Time for paint

Once the granite guys have the template, it takes about a week to cut, so Amy has the painter coming in.

He started with my red wall. I LOVE IT. At night you can see more of the orange in it, but it is a lovely, rich, warm colour, and I am really happy with it. It is a custom colour of paint, the colour that my new stove will be. And the stove will sit on the wall right opposite this one. Also on the long wall will be the couch, the filing cabinet/end table, and my computer desk (on the unseen right side of the door here).

Waiting for a second coat

Second coat finished

How it looks coming into the kitchen from the hall. Beautiful, I think!

Next the base colour went on the walls, a tan colour which we chose to go with the tile backsplash, the cabinets, and the granite. I really like this colour too. It goes really well with the red.

See how it looks more orange at night? I took this last night so I could see how the red and tan go together, and I like it.

A little closer so you can see the bookcase and window seat.

Now we have a decision to make. I thought we had already made it (brown), but then the painter comes in and makes suggestions to Amy & I, and we have to really think it through.

Our designer, Amy, thinks we should paint these bookcases and window seat dark brown, to make them look like built in furniture, to warm up the room, to echo the chocolate brown of my wonderful chair that will sit across from it. And as Rich and I use this room mainly in the fall and winter to sit in front of the fire to read and relax, we don't need the space to be really light. The large window gives lots of sunlight during the day (it's a south-facing window), and we have good lighting for reading in the evenings.

The painter thinks we should leave the bookcases, window seat, and fireplace mantle and showcase it in the white, to match the ceiling beams, to accent it as woodwork. He and Amy both agree that painting the mantle will mean losing its detail.

Rich thinks the white is nice, now that we can see the red, tan, and white together, but he thinks it is too contemporary for the house, and he is favouring the brown.

I do think the white is sharp, and it would keep a light, airy feel to the room. But I love the thought of cozying up the space, considering what we use it for. 

I know it is just paint, I know we can re-paint if we make a mistake. I just really want to get it right the first time, because once this is all done, I know I am not going to want to be put out of the space again for a good long while! lol

Granite template

So the guys were here to template the granite.

The first thing the guy said was that the iron supports that we were planning to use instead of corbels were nowhere near good enough- they were far too short. Where they end would push up on the middle of the countertop and possibly cause cracking. I would cry like a baby if that happened! lol So they have ordered longer ones, ones that will go right across to the front of the cabinet and properly counterweight it.

They made the template out of balsa wood, all stapled together.

Just getting started

Figuring out where the seams will go

Done and ready to carry out

One of the three slabs we have on hold

It's hard to imagine how this will look on our counter. Both Rich and I wanted large movement in the granite as opposed to the smaller, more uniform types. I love it and can't wait to see how it looks next week!

Most of the cabinets...

I haven't had any time to post this week, but it has been a flurry of activity here!

Most of the cabinets have been installed and I am really pleased with them!

This is where the stove and hood will go.

And the microwave/convection and fridge. There will be a small pot light in that space over the fridge. What I will put there, I haven't a clue.

This is a little butler's pantry- attached sideways onto the pantry wall and will be handy as it is on our way into the dining room.

And my workspace, the dishwasher, and sink. The two large cabinets on the floor behind can't be installed until the granite goes in, as they go right from the counter to the ceiling- the bottoms of them are appliance garages, to store and tuck away my heavy stuff. 

A closer view of the crown molding. Is that how it is spelled???

The shelves are all adjustable and I won't put them in till I move back into the kitchen. Which will be at least a couple more weeks I imagine. Thankfully we are able to enjoy eating outside, shopping at the Farmer's Market, and out of our garden. If we have to be put out of our kitchen, this is the ideal time to do it!

Over the weekend reno update

Friday and Saturday were busy reno days here too.

Most of what was done was drywalling and wall/ceiling texture.

The sitting room is going to be painted as well, I think I mentioned that. We took off the chair rail (if you remember, it was dark green below) and the top was white knockdown. That's a kind of texture- which I didn't know the name of till just recently! The bottom of the wall was done in the same texture, and once it was dry, you couldn't tell the difference.

