I was VERY excited to stop over at Andi and Neil’s yesterday to see how things were going. So without further ado here is a peak (I will take more detailed photos once the kitchen is truly finished).

View from the Dining Room (looking south). Sink doors haven't been installed yet.

East Wall (missing cabinet doors are being painted). Look at the shiny refinished floors and the beautiful brick!

North Wall (stone tile backsplash will be continuous on this wall). You can also see the creamy wall color.

Close up of North Elevation w/ new Kenmore Slide-In Range

Beadboard Ceiling and Beautiful Schoolhouse Pendants

Detail of Brick w/ under counter lighting and granite counter

There are a bunch of miscellaneous items that need to be ordered and installed in the next couple of weeks but all of the big stuff is done! The contractors cleaned up most of their stuff yesterday (minus the paint cans for final touch up) and removed the tarps on the floor. They will be back once the last of the panels are painted and delivered, the handles and knobs are ready, and the tile backsplash is decided on and delivered. In the meantime, Andi and Neil can start using the kitchen! It is REALLY nice to see the kitchen without all of the construction clutter. And with another day or two of work it will be completely finished!

Handle choices (left is bright nickel, right is brushed nickel) & granite counter

I think we decided on the handles for the drawers, a traditional style handle with a brushed nickel finish (to coordinate with the faucet). We are still reviewing knob options. I think we should go with something fun and colorful for the knobs. They are at eye level and are the one thing that can be changed out quickly at a later point. For most of the choices on the kitchen we went fairly safe with the finish and coloring (which is good for items that you can’t change easily) but the knobs I think could start to bring some of Andi and Neil’s colorful style back into the room.

"Biltmore" Marble Tile in 2" Hexagon Pattern

"Biltmore" Marble Tile in Basketweave Pattern

Carrera Marble Subway Tile, 3"x6"

We are in agreement that we should use a marble tile for the backsplash behind the stove. The backup is to use a carrera marble subway tile but I prefer the hexagon or basketweave “Biltmore” Marble from The Tile Shop, but Neil is not convinced (at least not yet). I think we should be able to come to a consensus in the next few days though.

William Morris Inspired Fabric for Window Valance

We still need to look at accessories for the kitchen too. We all love this William Morris inspired fabric, that I think will make a lovely window valance. We also need to look at the space above the opening to the Sunroom and figure out what would look nice above there. I like the idea of vintage plates hanging or possibly a long shelf holding some fun accessories.

New Granite Counters with the Giant Farmhouse Sink Hooked Up.

New Counters with Stove Installed

New Wall Color (creamy yellow) & new pendant lights

Granite Counter with Farmhouse sink sitting on it

So the day finally arrived, the counters have been installed! Andi took a couple of photos for me. I am going to head over later today to take some more photos and go over the last of the details. Also since the last time I was there, they finished up some of the trim and painted one of the walls. The contractors also managed to get the sink and stove hooked up today! I see that Andi already has a pan on the stove! I think there was a BIG sigh of relief over at Andi and Neil’s house yesterday. They can finally start using their kitchen again.

Items Left to Decide On:

-Cabinet handles for the Drawers
-Cabinet knobs for the Doors
-Tile Backsplash
-Accessories and window treatment!

We decided to hold off on these until the counters were installed. This way we can make sure that all of these coordinate nicely with the counters.  One item for debate is the finish on the handles. The lights are oil rubbed bronze and the faucet is nickel plated with a slightly rubbed appearance. Which finish do we go with? Or do we go more shiny for a little bling? We also looked at glass knobs for the cabinets. We will have to see what these look like now that everything else is in place. For the tile backsplash I am recommending a stone subway tile (possibly carrera marble). I think a plain white tile may look to stark with everything else, but again we wanted to wait and see how the granite looked first (especially since this doesn’t have to go in to make the kitchen function).

East Wall: The fridge is currently pulled out so it looks more jumbled then it actually is.

