The kitchen and breakfast nook

I'll be posting my plans for each room and adding to them as I purchase new items. I don't expect anyone else to get excited about the details of my soap dispensers. This serves as my online reminder of what goes where when it comes time to install these things. It also helps me visualize everything.

Still thinking on the sink: Either stainless or white cast iron to match bathroom sink


The existing kitchen cabinets have now been painted in Sherwin Williams Jersey Cream. (I'd call it pretty close to the color of butter.) Walls are also Jersey Cream


Ceiling is Dover White



Curtain fabric


Curtain rod


Cabinets for short kitchen wall in Merillat Classics Deluxe, door style Destinations, color Maple Sable


Formica laminate countertop in Burnished Glaze


Flooring will be Armstrong Solarian Vinyl Sheet, style Rhythms-Framingham, color Straw. It has accurate maple and other leaves all over.


This vintage brass light fixture was in my parents' garage from some old house, maybe the Anderson place or Gordon's house. It will hang in the middle of the kitchen. I'm not sure if I'll find some shades or get clear bulbs and leave them bare. The rest of the lighting will be cans (I know, but I need to see). Need one piece from Keystone.


This pressed glass shade was also in the garage and I think I'll use it in the breakfast nook. It has wheat in the design. I need to find a fixture to hold it with three beaded chains, maybe Beaumont in Bronze Gilt from Rejuvenation.com if I can't find anything cheaper or actually vintage.


Grohe 33758IBO Ladylux Soft Black Faucet (No, I can't afford Grohe. I can find a plumbing supply store that's going out of business and liquidating everything at a loss. Yay me!) It's not exactly the farmhouse look I was going for, but the price was unbeatable.


Hansgrohe 40418XXX Chrome Soap Dispenser

Stair rail is from L.J. Smith: square newels, square 1-1/4" banisters and plowed handrail, will be beech stained to match kitchen cabinets. I selected the handrails specifically so no young children can confuse them with gymnastics balance beams. You think I'm kidding?

Need flourescent bar or something over sink, part for vintage brass light, fixture for beaded shade, 8 cabinet knobs and 3 drawer pulls since these are full-face

Who's hungry for some hardware?

I asked the dude at the lumberyard for some Tarn-X.

He asked me if I own a crock pot. (I do.)

Then he asked me if I own a dishwasher. (I do.)

Turns out that a little dish detergent in a crock pot of water set to high overnight can strip hardware. Who knew?

In my case, it removed the grime from my kitchen cabinet hinges and latches and pulls, only to reveal the rust underneath. It was a useful excercise, but I still need some Tarn-X. And a new crock pot.

If you see me at the church potluck with this slow cooker, don't eat my food.

Progress as of Feb. 12

Plumbing is all roughed in.


The mudroom has a tray ceiling.

Pat's working on insulation.

Larry will finish plumbing and work on heat runs.

Four steps forward and one step back

We had water in the basement. Again. This time it was 7 inches. The sump pump burned out overnight. We now have a brand new one. Ugh. This is the water gushing out of the basement through an odd set-up of tubing and an old stove pipe. Temporary, of course.

A remodel can be mighty ugly

This Old House just did a piece called Debris Removal 101, noting it can cost up to $10,000 to remove all the debris from a whole-house remodel.

We've managed to get by so far filling only one dumpster, making frequent trips to the scrap metal yard, burning a lot, and saving the rest to burn under the maple syrup evaporator. We still have more junk to remove.

The two pics at right are things removed after the basement was thoroughly cleaned! Most was attached to the house in one way or another until recently.

Thank God for Google

I've had visions of bronze faucets dancing in my head.

They're often much more costly than standard chrome faucets, but thanks to my nightly Googling for home supplies, I figured out which quality deep bronze bathroom accessories I can actually purchase on a polished chrome budget. I could never do this if I had to drive from home center to home center, or even if I had to call them all.

I don't expect anyone else to care, but I'm excited about this:

Ta dah!

If you ever find yourself yearning to know the difference between Moen Oil-Rubbed Bronze, Delta Venetian Bronze, and Price Pfister Tuscan Bronze, I'm your gal.

Wow!

The house looks more like a house every day! Framing is complete. Furring strips are up. The initial plumbing and heating work is in. The electricians have worked part of the last two days. Whew!

Shower door saga continues

This better be a wonderful shower.

I choose a shower and door. Our contractor says the door won't fit the shower. So I pick a new shower.

The plumber says the door will cost $2,000. Yes, four digits. It should actually be a small fraction of that. Turns out his supplier couldn't get that door, so this is to replicate it in a custom order. I say no thank you.

I call my supplier. My supplier cannot get the door either. He can order one to be custom made. He can't tell me the price until it is ordered. I say no thank you.

I go to big-box Lowe's. They can get the door. Easily, and at a reasonable price. I use Google to learn I can save 20% more if I order from an online supplier. I place the order.

It has been five days. Today I receive an e-mail acknowledging the damage claim I filed. But I filed no such claim. My door has not arrived.

I check the UPS tracking page. My door is ... missing. It consists of three large pieces of glass, measuring roughly 25 x 75 inches. Missing?

Meanwhile, I attempt to order the second-choice shower. My supplier says he can't get it. I am about to become incredulous, since I received a price from his comany two weeks ago. Then he says his company is in receivership with the manufacturer. "The banks have us," he tells me. I say I'm sorry.

I find that Lowe's has it in stock. Then I miraculously learn that the local lumber yard (I really do prefer to buy local) can order it for 20% less and have it in a week. Thank you, I say. Here is my order.