Back in Business!

We held our "Soft Opening" on Memorial Day.  Anyone in the retail/restaurant business recognizes the term - a "pre-opening event" where a select group of people (traditionally friends and family who are typically more patient) are invited to give the new establishment an opportunity to work out the kinks before they open on a grander scale.

Truth be told we had actually planned on construction being done well before May 27th.  This turned out to be...not quite the case.  Didn't matter too much though.  Enough of the kitchen was working so that Gerry was able to prepare his ribs in the beautiful new REALLY LARGE oven AND still bake chicken (both for finishing up on the BBQ grill).  We are both still amazed that he could get THREE FULL STEAM-TABLE SIZED PANS in JUST ONE OVEN!!!  (I regret neither one of us thought to snap a photo of that!)

Even if everything wasn't perfectly ready for the grand opening, it was just fun having everyone over and getting some vital last minute input (thanks Dan - we've elected to NOT have the "feet" installed on either the island or by the sink!).  We've missed not being able to entertain all of you for the past few months and appreciate

your patience as we took some time for this project.  Both Gerry and I look forward to how much more fun it's going to be with all this new-found "room to groove"!


~later, "already planning the next event" tw

Because it never rains....

...IT POURS!

Since I'm getting a fabulous new kitchen, it seemed only fair that Gerry get something that would require less chores outside and give him more time to enjoy this new ability to entertain.

(Well that and Costco made us a deal we couldn't refuse!)

So...we had Leaf Guard Gutters installed (yeah, I know, during the remodel - you needed a score card to keep track of all the vehicle movements required those two days what with builders, gutter guys, milk delivery, mail delivery!  It forced some to really hone their "driving in reverse" skills down our very long driveway!)




Because they installed during some of the wettest days of May we haven't had much of a test but at least these won't have to be cleaned out right away (and hopefully never!)

~later, tw

Welcome Back Old Friend!

[Gerry and I were on an Alaskan cruise last month and so I'll be catching up on the Kitchen Remodel while waiting for Gerry to finish up the cruise photos.]

FINALLY!  The end must truly be in sight because the refrigerator - the appliance that has been residing in our foyer for the past three months - was returned to its rightful place in the kitchen.  That alone caused mere excitement but the realization that we could once again have ICED tea (because the ice maker is usable again) elicited actual jubilation!  Gerry immediately searched through boxes in the piano room to locate the ice tea maker and put it to good use.











Wasn't an easy feat - it's a really large refrigerator and took both Todd and Hymie (with my excellent oversight and supervision) to carefully move it
from the piano room...
















through the dining room and its newly refinished hardwood floors...






















into the kitchen for water and electrical hook-up.






Once that was done, the other smaller appliances came back to the kitchen (after floor refinishing) - the wine fridge and ice maker.



Then it was time to bring it in - the entire reason for this remodel - the dishwasher.  THE WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE DISHWASHER!!!!














For those of you playing along at home, you may now check off "Appliance Installation" as everyone is (and nearly functional - the beverage bar and island appliances are installed but do not yet have power).






~later, "sipping my iced tea" tw

When the Going Gets Tough...

We got going...

Since we had new hardwood flooring installed in the new dining room, we had quite a bit (somewhere between 750-900 sq. ft. depending on who was doing the measuring/estimating) that needed to be re/finished (might as well do it all while they were here which included in addition to the kitchen and dining room, the powder room and foyer).

Refinishing of flooring makes your house pretty much uninhabitable for a few days so we figured why just go to a hotel when there is a perfectly good cruise ship headed round trip out of Seattle to Alaska?  [Photos of trip will be posted...eventually]

We returned home the following Sunday to a still slightly smelly house but beautiful floors!



And since we didn't want to put anything on the floor until we had "floor-proofed" it (with protective felt feet), our cozy foyer "dining room" was out of the question.  We were relegated to "TV tray" dining for all of our meals - including breakfast (which makes reading the paper incredibly difficult and, more importantly, doing the puzzles virtually impossible).

Fortunately, it's only temporary - we are getting very close!

~later, tw

I'm A Little Teapot...

... no more.

My companion for the past three months - the one who kept me, literally, in hot water (for tea and cup-o-noodles) is now, finally (and hopefully forever), unemployed.

Friday, May 31, 2013, water returned to the kitchen for the first time since February 25th!!!!

WATER!  And the insta-hot to the left
 - hard to demonstrate but take my word for it
 - it works!

Not just running water in a big sink (luxury enough after three months using all things water-related) but also the "insta-hot."  And while I truly can't wait to see my teakettle back on the stove (so that I can once again brew an entire pot of tea in my French-press teapot with my amazingly delicious loose-leaf teas...exactly when did I become such a tea snob?), I must admit that is wonderful to be able to instantly make tea (and much safer as there were times when I would briefly forget that I had plugged in the electric tea kettle).

See the pretty blue "I'm on!" lights?

And also we now can use... THE DISHWASHER!  We ran our first load of dishes yesterday, a whole weekend's worth - at one time!!!  It was a giddy feeling let me tell you!














To celebrate, Gerry dug out the ice tea maker (sadly absent since February 25th as well).  True, quite a few kids at a variety of local restaurants have done an admirable job in keeping Gerry (in particular) in ice tea during construction but he really did enjoy having a pitcher of tea upon completion of weekend outdoor chores.

The end is in sight!

