The Limbo That is awaiting a Job Completion

Day 10

Granite has been completed.

The only thing now is the crown molding and other finishing touches.

We painted the ceiling in Kelly-Moore "Barely There" and painted the walls in Behr "Creamy Mushroom". The Base Board and Crown Molding were very inexpensive at Home Depot.

We choose to use Satin finish paint for both the ceiling and walls in the grand room. We were told by a Kelly-Moore rep that the kitchen should be at least semi-gloss and we should do a flat or at least eggshell finish in the living room and dining room. But I thought that was insane. Why would I want this room, that I just opened up, to then be separated and defined by the sheen of the paint? It's not like it's multiple rooms with varied ceiling heights or exposed beams. It's one long room that combines the living, dining and kitchen into one open space. And I honestly don't know why anyone would use a matte or flat paint when they generally don't hold up well to cleaning. In my eyes, satin works everywhere in the home, and looks great. 

Dimmable Can Lighting: LED vs CFL

LED Can Lights On High Setting

LED Can Lights On Low Setting

See that Difference? Now that is Dimmable Lighting!

Wanna see something not so great....?

CFL Can Lights On High Setting

CFL Can Lights On Low Setting

At least I think that I labeled those pictures right. My camera overcompensates, and makes the darker setting look brighter. But really, It's hard to tell that the darker setting is very different at all. It's easier on the eyes, but not at the darkness you'd expect. 

So I definitely recommend LED Dimmable Bulbs over CFLs.

Days of Renovation: Part 3

Day 7: Plumbing out Side the Kitchen

The guest bath toilet was a dud, and we bought a new one for the powder room, and moved the powder room toilet to the guest bath. That way we have the elongated toilet downstairs since it will, no doubt, be the most used toilet.

Day 8: Paint

Our installer textured and painted the ceiling, but we still haven't figured out what we want on the walls... not these....

Day 9: Trying to use our unfinished Kitchen!

If you couldn't tell, the whole job has slowed down, and we are waiting to get back on track.

So all we have is our refrigerator hooked up and our microwave hood sitting in the corner for small tasks. We've just been cleaning the floors and the sides of the cabinets a little, waiting for the cabinets to be finished and the granite to be installed.

Days of Renovation: Part 2

Day 4: Finish Laying Tile

Once again, we changed the direction of the tile to accommodate future renovations, and in this case, the powder room will really need it. These are Fantasia Tiles in Almond.

Day 5: Beginning Cabinets

Starting to install the villa cherry cabinets.

Day 6: Electrical for Lighting and Outlets

Putting in 7 Can Lights and 3 Pendant Lights.

On top of the kitchen renovations, we had to address some other issues, like how our guest room can lights don't seem properly installed. 

Layout of the Kitchen

Hi. I'm buying a house. This is an amazing time for me, and I have been trying to figure out how to remodel this home to suit my needs. Yes, my first instinct when buying a house is to tear out the ugly parts and make the house mine.

This house has the ugliest cabinets ever. They are cheap looking and they are in all the bathrooms and the kitchen. My first need is to take them out of my kitchen, so that I can put my dishes and food in fresh cabinets. Of course I can't just replace them-- I want to tear out the wall that separates my dining area from kitchen area. Open kitchens are the present and the future. People don't want to be alone when they are doing the dishes.

The other thing is that this kitchen is pretty small... to be fair, the whole place is kinda small, but this is my first home ever, and I'm making it work. Too bad my couch is so huge, because my dining area is going to end up being just 82" wide. yeah, Maybe I'm nuts. I love my huge couch though. I might end up getting a new dining table  to fit the space better... even considering going nook style.

 

So this is basically the kitchen I am putting in. Using dark cherry colored modular cabinets, made with plywood and hardwood... NOT particle board. And I will be using a pre fabricated white granite because it looks great with dark cabinets.
I am allowing a small space for an eat-in island. Basically the amount of space two bar patrons would expect to have. I have found that eat-in kitchens, with islands is something the majority of home owners want. What's great about this particular island is that it is two levels. The taller portion helps to hide the clutter of the kitchen and provide a more interesting look.