The knockdown- I don't know if you can see it well enough- if you click on the photo, it will display larger.

Not quite dry, but the green is gone and the whole wall is textured.

The drywall is all done and the texture on the kitchen walls and ceiling too.

The light beam is done and will be wired like a track- without the track.

So, lots of work, but not lots to see. And LOTS of mess, holy cow. I feel like we are eating dust! When people warned me about it, I had no idea... it gets everywhere!!! lol

My biggest challenge has been my lack of ability to get into the fridge at will. I need to plan better...

We are very excited- today the cabinets are being put in. They are beautiful! I will be back later today or tomorrow morning with another post to catch you up!

Western Welcome Week 2010

The Western Welcome Week parade marks the end of the summer for the kids and the beginning of the official marching season. If you follow my blog, you know that this is Heidi's third year with the Columbine Rebels Marching Band- and Chloe will likely follow in her footsteps next year. I guess that means I will be sticking around with the band too... lol

A view of Littleton downtown, looking west.

The Columbine High School Rebels Marching Band!

That's my girl right in the middle of the mellophone section! (second girl from the left of the photo)

And again, going right by me. I'm not proud or anything. lol

These kids are so talented and dedicated- they work SO hard! They practice two nights a week for 2.5 hours each time, and all day every Saturday- in addition to having practice/class every school day. 

It was blazing hot out there and they must have been melting. But you would never have known it- they looked and sounded fantastic!

Looks like the Rebels are off to a great start!

Renos updates

We are nearing the end of the first week and have made some progress!

The beam we thought was load-bearing and wasn't, has presented us with another challenge.

To build it back up with a 2x4 makes it too narrow to match the wall it attaches to, and it is too narrow to attach the pendant lights the way we planned.

To build it up with a 1x6 would accommodate the pendants but require us to build up the opposing wall to match, pushing all the cabinets down the wall.

Thankfully I am married to an electrical engineer who suggested using just one transformer for the three lights, instead of trying to accommodate for one for each. It will work, and the details- well, I don't really get it. What I have explained is about what I "get"... lol

The drywall has been replaced and patched, outlets and switch boxes put in, the sitting room wall has been sanded and patched where the chair rail was removed.

You can see the red on the walls here- the paint store matched the colour of my new stove and we will paint that long wall red. We have chosen a taupe colour for what of the kitchen wall will show, and a chocolate brown (to match my chair) to paint the bookcases and fireplace mantle. 

It's looking so much better with stuff patched and sanded.

Amy and I had to take another trip up to the granite place yesterday to choose the slab I like best to put on the island portion of the counter. The granite is called Golden Ray and is gorgeous- I can't wait to see it installed!

This photo makes it look like there is some greenish colour in it, but you don't see that in person. In any case, there is lots of movement and interest in this, and I am sure however it gets laid out will be beautiful.

They have started patching the floor where necessary and tomorrow is set aside for finishing the drywall- plus whatever else crops up, I guess.

The cabinets were delivered this morning and the garage is full of huge cardboard boxes! They are due to be installed on Monday and then they will template the granite on Wednesday, assuming that everything goes according to plan... lol

I will keep you updated- in between trying to stay on top of this horrible dust mess that is EVERYWHERE!!!

Days 2 & 3 of renos!

Monday saw the kitchen completely emptied out, except for the dishwasher, which we are keeping. It looks so much smaller- hard to believe all of those cabinets came out of that space!

Monday afternoon, Amy came with Eddie, the cabinet guy, so they could draw all over the walls and floor,  marking where all the new cabinets will go.

Monday evening Amy came again, this time with Ron, the electrician, to mark out where we wanted switches and outlets. That took a lot more time and discussion than I would have thought. I let the three of them talk and ask me questions about what I do in the kitchen and where- and where I was planning to put things that need electricity.

You can see that the nice hardwood floor has been installed on at least two previous floors- and it is raised throughout most of the main floor- the kitchen, DR, front hall, and main floor bath. The sitting room is significantly lower- I would guess because they didn't go over top of anything...

