We have a kitchen! A 90% complete kitchen, but it is a kitchen! I can't believe we did it ourselves but IKEA kitchens in all honesty are really easy to do. Time consuming of course, but otherwise pretty easy. We still have to install the handles (which are on the to do list for tonight), pick a backsplash, install the toe-kick along the bottom cabinets and have our lights installed. All and all, I'm happy with our progress. So now the big reveal....View from the family room into the kitchen … [Read more...]
6 crazy weeks
As promised, I dug up some photos of the demolition phase. We closed on the house on the 21st of December and proceeded to head straight into a crazy schedule of demolition and renovation from day one. First thing we did was move in all of our tools, bring some wine and beer and start ripping out the carpet, curtains, and anything else we could manage. The first 6 weeks were intense as we were both working the entire time but they were extremely productive. I still can't believe the house looked … [Read more...]
time for a little tour – house tour
I've been traveling quite a bit the last few weeks for work so I haven't had any time for house projects. I thought it would be a good time to do a little tour to show you what we started with. I hope to follow up in the next post with some during shots of the major work we did the first month in. Most of these might have come from the actual listing and our first walk through. What can't be captured in these photos is the overwhelming filth (dirt, dust and overall grime) that caked every … [Read more...]
getting closer to a real kitchen
Countertop time! We've had plenty of time to think about what type of countertops we wanted given that we bought our cabinets January 1st. Slow and steady wins the race, right? After some research we went for quartz, specifically CaesarStone. Our personal preference lead us to this design-wise since there was less variation in the pieces in terms of color and the textural appearance. While granite and marble are beautiful and many people love the variety in them, it wasn't for us. The plus side … [Read more...]
Kitchen progress
These pesky little things called work and grad school suck up too much time so we haven't been able to spend a few solid days on the kitchen. This has dragged on the kitchen remodel a bit longer that anticipated. We are doing all the kitchen ourselves with the exception of installing the countertops and some electrical and plumbing work. I should rephrase that, I have been doing most of the kitchen myself and the hubby has helped with just the heavy lifting to install the top cabinets and the … [Read more...]
whack-a-husband
Remember this game from the arcades and county fairs as a kid? Whack-a-Mole? Photo CreditI had the chance to play the same game with my husband on Monday night. You see, our kitchen originally had some laminate floors that had been installed on plywood over the sub-floor. In preparation for installing the hardwoods we needed to remove the plywood to have an even sub-floor throughout. You would think it would have been a priority to check that the sub-floor was in good condition with some time to … [Read more...]
