly over! I still have to make my way over to Ikea (hopefully not during the weekend as to avoid the crazy families shopping for furniture) to pick up my faucet, and have been feverishly calling my flooring company to get the delivery date of my hardwood floors. As much as it is all starting to come together, I’m still so far away! Until then, plywood and dust are what my dreams are made of! I can’t wait to post pictures of the end product!

Alas, a countertop is in my future!

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Today I got word that the fabricators will be out this Friday to template the countertops, and the installation date is scheduled for June 21st! It’s all starting to come together… And I can honestly say I’ve never appreciated countertops more than I do at this time in my life! Hallelujah!