I thought I'd make one last kitchen update for now.

We've now been living with the new kitchen since Tuesday afternoon, cooking and eating there. Everything is great. The new stovetop and oven are much better than our old ones. There's a bit of a learning curve with the controls but nothing major. Just knobs for the stovetop and a touch pad for the oven. Microwave controls are a bit different too. We've run the dishwasher twice now and that's fine. Pretty simple controls that aren't all that different than the last one.

Today my wife and I spent a good amount of time bringing up items from the basement and putting them away in their new places. I'm sure we will shuffle things around some as we work in there and figure out our new work flows but things are mostly away for now. We still need to bring in a lot of the food items that got moved into our temporary space in the living room. Some have come in already as we've used them but the rest need to go too. Once that is done, my wife can start putting that room back together as it is her crafting room. I started getting the family room back in order last night. That's where I do a lot of my reselling business like taking pictures for ebay and packing china for Replacements.com. Having limited access to that space for nearly 2 months was lousy for business but I knew that would be the case. Time to ramp back up to normal.

All in all, we're happy with the remodel. I think the new space looks great. My wife even commented today after I posted before and after pictures on Facebook, that the old kitchen looked so bad. How did we live with that for so long? It's funny how you just get used to what you've got. When you walk into someone else's house, you'll immediately take note of things like that, but in your own home, it just is what it is and you don't even think about it. Now that it's all changed, though, looking at the before pictures is really jarring.

If you're thinking about a remodel and can't decide, just do it. It's a royal pain in the butt while it's happening but it is very much worth it in the end.

Our contractor left today. He has some finishing stuff to do but is waiting for items to come in so he is done for now, 57 days since beginning. He only worked Monday to Friday, of course, except he did come a couple of times on Saturday to finish some things but didn't do full days. He also took a couple of days off along the way, so he probably worked a total of 38 days I think. Pretty damn impressive when you look at what he did and consider the fact that he worked alone with the exception of the electrician coming twice to do the major electrical work. Other than that, he gutted and rebuilt the entire kitchen and bathroom.

I've never shared photos in a blog before so hopefully this works.

So there it is. We are very pleased with the outcome. As I said, there's some stuff to finish but we are back in the room, loading the drawers and cabinets, trying to remember where we stored everything and figuring out where we want it all to go in the new room. We didn't just replace what we had; we redesigned the layout quite a bit so nothing is really going where it used to be. It will take a while to get used to everything being in a new place but we'll figure it out.

I could have sworn I posted an update since 7/12 but I'm not seeing one.

Except for some finishing touches, the kitchen is done! We moved the fridge into place Friday morning. The dishwasher was delivered a short time later and our guy installed it. He had installed the toilet on Thursday and did the sink on Friday as well as installing the new bathroom light fixture and the toilet paper holder.

Every major component is now complete and we've started using the kitchen again. We moved the table in last night before dinner though we will need to take it out Monday morning before he arrives. We'll have to clean off the counters too.

What remains to be done? He needs to finish some painting in the bathroom, paint the woodwork and doors, stain the window frame over the sink, finish some caulking, and a couple of other things. As my wife put it, it now looks like a finished kitchen that just needs a little work done rather than looking like an active construction site.

We love how it has turned out. The backsplash tile is beautiful. The kitchen paint color goes great with everything. The bathroom paint color is bright and vivid without being too much especially thanks to the lower third being white bead board. The whole project came together very well.

I don't have final numbers yet but I'll post when I do. I had told our guy that our budget was 30K though I never expected to actually come in that low. he had said that 30K was realistic but would be mainly driven by choices we made as far as materials. We didn't really splurge on anything and I think the total will end up under 35K which is great. Even if it goes a little over that, that's fine too. It won't be over 40K.

Yesterday our guy picked up the backsplash tile before coming in for the day. We took out a few tiles before he started working so that we could use them for paint shopping. While we were out, he did about 1/2 of the sink wall, and finished the rest after we returned. It looked really nice, though it was hard to fully appreciate it with the spacers in place and stuff smeared all over it. He returned for an hour or so this morning, removed the spacers, and cleaned it all up. Now it really looks good. He will put up the other wall on Monday. On Tuesday he will do the grout then clean and polish everything after that sets.