North Wall w/ new microwave (the trim for the underside of the upper cabinets has not been installed yet)

West Wall w/ new window casing

Southwest corner (need to pickup butcher block for the existing radiator cover)

Detail of Cabinet w/ brick and beadboard ceiling. I think the combination of these look great together! (touch up painting for the crown molding still needs to be done)

I stopped by Andi and Neil’s house yesterday to see how things were going. They are getting close to being done! The cabinets and trim look fabulous thanks to all of Chris & Kent’s hard work.  The to do list is getting much shorter and the end is almost in site (although I’m not sure Andi & Neil would agree with this right now). The countertops were templated last Friday, unfortunately we are looking at another 1-2 weeks before they can actually be installed (it appears that one of the downsides of using the Ikea countertop companies is that their cue is quite long). The contractors will be finishing up most of what they can do until the countertops are installed today.  The items left on the list:

Miscellaneous Trim:

-Undermount trim for the upper cabinets (we need to get the clips for these, for some reason Ikea didn’t supply them like they should have).
-Missing side panel for one of the upper cabinets (we need to get this and then have it painted)
-Last of the crown molding for the upper cabinets (waiting for missing side panel)
-Make removable side panel for fridge. This will have a tackboard on the upper part and a chalkboard on the lower part.
-Pick up last set of doors and drawer fronts at painters

Walls:

-Finish Priming Walls (scheduled for today)
-Paint walls creamy yellow

Floors:

-Finish sealing wood floors

Ceiling:

-Install pendant lights (after a couple of weeks on backorder they are finally ready to be picked up at the store)

Countertop:

-Install countertop
-Pick out small piece of butcherblock for counter above radiator (possibly at Home Depot or Ikea)

After countertop:

-Install sink and dishwasher
-Install range
-Patch walls after counter in installed around opening to Sunroom

Miscellaneous:

-Decide on knobs for upper cabinets and handles for drawers. We decided to wait on this until we see the countertops in place.

Backsplash:

-We decided to wait on this until the counters are installed.  Tile will go on the north wall backsplash behind the stove.

East & South Walls w/ Sink Temporarily Placed. The fridge is now in its final location (which involved chiseling out the brick to fit an electrical box). Originally they had installed the box in the base of the adjacent cabinet but there wasn't enough clearance for the plug. It is interesting that Ikea designed the fridge to be that super tight in the opening. It will look nice when it is done but it will be a pain to pull out.

I just have to start out by saying aren’t the cabinet doors/drawers a beautiful color (it is Benjamin Moore Wedgewood Gray)! I stopped by Andi and Neil’s house yesterday afternoon to see how things were progressing and it was very exciting to see some finished faces on the cabinets!

The counters are scheduled to be templated today! That means that all of the bottom cabinets are in and ready to go! The sink has been temporarily placed (it sits on the counter so it can’t be installed until after the counter). We opened the box that the range is sitting in, since their will be a small piece of counter behind it because it is a slide in range (it has a lip on 3 sides that sit on the counter to provide a seamless look). Once the counters are templated the fabricator takes this information back to the shop for final fabrication. This usually takes 1-2 weeks. Fingers crossed they will be on the shorter side of this. The actual install of the counter is usually quite quick. When we had our counters installed it took them 2 hours tops.

The contractor also installed one of the under counter lights to see how they look. One weird thing about the Ikea undercabinet lights. They are designed to use a cord and plug and not be hardwired. That is really strange to me since most people would be hardwiring in a new kitchen. We also have to figure out if the trim for below the upper cabinet (to hide the lights) has a special Ikea clip (fingers crossed) to make the install easier.

South Wall w/ first under cabinet light installed. The last 3 drawer fronts still need to go on for counter templating. They have also adjusted the blocking in the opening to the sunroom so that the counter can span that area

West Wall w/ new wall cabinet notched out for the radiator pipe

North Wall w/ the beautiful new drawer units (range and microwave to be installed in between)

Close up of Painted Drawer Unit. Isn't the color beautiful!

East Wall w/ cabinet boxes installed (fridge has not been pushed into final location). I like how the brick looks as a backsplash.

