Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Wow!

This kitchen is truly a dream come true. I am still figuring out how the ovens cook and such, but I love it. It is a place that makes you want to cook.

We Passed With Flying Colors! Speaking of colors....

...we had painted the kitchen a shade of yellow/pumpkin/mustard whatever. After over a week of living with it we BOTH decided we hated it. (Phoebe actually liked it, but Riley hated it so we had her outnumbered.) So, yesterday, they came in and painted it the new color: SILVER SAGE; the signature color of Restoration Hardware. A bit more expensive than a regular gallon of paint but it was well worth it; The green tones in the stone countertops pop out and it offers a nice contrast to the green stain on the wood at the hutch.

YAY!!!! The kitchen is FINALLY done. (Bathroom below, scroll down)


This is the view looking into the eat-in/banquette section of the Kitchen (and NO, we're NOT keeping that counter as a dumping ground! It's just where thing were piled up because of clearing the counters for painting.


This is the view looking into the kitchen from the dining room

THE BATHROOM/POWDER ROOM


The Bathroom was the one room that was going to be more modern than contemporary- but not overly so. The green color was a pale wintergreen and it's very soft and matches the green-tinted glass throughout the bathroom.



If you look at the sink, there are river rocks in it as the high-polish faucet cascades a waterfall over them...



and look at the bottom-- in the rocks....



It's Lonesome George- our hero!

Monday, May 11, 2009

FINALLY AN UPDATE

We were out of town for 2 weeks during which time Wayne didn't do anything. Needless to say, we were pissed. We expected to come home to a kitchen that was almost completed. To see nothing done was both enraging and disappointing.

Well, today, work got done. All the appliances are in. The counter is down (that happened the day we left). Crown moldings are being put in, the bathroom door is on.Sink and cabinet with crown


Yes, that is a double over you see above. YAY!!!

The hutch

Bathroom door


Rangetop (6 burners!)


Sunday, April 19, 2009

Load 'em up!

So they've loaded in nearly all of the cabinets... just two more to go. Let's show you what we have so far!

The pic below is the far wall. You can see the sink off to the left and there will be wall cabinets on either side of the window. The inset to the right is for the gas cooktop:



This next picture is a view into the kitchen from the Dining room. Looking at the same wall as above but from the other angle:



A closer in shot:



Next, standing by the sink and where the dishwasher will be, we look at the other wall and see the inset for the Refrigerator and the double-over and warming drawer (Below, but not able to fit in this picture):



Lastly, this is in the far corner, looking back at the new hutch. Same maple wood but painted with a glaze-- very country kitchen with a contemporary flare. The cut-out in the middle will house out new Microwave and this is facing the area that will be the new banquet:

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Teaser

The cabinets were delivered today. Wayne and Spence will be here tomorrow to start the installation. It is a day and an half process, so by Monday afternoon, they should be done. But here is a teaser of what the cabinets look like.

It's stained!

The floor that is. Yesterday was sanding, staining and one coat of polyurethane. Tomorrow cabinets go in. YAHOO!!!

Monday, April 13, 2009

Oh Sandy!

Today was a short work day for Wayne. He is already done. He sanded down all the walls. Now we are again on hold until the floor guy can come back. Wayne was hoping it would have been today, but now it seems like Wednesday or Thursday. Big news though, cabinets are slated to go in on Friday.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

The BEFORE Video

I've been meaning to upload this for some time. This was the "BEFORE" video that I took on March 17th, before the whole Kitchen project started. Somewhat shocking to watch this, now. It's changed so much over the past 3+ weeks. Anyway, gives everyone a sense of the... uh.... um... shall we say, "Challenges" we faced with our former kitchen and the reasons we opted to change it up and bring it into the 21st Century.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Even muddier

Wayne put on the third, and final coat of mud today. Tomorrow he'll be back to sand and maybe even skimcoat.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Early Morning Mud Pack

Wayne arrived at 7:40 this morning to put the second coat of mud (spackle) on the drywall. That will be it for today's work. Tomorrow he is coming back to do a third and final coat before sanding and skim coating the walls. We're hoping that the flooring guy will be able to come back on Monday to sand and put the first coat of stain on the floor.

So, no new photo updates for a few days and the changes will be minimal and not overly interesting.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Walled

Today the walls went up. Drywall is up. Now Wayne needs to do two more coats of mud and a skimcoat. The transformation is amazing. I cannot believe how much they did today and what a change it has made. Sure, going from studs to walls is obviously going to be a big change, but wow!

Powder Room

Rangetop will go along this wall
Looking straight out back

The banquette goes under these windows
Looking from the back door. Ovens and Fridge will be on the left
Sink goes under this window

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Waiting

Yesterday work was once again on hold. We are now waiting for the insulation inspection. Happily that will happen on Monday. As soon as we pass that, work will resume.