We did shop for paint yesterday and came home with 4 color samples for the kitchen and 2 for the bathroom. This morning I painted swatches in several places around the kitchen. We decided that all 4 just weren't right. They were all too bold saturated colors for the kitchen, though we might use one of those colors for the bathroom. Today we went to Sherwin Williams for some professional help (the paint department guy at Lowe's was worthless). This woman helped us pick a few options and we came home with two samples. I didn't like one of them but my wife thought she did. I painted swatches of those and I think we may go with the one I liked initially. We'll consider it tonight and tomorrow as we see it at different times of day with different lighting as colors change so much throughout the day.

We got the bathroom faucet today and also picked up the toilet paper holder. We had gotten one already but it was way too big so we're returning that one.

Turns out we did not get the sink hooked up yesterday. He really needs to wait until the backsplash is finished so that he doesn't need to work around and behind the faucet so he said he should be able to do it last thing on Tuesday. We had hoped to have it for this weekend but it'll have to wait a few more days.

Despite not having the sink, my wife did cook breakfast this morning on the new stove, our first time using it, so that was a huge step.

So Monday and Tuesday will be for finishing the tile and connecting the sink. Then assuming we've settled on paint colors, he can start painting on Wednesday. He also still needs to install the bathroom toilet, sink, and light fixture as well as paint that room. I don't know if all of that can get done in 3 days (W, Th, F) but we will see. If it stretches into the following week, that's certainly not a big deal. We want it done well, not rushed through. But in any case, the conclusion of the job is near.

Looks like I forgot to post yesterday so let's see if I can remember what happened LOL. So much is going on it's hard to keep track.

Our guy came in yesterday having visited the tile store and not finding anything either. He suggested we go to one other store (where we had shopped for our floor initially) and talk to a specific person in the contractor department and have him help us. So we headed over and this guy was great. We showed him the granite and the floor samples and told him what we were looking for. He took us into the showroom and within a couple of minutes found a tile that we both really liked. We ordered it and our contractor will pick it up tomorrow morning.

He attached the cabinet hardware yesterday so that was a significant step. It looks great. Cabinets are white and hardware is brushed nickel so while not adding "color" it does give a nice contrast and a bit of shine to offset the plain white of the cabinets.

He started putting up the bead board in the bathroom which he finished today along with the top molding and baseboard. He said that as soon as he paints that he can install the toilet.

Today was a big day. The countertop was installed! It looks great and now the room is really starting to look like it's nearly done. He will start installing the backsplash tomorrow. He said he wants to do the sink wall first because it will be easier to tile there before he installs the faucet. Hopefully he'll get that done tomorrow so that we can have a working sink by the end of the day. I'm pretty sure that's his plan. If so, we can actually start using the kitchen tomorrow night and this weekend. The only thing missing is the dishwasher which isn't coming until next Friday but we can obviously live without that and hand wash stuff for now.

Once he gets the backsplash tile tomorrow, we will take a few pieces and go paint shopping. The tile isn't a uniform color. It's got some variation from piece to piece and even within each piece. We have to decide which tone we want to pull out for the paint. We want the bathroom a different but complimentary color to the kitchen so we have to pick that, too.

Our guy said he's hoping to be done by the end of next week. If that happens, it will put us at 7 weeks, 3 days total. His original estimate was 4-6 weeks, which I never expected to happen. In my mind, 8 weeks was what I anticipated so it looks like he will come in just under that. I think he is disappointed that it has gone longer than his estimate, but the whole floor situation really set him back as that turned out to be a much bigger job that anticipated due to the condition of the old floor layers once he started the demo. We are not the least bit upset though. As I said, I didn't think 6 weeks was realistic anyway. If he's done in under 8, I'll be totally satisfied. And if it goes beyond next week for any final touches, that's fine too. We want it done right, not fast. We are waiting for several replacement cabinet doors so I don't know when those will come. Probably not before next week, so it won't be totally done even if he's out of here otherwise.

We actually spent most of the day out today which was nice even though we were still doing kitchen-related stuff. We went to 3 tile stores to continue searching for our backsplash. This time we remembered to bring the granite sample which ended up altering what we had been looking at when we saw it together. We came home with samples of one tile which looks very nice against the granite but is a pretty drab color. The whole goal has been to use the backsplash to bring color into the room and this won't do it. Our contractor took the granite with him when he left and he's going to go to the tile store and see what ideas he can come up with for us to consider.

