Kitchen
Kitchen remodel is underway! This is a process we’ve been waiting a year to undertake, expedited because of this mystery leak we have recently found in the hallway coming from the house’s wet wall.
Back in February, I picked out a countertop swatch, kitchen sink, and hardware I liked, but the financial situation at work made us put the job on hold. Then all of a sudden, we get this leak, and work’s financial problem has just about ended, so Scott decided it was now or never to bust into the wet wall, fix the leak, and begin Phase 1 of this remodel. I’m thrilled, yet at the same time, the OCD organizer in me is like: ‘Nooo!! Wait a sec; I’m not ready!’
The remodel is going to be in three separate phases. So after the IPI event on Saturday, Scott and I hurried back home to take a quick nap, then James and Jenn came over to help. James and Scott busted apart the sink, counters, cabinets, and dry wall with sledgehammers, and Jenn and I primed the cabinets in the garage so they can be painted, then went to Lowe’s to pick out tile for the new backsplash. She and I spent about an hour on our hands and knees in the tile aisle, just playing with motifs and designs.
I finally decided on a neutral stone subway tile as the main design, with a pretty multi-colored one-inch slate tile as the focal point behind the sink. We found a pretty stone rope tile that would edge the slate mosaic, and a handful of pretty diamond-shaped bronze accent tiles that we would use to give interest to the subway tile on each side of the mosaic over the sink.
Yesterday, Scott and I found the cream-colored acrylic sink we want in stock, as well as a bronze-finished gooseneck kitchen faucet. We sat up talking last night, and I asked him for an honest conversation about what the timeline was for both the three phases, and the overall project, just so I have a reasonable expectation for how long the kitchen and life as we know it at the house to be chaotic.
When Scott said I can expect to have the new sink and faucets installed by next week, I actually started crying with relief and joy. I cannot describe how much I have despised the sink area of the kitchen the past year, and the chronic dripping from the nasty faucet, the faucet that’s so low I can’t fit big pots and pans in the sink.
But we’re also going to have to get organized. This morning was so hectic, with three of us running around to do our thing and eat breakfast, and two kittens to watch out for. We have to eat from disposable plates, bowls, cups and utensils because we don’t have a sink. Emily and I couldn’t find the plastic spoons this morning, and I struggled to make my coffee in the midst of all the power tools currently set up in the kitchen. I’m thankful I bought a package of croissants from the store because eating cereal is a lot more work when your kitchen isn’t functioning. We had three times the normal amount of garbage from the weekend I needed to take out, and I luckily I remembered to take Scott’s dry-cleaning right before I left the house.
Tonight, I am GOING to get organized. There has to be a system. Otherwise the next several weeks are going to be a pain in the butt. (But well, well worth it.)
Phase 1 is the wet wall portion, which means re-doing some of the plumbing in the wet wall, recessing the wall 6 inches back, installing the new cabinets, installing new kitchen sink and faucet, tiling the backsplash, installing the new laminate countertop.
Phase 2 is the opposite wall-the cooking wall. That requires ripping everything out, plus tearing down half the wall that separates the dining room from the kitchen. New cabinets would be installed on the bottom, new countertop to create a peninsula between the dining room and kitchen, installing a new flat surface ceramic cooktop, and a separate unit for the oven.
Somewhere between Phase 2 and 3 is the lighting and floor installation. For lighting, we’re going to install recessed lighting over the Phase I area, then bronze pendant lights over the peninsula that match the dining room chandelier. Then, we’ll rip up the remaining laminate floors and install porcelain tile flooring across both the kitchen and the dining room.
Phase 3 is the construction of floor-to-ceiling cabinets to be installed in what used to be the breakfast nook. When we get rid of the upper cabinets in Phase 2, we’ll need the extra storage, plus a pantry and a place for the microwave.
Somewhere in there, we hope to get a new fridge, because the one we have is awful. I tossed out the idea to Scott that maybe we should get a stainless steel, and he agrees-all the other appliances will be black, but unlike the others, you usually take a fridge with you after you move. So if you’re going to spend $900 for a fridge which is supposed to last you a long time, why not get the stainless steel one?