North Wall (microwave and range to be installed where ladder is located)

West Wall w/ first upper cabinet installed (the cabinet will be raised several inches)

Upper Cabinet at the Chimney (fortunately there is still quite a bit of space left after cutting for the chimney)

I stopped by Andi and Neil’s house yesterday afternoon to see how everything was going. The contractors are almost done installing the boxes. The plumbing for the sink is roughed in. The panel on the side of fridge and its new electrical box are installed. The cutting and patching for the upper and lower cabinets at the chimney is finished. It is exciting to be able to see the new layout! I think it will work well for them. Andi is already planning out where to put all of their stuff! There is still quite a bit left to do and I think the project has officially gone from “I can’t believe I am getting a new kitchen excitement”  to “when can I have my kitchen back”. I tell my clients at this point to try and hold it together, a month from now this will be a distance memory! It is a pain to live through a kitchen renovation, and at times it seems like it will never end, but fortunately it does. : )

Still to Install:

-The 2 cabinet boxes (one upper and one lower) that need to be cut down 6″ adjacent to the dishwasher.

-The last upper cabinet above the radiator which requires cutting at the radiator pipe.

-Putting together all of the drawer inserts for the cabinets. There are a lot of drawers!

-Install door and drawer fronts

-Fabricate custom removable chalkboard/corkboard for the side of the fridge

-Install side panels for all of the end conditions

-Install crown molding & Bottom trim for the cabinets

-Install toe kicks

-Templating and installing granite counter

-Finish sealing the floor

-Window and Door Trim

-Misc trim pieces to finish off the cabinets

-Make final decision on cabinet handles and knobs and install

-Paint the walls

-Install the light fixtures (both pendants and under cabinet)

-Decide on tile backsplash for stove wall, order & install

North Wall w/ upper cabinets installed (microwave to be installed below middle cabinet)

Corner Cabinet w/ notch taken out for chimney

Things are still moving along at Andi and Neil’s. I was over there yesterday to check in and deal with the second hiccup on this job (the first being the chimney in the corner). I have to say that ALL jobs have hiccups (especially in old houses). The more you plan, the more you can minimize the problems that arise but something always comes up, be it unforeseen conditions, scheduling of contractors, materials and products.  On this project we have been pretty lucky with everything arriving on time and the contractor’s schedule working out, so with the exception of the new pendant lights (that were suppose be delivered in a week and are now on backorder) everything has arrived on time.

So back to the second hiccup! The problem is that 1 upper and 1 lower cabinet were accidentally ordered in the wrong size. Normally when you order cabinets you have time to review the order and double check all of the size. But in our case due to the Ikea sale and that the cabinet doors were being discontinued, Andi and Neil ended up having to order the cabinets VERY quickly. Normally I would have reviewed the order before it was placed to double check that all the dimensions were correct.  The good news is that we looked at the situation and came up with 2 options.

The Issue: 1 Base Cabinet & 1 Upper Cabinet were ordered 6″ too wide (30″ instead of 24″ wide)

Option 1: Check Ikea (particularly the AS IS Section) to see if we could still get the 2 doors and 3 drawer fronts in the right size. This would mean that we would have to get these painted (the painter just finished painting everything else). The contractor would cut down the cabinets to the right size (since these are already assembled and can’t be returned).

Option 2: If we can’t get the right size doors and drawer fronts, have the contractor VERY carefully cut the doors and drawer fronts to the right width. They have done this before when they have run into this type of problem. The doors still might still require a re-spray of paint since there is a chance that the finish might get damaged when doing this. We have the advantage that our contractor is a good carpenter, I would never try this myself.

Cabinet Doors and Drawer Fronts All Ready to Go!

Cabinet Install Update:

The contractor installed the base corner cabinet where the chimney is located first since everything on this side of the kitchen connects to this unit (we still have to decide whether to install a smaller lazy susan or a pair of slide out units) . They have also installed the upper cabinets on the north wall. Today they are working on moving the plumbing for the sink and installing the run of cabinets on that wall (up to the wrong size cabinet which is fortunately at the end of the run). The upper cabinet where the chimney is located will need some more cutting and adjusting to fit.

Also the painter dropped off the doors and trim today! Andi kindly sent me a photo. The finish looks lovely!

One more shot of the beautiful ceiling!