He fixed the mounting of one cabinet today. He installed the cabinet over the fridge but it turns out that they sent it with the wrong doors so he put a call in to get the correct ones. He installed the microwave so that's now up and running. He did the scribe which is the finishing molding over the cabinets. That looks nice. He replaced the water lines in the bathroom which needed to be done before putting up the bead board and installing the new sink.

I'm not sure what he's got planned for tomorrow.

Busy day today as both our contractor and the electricians were on site. We now have the new recessed lighting and the new fixture over the kitchen table installed and operational, new light switches and outlets throughout the room, new under cabinet outlets for the disposal and dishwasher (code now requires that), and the oven is installed and connected! Everything is in place for our guy to hang and connect the microwave which should happen tomorrow.

As a side job, we also got a new outdoor outlet today. It shared wiring with the kitchen so when he had gotten to that in the demolition, he just capped it until now.

I don't know if I mentioned it last post but the new pedestal sink for the bathroom was delivered on Thursday so he stood that in place today just for us to see it and so that he could see what work he needs to do on the water lines to get it installed.

He removed the cabinet doors and painted the underside of the soffit. He also put in most of the kickplate and baseboard today. He would have finished but the weather turned rainy so he had to pack up his saw and outdoor cutting station.

Over the weekend we went shopping for the backsplash. We found something we really like but the accent tile is very expensive. We only need about 4 sq ft of it but it's crazy expensive. I think we will end up going with it anyway as it's really not that much in the grand scheme of what the entire job is costing and we both kind of fell in love with it. It's just a lot for tile. We are waiting for the countertop to go in on Thursday before we make a final decision. We neglected to bring the countertop sample with us when we were tile shopping so we will go back with that and make sure it all goes together okay. If not, we'll keep looking. One problem is that a lot of the tile isn't in stock so there's a 2-3 week delay before we would have it.

They also came and measured for the countertop today. Then we went to the shop to finalize where each piece is being cut from the slab.

Like I said, today was a very busy day but a lot got done. Having the finished lighting is very nice and even though the room is still a mess, it looks a lot more finished between that and the baseboard going in.

Our guy was off today (and will be off tomorrow). Yesterday he painted the ceiling and did a couple of coats of primer over the soffit mural. The kitchen actually looked better before that because the mural was bright yellow with green vines and blue flowers so it was the only thing colorful in the room right now. Now everything is white so it's a little stark but once we do the backsplash and paint we'll remedy that situation. It's a blank slate now.

The last cabinet for over the fridge just came today so he can install that on Monday. Oven and microwave are coming Saturday. Countertop template will be done on Monday and installation on Thursday. I'm not sure what day the electrician is coming. Now that the ceiling is painted, our guy can install the new recessed lighting on the cooking side of the kitchen and the new fixture over the kitchen table area. The pedestal sink for the bathroom came today. We need to open that, make sure it's okay, and make sure we like it. And we picked up the replacement bathroom light fixture yesterday (first one was defective).

By the end of next week, we are hoping to have a functioning kitchen again.

Our guy finished installing the cabinets today (except for the one over the fridge which we don't have yet). We had to compromise a bit on the spacing around the window but I think where we ended up is okay. Not perfect but we can both live with it. The only other alternative is to buy a new cabinet which would probably run $700 or so.

He plans to sand the ceiling and start priming tomorrow. We have a mural around the soffit that needs to be covered up before he can paint.

He said that if everything happens as scheduled (appliances, electrician, countertop) that by the end of next week we should have a working sink, oven/cooktop, and microwave that we can start using. We won't be able to fully move back into the kitchen yet since he'll still need to do the backsplash and paint the walls and do some other finishing work (molding and such) but we should be able to use the kitchen so that's pretty exciting. If he's right, that would put us at 6-1/2 weeks from start of work to a usable new kitchen which isn't bad at all.

He will also still need to do the bathroom but we knew that would get done last since the kitchen was first priority.

I returned an extra box of floor tile today. We had two boxes left but kept one just in case there are any issues down the line. That got us a $48 refund. Not much but it's something. Tomorrow I need to go back to the lighting store where we bought the bathroom fixture. The one we got was damaged when I opened it and they had to order a replacement which came in today. I'll be sure to inspect this one while I'm there just in case.