Kitchen Remodel - Almost done

Our kitchen remodel is almost done and I haven't posted photos in awhile.  We had a delay in finishing the project when the floor guy never showed up.  Our contractor had to bring in a different guy to complete the flooring with stain and 3 coats of finish.  

 

 

Notice our new lighting - exterior lighting from Lowe's.  We put in three lights - one over each window.  We were still waiting for the cabinet maker to bring in our missing glass-front cabinet (see the empty space with phone wires sticking out on the left side?)

The ceiling fan purchase was quite a saga.  One was ordered and paid for, order canceled, new one purchased, parts returned, ceiling fan installed, and finally hooked up.  Whew, done!  It is a Hunter ceiling fan hardwired to a wall switch but also has a remote control for fan speed and light control. 

The flooring was finally finished and the glass-front cabinet installed.  Dust and fumes for 3 days.

The guys did a great job with the transition from wood to brick floors. 

 

We were able to get the fridge and stove installed in time to have Easter dinner.  We pushed our old island into the middle of the kitchen temporarily - I'll be refinishing it soon to match the rest of the kitchen.  Our youngest grandfella loves to help Papa wash dishes at the new sink. 

Papa makes it look like so much fun.

Just a few more details to be finished and we'll be done with the kitchen remodel.  It's been an interesting trip. 

A Few Comforts During A Kitchen Remodel

Just because your house is a mess doesn't mean that you have to feel like a mess yourself.

 

While this kitchen remodeling project continues (we're on week 7 now) I've worked very hard to keep a bit of civility and calmness in several areas of our home.  I need quiet places to rest my eyes and my spirit amidst the chaos.

I'm so glad our Camellias are in full bloom right now.  I'm able to keep fresh blooms in our foyer to cheer everyone up.  (you might notice the dust below the vases, but I'm pretending it's not there)

One of my sweet little preschool students gave me an Amaryllis bulb as a Christmas gift.  I planted it right after Christmas and was so pleased to see that it was beginning to bloom just when I needed it the most.  It holds a blooming place of honor on the dining room table for everyone to enjoy.  It's been blooming for over a month now. 

 

I made it a priority to keep our bedroom as calm and clean as possible.  I purposefully did not store any boxes or extra things in our bedroom to keep it clutter free.  I bought an air purifier to help us breath better at night.  I also damp dust and damp mop every day and wash the linens twice a week to keep us from sleeping in dust.  I knew we needed a place where no sign of construction was going on as a retreat.

I wrote the words to one of my current favorite songs on the chalkboard inside my pantry.  It helps to keep me focused in  a positive direction - which I need to be reminded of frequently.

Kitchen Remodel: Making Progress With The Floors and Cabinets

 

Well, the yellow pine floors finally made their appearance and they are perfect. 

 

They won't have a finish until everything else is done.

 

You can see the difference between the old floor in the utility room and new floor in the kitchen. 

The following day, the cabinet boxes went in.  We had a local guy build the custom cabinets.  It cost considerably less to have him build the cabinets than to buy them from a big box store.  Plus, they are custom!

The stove will go to the far right.  The fridge will go to the right of the window.  A farmhouse sink will go under the window with the dishwasher to the left. 

We have a nice glass-front upper cabinet ready to be installed to the left of the new window.  With additional trim, it will look like a small china cupboard.  Because of the extra trim it will be installed after the granite goes in. 

Rough cut wood is being picked up right now to be used as a faux beam over each of the windows and upper cabinets to match the beams in the rest of the house. 

A few hours after I took the pictures above, the cabinet guys came to install most of the drawers and doors and the hardware. 

  Here is the area where the stove will go.  I bought the drawer pulls from Target and the door handles at Home Depot. 

A few more hinges and pulls still need to be installed as well as the adjustable shelves.  All of the drawers have the soft close sliders which I'm excited about. 

I'm off now to purchase the lights we finally picked out and also some additional door pulls.  I can't believe I didn't count correctly!  Good grief.  We've decided to reuse our old ceiling fan so I'm just going to pick up a new light kit - I'm thinking schoolhouse light.  Of course, I'm going to spray paint the old fan to freshen it up. 

Update On The Kitchen Remodel At Brown Wren Acres

 

Whew!  I finally have a chance to post an update on our kitchen remodeling project. 

 

There is lots of wood and dust, nails and screws, bricks and sand. 

 

Here is a view into the kitchen from the "keeping room" area in front of the fireplace.  We have an open concept house, so it's hard to describe.  To the right, through the doorway, is our utility room.  The large plaid object to the right is our stove covered with a blanket. 

 

The ceiling is bead board and the walls are being prepped for board and batten.

 

Here is the same view after the painters came and after Hubs and I removed the brick flooring. 

This view was taken from the doorway to the utility room.  Notice the new beams and the board and batten siding.  The old walls and ceiling had been sprayed with popcorn ceiling texture - I'm not kidding - yes, in a kitchen.  Every morning I came down to get coffee and found popcorn texture on my counters and floor. 

Here is the same shot after the painters left.  The new beams will be covered with rough cut wood to match the beams in the rest of the house.  This was not the original plan for beam placement, but we decided we could live with the mistake.  I really wanted them to be up against the ceiling, but they were installed while we were away at work, and we decided that it was too much work to correct the mistake.  We're learning to like them where they are.   