See you Monday.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

I'm Floored

I was gone all day today, so I didn't get to watch any of what was going on. When I got home today I was stunned, floored even. Quite literally. The new hardwood floor was installed, pipes were moved for the new vanity, insulation is installed. It looks great. Yet oddly enough, with the floor in, the space suddenly feels a little smaller. The floor isn't done yet though. It still has to be stained. I imagine this will happen towards the end of the project, but who knows. Here is how it looks now. I am so psyched.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

And we're back

Getting the toilet yesterday was relatively painless. We just had to wait almost 20 minutes before they could find a lift to get the toilet off the top shelf at home depot. Here is a photo of it being taken down. I know, exciting, right?

We had our framing, plumbing and electrical inspections today. We passed. So now Wayne is putting the insulation up. We then have to have an insulation inspection. We were given a heads up though that the new a/c duct by the kitchen door will have to have insulation behind it or else it won't pass the inspection, so Dave is coming back tomorrow to fix that. Hopefully we won't have to wait another week for the insulation inspection. Keep good thoughts.

Oh, yesterday, one of our neighbors asked how the remodel was coming and said, "so you're getting your dream kitchen." I informed her, that I am indeed.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Saturday, March 28, 2009


Yesterday, Wayne came by in advance of this coming Wednesday's (anticipated) electric and plumbing inspections. He cut another opening and wired it for the second sconce the the right of the kitchen/backyard door.

Our new lights arrived as well. We will be swapping out the fixtures at the front of the house, in the portico and over the garage so now ALL exterior lights will match :-) Stay tuned for pics of those...

And, most importantly, last Friday, we went to Bath Connection in Millburn, NJ and we bought everything for the bathroom. It's going to have a different, more modern feel than the rest of the renovation-- Heck, than the rest of the HOUSE. But we're excited.

So, again, not a lot to SEE, but lots going on...

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Brrr! It's Cold in Here

Our amazing a/c guy, Dave Gadaletta, came over today to move the two vents we had in the kitchen as it wouldn't do to have one in the middle of the bathroom floor and the other under a cabinet. Now we have to high mounted vents, one in the wall between the bathroom and the kitchen and one in wall by the door.


As for Wayne and Spence, they finished off the siding, moved a support for the powder room so the a/c duct would fit, filled in most of the holes in the floor and put in some insulation. They also did a serious scraping job on the floors, I am assuming in anticipation of the new flooring being laid. However, I imagine that is a ways off. We are now on hold until the inspections of the electrical systems, the framing and the plumbing. Hopefully those will happen Monday or Tuesday, so that Wayne and Spence can get back to building my dream kitchen.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

I've Got The Power... And A Little on the Side

So much happened today.

Mike, the electrician, and his crew were in today. They wired the kitchen. Now all the lights are positioned in the ceiling, the outlets and switches are roughed in, and they even got the exhaust fan set up in the powder room.

Here is an idea of what they did:








Wayne and Spence were working outside today. They put up all the new siding and trim on the outside of the house. Good-bye to run down home look. The plywood is all hidden behind nice new siding. It still has to be painted, but it looks great. See:

















you can catch a glimpse of Spence in the top photo.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

We All Need Support

Much of the work today was reinforcing the new windows and doors as well as putting in supports for where the old ones were. We had a special appearance this morning by Becky Wallwey, designer extraordinaire. She stopped in to see the progress and was very pleased with howmuch has already been done. She also assured me that even though the work now is not as obvious to the naked eye as the work last week, that there is in fact a lot happening.

Wayne and Spence really framed the new windows and doors today to close up all the gaps and give them support. The TYVEK wrap was finally put on the exterior to act as a moisture barrier. In the future powder room, you can now tell where the sink will be and where the commode will be.

So, without further ado, here are some photos:

This is where the new powder room vanity will be:

And the home of the future throne:
No more gaps around the door or windows:

Monday, March 23, 2009

Plumbing

Again, no photos today. Plumbers were here all day laying pipes and cutting old lines. All the rough plumbing is pretty much done. The lines are laid for the new bathroom. So, while a lot of work was done, it is nothing that would really photograph well or be interesting to look at.

Wayne will be back tomorrow, so hopefully he'll do work that I can show you.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Not Much to See

No new photos today, as the work was all about moving gas lines and plumbing lines. Had a tense moment though when the house started smelling like gas. Apparently, the master control valve for our gas line is not working. PSE&G came out to check it. They are coming back tomorrow to fix it. But there is no leak, so that is a good thing.

We picked out the tile for our backsplash today. It is going to look amazing. Sort of Tuscan. I cannot wait to see it on the wall. I can't wait to actually see the walls for that matter.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Day 3, the Makings of a Water Closet

So, while not much visible work occurred today, the contractors actually did quite a bit of work. The plumbers removed the old waste pipes for the old bathroom, capped off the old lines and roughed in the plumbing lines for the new one. I have to stop saying, "the contractors" and refer to them by their names, Wayne and Spence. Wayne and Spence installed one more window over where the banquette will be, put up the framing for the new powder room and reinforced some beams. Take a look:

Below the two windows will be a banquette:

This is the framework for the new powder room.Tomorrow promises more plumbing work and framing. In case you are wondering about the ceiling fan, Wayne left if just so they have light to work by. It is not staying. There will be recesses lighting in the new ceiling.