~later, properly hydrated, tw

You've Come A LONG Way Baby!

Once upon a time ago (a long LONG time ago), we decided to remodel the kitchen...to accommodate the dishwasher (but that's another story).  Not hurt its feelings, we also decided to improve the dining room.  This past week (while we were cruising in Alaska - photos and stories to follow), the hardwood floor (new to the dining room) was refinished.  It turned out beautiful!  And looking back at the "before" photos of the dining room reminded me just how much it's changed in the past (nearly) three months!

BEFORE (with carpeting and a picture window)

DEMOLITION (wall and butler's pantry being removed)

 

RECONSTRUCTION:

In addition to removing the wall between the dining room and the kitchen, the picture window was changed to double french doors to allow for another pathway to the "outdoor kitchen" area (landscaping will most likely take place NEXT year!)

           

NEARLY FINISHED:  The floor is GORGEOUS!  The wainscoting (the white part of the wall) needs to be replaced and painted, the trim around the door added and the chandelier replaced but this room is getting pretty darn close to completion!

The hardwood throughout the kitchen,










foyer, and powder room were all refinished (beautifully - so prepare to remove your shoes...at least for awhile!)

 ~later, tw

And Now the End is Near...

Okay, maybe not exactly "near" but definitely within sight!

When I left yesterday (to earn books by volunteering at a Scholastic Warehouse Book Fair), I noticed that the oven...the much anticipated, REALLY LARGE wall oven, was standing in the garage... OUT OF THE BOX!  Could it be that it was about to be installed?

I know this entire project came about because the new dishwasher would not fit in the old dishwasher's place (which naturally meant the entire kitchen AND dining room had to be remodeled to accommodate it - right?  I mean, you DO get that?)  But what I was really looking forward to is the new REALLY HUGE Whirlpool Gold 10 cu. ft. Double Wall Oven with True Convection Cooking.  I mean, I will be able to get a full steam table-sized pan in it...them...actually several....AT THE SAME TIME!  I hope you're appreciating this because before this new oven, I basically was baking with an EASY BAKE OVEN!  I could only get a cookie sheet into either oven IF it didn't come with little handles that stick out.  Oh, the things I shall bake!!!  I was so excited to see it in place and to be able to set the clock!

Alas, the was about the end of it for a week or so...

After installation, the balance of the day was spent on the initial prep work for the floor finishers to come next week.  Everything in the kitchen was carefully wrapped in plastic (including the new oven) and doors to the powder room and hall closet removed.  The rest of the house is being closed off with plastic "curtains" - the piano room, both stairways (no easy trick that!), the office and laundry room and finally the TV room.

The temporary kitchen (aka the re-purposed laundry room) became a bit more crowded as I quickly "rescued" some cereal and bowls/cups/silverware that will tide us over for the next few days as we will no longer have access to either the "pantry" or the refrigerator (now safely hidden behind the plastic curtains).

It's strange to see our foyer once again - refrigerator free and without the protective covering the floor.  It's been two-and-a-half MONTHS since this project began and now we've eaten our last meal out there.  (I'm SO ready to have a real kitchen again!)

The kitchen / dining room seems cavernous and echoes loudly now.  Soon it says...soon!

later, tw

(Almost) Everything...

...and the kitchen sink!

The faucet fixtures were installed:  Faucet & sprayer, soap dispenser and insta-hot (so Gerry can have his tea instantly while I heat mine in my teakettle on the stove).  The soap dispenser is only temporary since we - Todd & I - thought it looked too shiny to really be satin nickel finish like the others.

Lights are starting to appear...and work!  These are the can lights (which like most of this look much better in person - you'll have to trust me on this.  Or better yet - come visit us and check it out for yourself!)

Also, the drawer microwave is in.  Naturally, being very tactile, I like to play with my new toys so Todd hooked it up temporarily to power via an extension cord (the island isn't "live" quite yet).

And finally, Carol and I did what I hope is the final shopping adventure for the kitchen remodel.  Once the beautiful, if previously unseen, countertop was installed it was clear that I would need to make a slight modification of the tile for the backsplash.  We tried, without any real success (and certainly without any warm fuzzy feeling that anyone wanted my money) and I finally thought maybe we should try the place where we got our tile for the fireplace and bathroom remodels a few (okay FIVE - where did that time go?) years ago.  I really had enjoyed shopping at ProSource (it was QUICK and relatively painless because I am NOT a shopping animal by any stretch!) so we headed to Bothell.

Amazingly, it did not take me long.  Carol was convinced we'd be coming home with LOTS of samples since I didn't even have a sample of my granite to go from.  Nope!  I quickly scanned through the options, pulling out the cards of any that looked remotely close.  I saw one (Mannington's Seregenti Slate - BOLD colors), pulled it out and continued to look at a few more cards.  Backtracked to review the slate...continued to peruse a few more cards...backtracked again.  I was convinced - third time the charm and all that.















So I came home with exactly one sample - and it is going to be beautiful.  (Sue, my designer, had also brought me some samples - mostly river rock which I knew was definitely a NO GO - too many nooks and crannies to put behind a sink with a sprayer!)   Todd and I talked at length about how we're (and by we're I mean HE and the TEAM) are going to incorporate the various color tiles to become the back splashes and window trim / wrapping.  (Oh and you can see the pendant light that now hangs over the beverage bar area.)

Another successful shopping outing - I could really get into this.  NOT!

~later, tw