Here is a view of the old sliding glass doors.  They were old Anderson sliders that had warped and we could barely open them.  I actually sealed off the one on the left by caulking around the whole thing and taking the inside handle off so it couldn't be opened. 

Here's the doorway to the back porch after the old door was removed.  It was a very chilly day and I ran around the house with my winter coat on all day.

These new doors are ThermaTru and they are very heavy.  Only the middle doors swing open.

We hope to get them stained tomorrow so we can get the new hardware on them (oil rubbed bronze, of course).  We struggled with the decision to get these doors.  We needed to get very sturdy, airtight doors, but by doing so we knew we would be losing some of our view with the wider door trim.  We have a passive solar house, so it was hard to find a good door that could still have the passive solar rating.  The doors will be stained to match the beams and trim in the rest of the house. 

To save some money, Hubs and I decided to remove the brick flooring (only in the kitchen).  It was a time consuming job and we were happy to save ourselves hundreds of dollars by doing it ourselves.  There is no light in the kitchen, so we brought in a lamp from the living room.  How romantic!

After taking up a few rows, we realized that:
     1.  We were getting quite a few bricks stacked up and they were getting in our way.

     2.  The shortest way out of the house with the bricks was the back door - which couldn't be used because the door hardware wasn't installed yet (it was screwed shut). 

     3.  The flooring guys were coming in 2 days (which really ended up being 7 days).

Being the resourceful cheapos that we are, we decided to open the new kitchen window, carefully cover the new window trim with a blanket, and throw the old bricks out the window.

Half of the first few bricks we threw out broke and we had to come up with a new plan.  We want to be able to use the bricks to pave the floor of the new greenhouse (on my wish list).  We really like to recycle and we didn't want to break all of the bricks.  So. . . Hubs got an extra piece of plywood and propped it up outside against the bottom of the window.  Then we slid the bricks down the plywood and into a pile.  We had 400 bricks pulled up and piled outside in less than 2 1/2 hours. 

 

 

So, how did we do with all of our grandlittles at the house during one week of the remodel?  Well, we did a lot of bouncing.  Our little exercise rebounder is worth it's weight in gold.  The boys thought all of the plastic sheets hanging up made a fun little fort and they looked forward to an occasional peek behind the plastic to see the progress.  Eating "picnic style" on paper plates was also an added treat. 

 

We should be getting our new floor tomorrow and getting the doors stained.  Next week the cabinets are scheduled to be delivered and the counter top measurements taken for the granite.  Hopefully we'll be done in 2 weeks.  We'll see.

Wrensday: Lunchtime during a remodel

What's one to do when your kitchen is torn up and it's time to feed hungry grandfellas their lunch? 

 

Just heat it up in the microwave - as it sits outside on the porch floor. 

 

 

Yum, yum. . .

I'm just glad there is an outlet on the porch!  And the weather was warm and sunny.

 

*Many of you who know me know that I don't really like using a microwave oven.  It's true.  I don't.  I'm making an exception in these coming weeks while things get put back together in our kitchen. 

Here's why I think microwave ovens are not good for regular use.

 

Last night I actually took a premade lasagna that I froze a month ago to my daughter's house to cook it in her oven while I babysat the grandlittles.  I have several more freezer meals ready to heat up in my crock pot or electric saucepan.

Starting The Kitchen Remodel: Demo and Dust

 

Ah, nothing like a little dust and debris to make a dull winter interesting.  We've begun the kitchen remodel and my kitchen no longer looks like this. . .

 

Wondering how I got that cool shot?  Well I have a handy-dandy window that looks down into my kitchen from my bedroom.  How cool is that?  Not! 

We're taking it out and boarding up the wall on both sides.

 

 

We had a sliding patio door that entered right into the kitchen.  In fact, I could not open my oven door all the way because the door trim was in the way.

 

We're putting a window in it's place so that we can have more cabinets and counter space.  The oven will move to where the fridge is now (or where it was last week).  Our contractor had to widen the opening and frame up the bottom part to make room for the new window.

 

The old window above the kitchen sink was not too bad, but Hubs (the master dishwasher and pan scrubber in our home) requested a larger window above His sink. 

 

Here are the two new windows in place.  We're waiting for the electrical to be roughed in now.  The whole kitchen had to be rewired.  Only a few surprises were found behind the walls.  Cabinets are ordered, faucet and sink have been ordered, and the cabinet hardware picked out.  I haven't found lighting I like yet and we'll go this week to pick out our counter tops. 

 

This is what the kitchen looked like a few days after Christmas.

Here's what it looks like today!

 



Oh, did I mention that we're watching our grandsons this week?  While their parents are on a cruise?  For a week?  On a cruise?  Good times!

Plans For A DIY Exercise Bike Stand

 

Thank you to so many of you who emailed me about plans for the DIY Exercise Bike Stand.  I apologize that it has taken me so long to get the measurements to you, but they are finally here!

 

The wood was purchased at Home Depot and the bike pegs were purchased at Walmart in the bike section. 

 

The bike we used for this project is a 24" 12 speed bike (I'm a shorty).  I used the hardest gear while riding, but this set-up does not allow you to really get much resistance (for building muscle).  It was great for getting my legs moving after some nerve damage.  I also wanted to burn calories and get my heart rate up and this did the trick. 

 

If you have any questions, just shoot me an email.