We also discussed fixing the switches by the garage door (there are two separate ones now, and not straight or lined up which drives me crazy! lol) and installing the new fan we bought on the weekend for the sitting room. I think we covered everything. I think.

Tuesday (yesterday) saw the plumbers here for a good portion of the day, replacing old pipes and making sure everything is set up for moving the fridge (which has water & ice in the door).

The vent was put in for the new hood that will go over the stove. Previously, there was just a hole in the ceiling. It worked a little, but not well enough. And with a big six burner gas range coming in, we needed to make sure we got a proper hood with it.

In the afternoon, Ron came and started on his part, roughing in the electric. He is scheduled to be here all day today as well.

I can't say that I see what happened yesterday for the most part, but I know there was a flurry of activity all day!

My new sink is sitting in the garage, and the dishwasher has been moved out there now too. I still can't really picture how it will all look, but I am very excited!

Vent for the new hood fan

The holes cut- not sure for what... electrical maybe??

New pipes installed for the sink and dishwasher

What used to be the laundry chute, looking down into the basement

And the top part, looking up towards Chloe's room. She says she will miss the laundry chute- but how do you miss something you rarely use??? lol

Down in the basement; either electrical or gas line for my new stove. Or both. lol

The demolition begins...

Yesterday marked the first official day of the demolition in our kitchen. YIKES! lol

The guy just got a start, taking out most of the upper cabinets and stacking them in our garage. They will be donated to Habitat for Humanity, along with anything else they want (once I know what all we have that is worthwhile!).

In the meantime, Rich and I met with our designer to choose the pendant lights to hang over the island portion of the counter. We settled on some nice ones, ones that I think will accent the elegant feel of the whole room.

Rich said he thinks it is a little weird, to choose all of these components, but have no idea of how everything will look once it is all put together- and it's true!

Tomorrow (Monday), they will finish taking everything out and the rest of the week will be a slew of jobs going on: roughing in the plumbing (we are moving the fridge), roughing in the gas lines (we are moving the stove), roughing in the electrical (we are moving around switches, outlets, and pot lights), removing tile and drywall and replacing drywall, finalizing all the roughed-in stuff, and getting ready for cabinets.

The cabinets are due in on Friday, and IF everything goes according to plan, the job shouldn't take more than three weeks. But coming from a family that was in the construction business, I know all too well that many things can crop up unexpectedly, so I am prepared for that.

I have more than 30 meals in my freezer, either fully cooked and ready to warm up, or partially cooked to where I can easily finish with very little prep work. It might be a little repetitive but it is better than having to eat out too frequently or having to live on cold food for the whole time. Don't get me wrong- I love to eat out! But when you HAVE to, it loses some of it's appeal to me, and it can get kind of pricey.

So here are a couple of before and after photos from yesterday- the first ones are from before the demo guy showed up and the last ones are what it looked like when we got home.

Other than the lighthouses up on the border, this is a nice kitchen right now (well, not anymore, since they have banged holes and taken out cabinetry...lol  But as I love to cook and bake and make preserves and such, the space really isn't workable. The oven is tiny, the cooktop is problematic and a pain to keep clean, there is hardly any usable workspace, and the sink and counter are just counter-productive, being white... it started out with such a simple idea of improving things, to THIS. lol

When the job is completely finished, I will put in before (when we moved in) and after photos to see. I am anxious to see it myself!

This side of the counter is where we sit- Rich uses his computer, the girls do homework...

Behind them is usually where the kitchen table sits, and my computer desk.

A better view from the sitting side. You can't see the appliance garages, since they are rolled up in this photo. Handy, but they leave you with hardly any space out in front.

The door beside the fridge leads out into the hall, towards the front door. The door to the right of that leads into the dining room.

A bunch of cabinets and overhead filler gone- it's starting to look bare!

It's really happening- no going back now! lol

I wonder why they left so much space at the top when they put these cabinets in? The new ones will go almost to the top- just leaving enough room for wiring and such. I want to use every inch of space I have!

This island area will be ALL workspace in the new kitchen! We chose some granite that we LOVE- and I can't wait!