The Kitchen is Done!

 At long last the kitchen remodel is finished. It was actually completed in November but it took me a while to take pictures and then to find the time to post them. As you can see, the ugly 70's florescent light box is gone. For now the moldings that surrounded the light box are staying, I am afraid to see what the ceiling looks like underneath. I had to have someone come in and mud, sand and tape the ceiling that is visible and in good light you can tell that more work should have been done. But, it is so much better than it was. The recess will remain because the junction box for the lights needs to be accessible, perhaps someday I will add paint or track lighting.

Taking out the upper cabinets, moving the peninsula to the right opposite side, and getting rid of the bar height counter top made a huge difference. The new counter space in awesome.

There are some very minor measuring issues, but the overall effect is such a huge improvement, nothing else matters. I love having the large drawers for storing almost all of my dishes and cookware in. So easy to see where everything is and so easy to access.

In the end, we had the contractor only tear out and replace the cabinets and counter tops so I had to hire an electrician, plumber, and the get the flooring patched. Because of the condition of the ceiling, I also hired someone to do the touch up and painting. I thought this was going to be really hard, but in the end, it wasn't hard and saved us about $17,000.00 from what we were quoted by the kitchen contractor.

We went with Kitchen Plus in Bellevue. The pluses, they really did finish in a week. The cabinet quality is very acceptable for the price and they offer a really good warranty. The designer I worked with gave me some really good design advise, things I definitely would not have thought of on my own.

The minuses, the installer was a bit messy,even dumping some of the scraps and garbage behind the new cabinets. And, if I was ever to do this again, which I will not, I would measure out every section with blue tape and make sure it works. There is about 4 inches of space over the refrigerator that I was hoping would be space for trays to fit vertically. Also, the glass cabinet, that is hanging over the peninsula is a bit too wide.  

In the end, I am very happy with the final product. There is a lot of storage space and I love cooking in the new space. 

The Kitchen Remodel --

At long last the kitchen remodel is finally moving along. A few weeks back (the first week of August) I decided that I needed to ask for a date. I sent a couple of emails to the contacts I had been given and waited. About two weeks later I was called by the scheduling department and we got a date.

I took several weeks to pack all of the kitchen supplies and carry them downstairs to the basement. As I was carrying the final loads I realized I was going to have to carry everything back up the stairs, and I would not want to wait three or four weeks to get that done.

The kitchen destruction occurred on September 20.  Since we did not go with the full service remodel we had to get all of the appliances out of the kitchen. Lucky I have a good handy man to call on and this was not as bad as I thought it would be. Then I would have just about one week to get all of the other tasks accomplished before the reconstruction begins on September 29.

 

After the destruction, I had to schedule an electrician, a plumber, and get some help patching the ceiling and the walls. The walls were in a lot worse shape than I thought they would be, and the retro wall paper didn't

help. There was even wall paper on the ceiling, interesting choice. All of the exposed wall paper was painted over before we bought the house, but I didn't realize how much this would come back to be such a pain.

Painting the ceiling started today. My nightmare will be the exposed wall area above the sink. I thought I could get by with just paint, but now I am not so sure. I’ll be taking another trip to Home Depot to see what I can find that will help. 

Kitchen Remodel

I just figured out that I made the $10K deposit on the kitchen remodel on April 29. Last week I finally received the final plans to approve. There was a slight error in the design, after several emails the plans were perfect. Now I wait for the second review and then the plans will be submitted for the cabinet construction. I still have no idea when the actual destruction and installation will begin.

We decided to go with a "basic" kitchen plan which means, we get new cabinets, sink, and counter tops installed. We have to get all of the appliances out, do all of the finishing and electrical work. I have know idea how we are going to get it all done. I have started putting away appliances and other kitchen ware that we will not need in the next few months, but how we are going to move the stove, microwave, dishwasher, and refrigerator and where we are going to put them. Stay tuned for the continuing saga.

Kitchen Remodel

These are the before pictures. I am waiting for the final design approvals. I met with the project manager over two weeks ago and sent a follow up email on Monday - I have not heard back. Time to leave a voice mail.

Let The Blogging Begin

This is something that I have wanted to do for a long time but I always felt too busy. I recently quit my job of 16 years and I am starting a new adventure and I plan to make blogging one of the many new adventures that I am embarking on. 

I am planning on blogging about several projects.

First, the new job. I am hoping to get back into the preschool classroom and I am hoping to promote an outdoor nature play program. There are a few options that I am pursuing, but I would like to have the summer free before I go back to work.

Second, we are selling our first house, that we bought in 1986. It is empty and waiting for a new family. My husband wants us to "Sell by Owner", so far the house is listed on Zillow and we have held one open house that was attended by six people, in three groups. I am working on getting it listed through a MLS group that helps the for sale by owner, owner. More on this later. 

Third, I am working on a kitchen remodel in the new condo. I have already selected a designer and have put down a deposit with a local kitchen remodel company. I am still waiting to be added to the schedule - there is a lot more to the story.

Fourth, can you really lose weight by walking? One of my ongoing goals is to remain healthy and stay active (one of the reasons I would like to teach preschool again). I have high cholesterol - around 280, usually my good cholesterol (HDL) is above 60 and the ratios are fair, but I refuse to use medication. Both my parents have Type II Diabetes and my main goal is to prevent this for as long as possible, I hope drinking wine is the secret to success.

I also enjoy cooking and reading and like almost every blogger out there, I am interested in photography and art. There will probably be a lot of posts about family, community, education, and faith.